Create an exotic garden which will survive extreme weather

Some gardeners may now be wondering whether, given the hot dry summer we’ve had, growing exotics and tropical plants may be the way forward.“In general, a tropical plant is quite a statement plant,” says Róisín Wilson, managing director of HSK Exotic Gardens, a UK-based garden design company and major importer of rare, vibrant exotic plants.Talking to garden centres, nurseries and wholesalers, the feedback is that demand has dropped for cottage garden plants and bedding, and the predicted trend is tropical plants, she says.“People are definitely going for that statement in their garden. We are probably in a good position to have tropical plants in our garden, or plants that are used to the heat.”Garden centre worker and plant enthusiast Dave Robinson has spent 10 years creating a subtropic