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How to Bring Your Subtropical Garden to Life

Embrace your warm climate with colour, texture and lush plants that breathe life into your outdoor space

Johanna MacMinn 9 September 2014

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I am never more at home than when I am immersed in a beautiful subtropical garden. My love of lush, fragrant gardens connects me to my environment. Mexican architect Luis Barragán (1902-1988) spoke of the balance one feels in a well-designed place when he said: “I think that the ideal space must contain elements of magic, serenity, sorcery and mystery.” There is so much more to an amazing garden than plants, soil and a bit of mulch, but what is it that gives a garden its magical appeal? Lets take a look at these essential elements of subtropical garden design and inject a bit of wow into your outdoor space this spring.

Australian Subtropical Zones
Where? The subtropics run the Eastern seaboard from Sydney, NSW, to Bundaberg, Qld, and then bleed north through the tablelands. Coastal WA also has a substantial subtropical zone.
Defining characteristics: The subtropics experience warm to hot summer temperatures and high humidity with the majority of the year’s rain falling during this season. The region has relatively short winters which are mild with little rain.

Cultivart Landscape Design

Indoor/outdoor flow
Throwing open doors and windows, and inviting warm breezes to flow through, is one of the joys of life in the subtropics. The lines between inside and out are often blurred and access between the two seamless. The glass walls of this living room slides back to allow full enjoyment and interaction with the stunning garden.

Connections are important when planning outdoor living spaces. Ask yourself how the space will be accessed, used, travelled through, viewed, and then design accordingly.

See more ways to connect your indoor and outdoor areas

Raymond Jungles, Inc.

Shade and light
Protection from the strong summer sun is an absolute must. A wide verandah or pergola also offers shelter from late afternoon showers prevalent in warm and humid environments.

Every garden needs a destination. Create a comfortable space to enjoy the beautiful climate. Will your garden be used or viewed after dark? A few uplights on key points of interest will create a welcoming garden and one that can be enjoyed at all times of the day.

ArtisTree Landscape Maintenance & Design

Repetition
A subtropical garden, like all gardens, benefits from judicious repetition of planting. In this garden the Foxtail and Canary Island Date Palms add a bold vertical unity and formality. Uplighting on the trunks of the palms reinforce the repetition and create a beautiful night-time ambiance.

My Verandah

Colour
Colour can bring a garden to life. A subtropical garden doesn’t get much down time. A periodic pop of colour will draw you through the garden, and a small punch of colourful foliage can offer interest all year round. This garden uses a small swathe of Cordyline rubra (palm lily) along with the acid green of the staghorn fern to act as an exclamation point against a darker green backdrop. Less is more when employing colour in the garden. A little colour will grab your eye; a lot of colour will confuse and detract from the harmony of the garden.

Bligh Graham Architects

Scent
Heady perfumed flowers are an intrinsic element of subtropical gardens and can be extremely evocative. The sweet summer scent of the frangipani is unmistakeable and is an iconic symbol of tropical gardens around the world, including Australia.

Other popular scented flowering plants include gardenia, jasmine and ginger, but don’t just think flowers when considering scent in your garden. The leaves of plants, such as cardamom, lemon-scented myrtle, lavender and rosemary, are a fragrant treat when planted along pathways.

Secret Gardens

Layering
A good planting scheme is a layered composition, with each element dependant on each other for support and visual contrast. This Sydney garden is a beautifully composed example of balanced layering. The Tiger Grass, Giant Bird of Paradise and frangipani work well with the Imperial Bromeliad and Liriope, as well as the urn and sling chair, to create an engaging and inviting subtropical garden.

Impressions Landscape - Design

Scale
The striking form of the large-leaf beauties shown here – Elephant Ear (Colocasia) – plays with the scale of the garden and adds interest and humour.

Accent plants play a vital role in a garden design by creating energy and focus. Once you have chosen your foundation planting, think about how you can inject contrasts and surprises into your garden.

EPTDESIGN

Texture
Be brave and have fun with plant choices. Combining unexpected forms and textures can delight the senses and add drama. This planting combination is a wonderful example of an engaging subtropical garden. Variegated gingers, Foxtail Ferns, Liriope and a spiny Silk Floss Tree create a tension of textures that surprises and gives a Dr Seuss quality to this garden.

Raymond Jungles, Inc.

Water
If you are lucky enough to have a swimming pool, it is a wonderful place to gather with friends and family while enjoying respite from the heat and humidity. This beautiful garden is in Miami where pool fencing laws differ from ours in Australia, but it is worth noting the beautiful paved areas around this pool. Extra time spent working out a thoughtful pool fencing design that allows for proper flow and relaxation spaces around a pool are paramount for full enjoyment of your investment. The inclusion of solar heating can extend the swimming season throughout the greater part of the year.

Raymond Jungles, Inc.

Lushness
A subtropical garden is no place to be stingy. Swathes of generous planting help create a lush vibe. When designing your garden look to nature for inspiration. Your planting scheme should convey an inherent order and harmony, just as it does in nature.

TELL US
Do you live in a subtropical garden? Tell us how you’ve embraced the climate and share the shots of your space.

MORE
10 Reasons Aussies Rule at Pools
So Your Style Is: Tropical
My Houzz: Subtropical Style for a Modern Sydney Home
7 Ways the Great Australian Landscape Can Inspire Your Colour Scheme

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My Verandah

Thanks for sharing a picture of your lovely lush garden Nicole. Rhapis palms and elephant ears are two of my favourites!

1 Like 11 September 2014 at 6:26pm

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abduncan

Some great tips in there, thank you. Especially like the information about structure, texture etc, great advice. I am about to embark on a garden renovation, can I contact you for your expertise? I notice you live in South East Queensland, so would love you to come and look at my garden.

Like 18 September 2014 at 6:06pm

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PRO

My Verandah

Thank you for the kind words abduncan. I would be happy to have a look at your garden. You can contact me via my website. www.myverandah.com.au

Like 19 September 2014 at 10:05am