Going bananas has never been trendier, especially when you have Ensete ventricosum arching its enourmous paddles over your garden. Each one is so smooth and shiny, enhanced with a perfect midrib, they almost appear artificial. Although it may survive outside it the stem is well insulated it is safer to bring it inside in winter.
There is a myriad of plants that you may not immediately consider suitable for creating dramatic foliage diplays, but really any plant with serious form and structure will work. |
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Many herbs and vegetables are beautifully textured, but, for crisp definition, curly-leaved parsley reigns supreme. Be brave and put a few plants in the border so that dwarf bulbs and annuals can poke through its froth of crinkled foliage. Or you can simply enjoy it in a pot, pinching an occasional sprig for summer salads.
A dense covering of hairs makes Stachys byzantina as soft and adorable to stroke as a kitten's under-belly. Even its flower spikes get a coating of white fur as they stretch upwards in summer. This tactile perennial is best in full sun where it will form a cosy rug of silvery foliage. Simply divide it occasionally to keep it vigorous.
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