Today’s video is a visit to Shane Bilson’s garden in Stoke on Trent, a fantastic jungle stream garden and beautiful pond planted up with a variety of hardy exotic plants, beautiful flowers and some really rare specimens I haven’t seen before! Shane is a professional gardener who enjoys experimenting with unusual plants and creating a subtropical paradise in his garden – well, maybe considering the climate on the west side of the Pennines ‘rainforest’ would be more appropriate! With high levels of rainfall year-round and often brutally cold winters (below -10 this previous ‘mild’ winter!), Shane knew moving to this colder area would present gardening challenges, but in just three years the garden transformation he’s achieved really is remarkable – the stunning back garden stream area is just one year old! We talk about creating a garden stream, how Shane built his large garden pond and obviously, all about his incredible bamboo, Aralias and the plants which we both find fascinating. I hope you enjoy this chat and exotic garden ‘summer’ tour with Shane, not only is the hard landscaping and planting inspirational but he’s also hugely generous with his knowledge and has some valuable planting tips and overwintering inspiration for those of us growing palms, Schefflera, exotic trees and shrubs in colder areas. Above all, I really think the combination of easy low-maintenance perennials, quick and cheap flowers plus majestic rarities like Brassaiopsis and Kalopanax Shane has put together is not just botanically interesting for real exotic plant enthusiasts, but a beautiful and tranquil space that anyone can appreciate.
Bamboo UK Facebook Group – the best group for growing bamboo in the UK, cool varieties, identification advice, plus division, maintenance and control tips: https://www.facebook.com/share/wxKGjWJHxywzBsrS/?mibextid=K35XfP
0:00 Intro
1:26 A beautiful pond build transformation, big rocks & hardy exotic plants in the front garden
9:09 Giant blue bamboo Borinda grossa KR5600 & UK cold hardy Butia eriospatha feather palm
11:48 Growing exotic plants in a challenging cold area with high rainfall – north west UK
13:46 Brassaiopsis mitis, hispida, creating UK garden microclimates & hardy flowers for summer colour
20:38 Shane’s jungle stream garden transformation, beautiful pond and how to find your garden microclimates
24:56 Colourful, easy exotic evergreens, Borinda papyrifera blue bamboo and Gunnera pond side planting
33:55 Fatsia japonica winter damage & care plus how to protect Musa basjoo banana plant from winter freezes
37:31 Sambucus nigra, Kalopanax, ferns & flowers – combining exotic plants with lush, hardy ‘common’ plants
41:30 Building a jungle stream – construction tips, design inspiration & planting ideas
49:05 Tough exotic plants for cold gardens – Tetrapanax papyrifer ‘Rex’ winter damage, hardiness and recovery
53:25 Traschycarpus nova, Chusquea gigantea, Brassaiopsis fatsioides, garden microclimates & how to get more fruit from a fig tree…
If you’ve enjoyed watching this and would like to say thanks for the price of a coffee then please head over to my Ko-fi, any kind donations would be appreciated and put towards creating more videos on fascinating plants and amazing gardens: https://ko-fi.com/georgesjunglegarden
Thanks,
George
36 Comments
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What a lovely man! Splendid garden, you are spoiling us with all these amazing gardens George ❤
What is it with wifes and lawns? If it wasn't for her, then I would have removed the lawn completely. Overall I still use most time on taking care of the lawn, so would prefer it without it.
Great video and what a lovely down to earth man is he!! Now lusting after some bamboo…….
13:30 Yellow tree ….? Can you name the species? I'd love one in the future!
Great example what a huge difference a high evergreen backdrop provides, it all looks extra lush. I am filling the edges out with high plants, but more patience is needed 🙂
Wow ! Very inspiring Garden , Thank you George
What can I say? Another brilliant video, thanks George! Wasn't Shane just the loveliest chap. I thought my favourite garden was 50 shades of green now I am not so sure! Lovely use of water and stone alongside traditional and more exotic planting. Shane's practical tips were some I hadn't thought of and definitely food for thought! I love you are featuring gardens with water as I do think they are sometimes overlooked in the tropical/exotic garden set up 🙂
Absolutely love it, after seeing loads of people say we are moving to more and more hardy plants and planting, so refreshing to see a good northerner saying Ill smack the weather in the mouth if it comes round here! Brilliant stuff and what a garden
You two are like kids in a sweetshop…love that pod…love you two ..thanks boys x❤
Why is my torbay palm getting yellow yellow spots
Another great video George! We're certainly getting treated to some great garden visits this summer.
What an amazing job Shane has accomplished!
I like the wild atmosphere, the colours (Agapanthus, the Lilium, the Borinda…), and the diversity (so many beautiful
species).Your description is so perfect George, i have nothing to add to it.
Big up to Shane, the creator of that Garden of Eden and to George the film Director!💙🏵🌿
love this with all the water iv got a large pond but i have to grow everything in pots and the plants in this give me lots of ideas of what i can do round my pond thanks
Wow… Just wow. Right up our street Shane… What a great achievement in such a short account of time. We love all of the water…. No surprises there!!! Your specimen plants are wonderful. A great choice. Like you, we believe in planting a bit of the 'normal' to enhance the extraordinary. A great walk and talk with the fabulous GeorgesJungleGarden. Another fab film George. Well be watching this one a few times for sure. Great job Shane. We'll have to come and say hi 🌿💚🌿
Да уж просто вликолепний сад!!!!!
Seriously loads of plants I want from this garden and it’s making me really want to somehow add a stream to my garden.😂
Another nice garden. Thank you! Double nice! ❤🎉
Love the comedy !! Thanks Shane for sharing your amazing garden. Hard to believe its only a year old. Great specimen plants. George, appreciate you going out and about again to show us these magnificent gardens. Just love it
Excellent Video George, and what a garden. Truly beautiful, you can see the amount of work this has taken, just so worth it. I am sure this garden will inspire others. It has inspired me. Thankyou.
What a garden! Great video again George.
I'll definitely be pinching Shane's Musa Basjoo winter protection idea with the land drain pipes.
One of the best bits about being shanes friend has been seeing his posts on facebook, seeing these beautiful plants and how much work he puts in. The passion and the knowledge is so lovely. This video really shows it well! 🥰
Another stunning garden, and another great video. Like the banter as well. Great stuff, keep up the good work. Just learned how to comment on YouTube after all these years.🤪🌴
A great video!! Very entertaining and informative and with a stunning mix of colorful flowers and foliage with some real rare and exotic beauties. Amazing that Shane has established this super garden in only a handful of years in what is a high altitude, high rainfall garden which suffers with very significant cold in winter. Very inspirational!! Not only that but the ease of flow of conversation, the humor and gay repartee make this a must watch jungle garden video!!!
Wow that's a beautiful garden. George just a quick question. I've got a new tree fern it's been in the ground for 2 weeks but still no movement is that normal? Am I just being impatient? 😂
Hi George I was wondering do you use the same protection for a baby tree fern as the large ones thanks
Really impressive. Loved the tour. Plants are incredible. All that landscaping knowledge also about putting together the perfect stream and the framing it with all those great exotics. Fabulous tour. Cheers guys
Another great garden, lovely to see Shane using everyday plants to get the overall effect and boy does it work, and hard to believe it’s taken just a year to complete. Thanks for sharing. Cheers Paul.
Nobridge nurseries is absolutely amazing. I go each year to spend a fortune! And see the parrots!
A fellow Stokie! Ayup duck
Awesome garden 👏
Slightly off topic, but with all the mention of raising soil…
When mulching a bed and covering rhizomes such as cannas and gingers, as well as plants such as hostas which die back, are you not technically increasing the depth at which they sit in the soil, and therefore affecting their regrowth the next season?
Another fantastic Garden and a bit of banter. What more do you want to cheer your day up 👍
Very clever about planting petunias and geraniums in that first winter! Still think Shane should join you and Mark for a walk around of Mark's garden though! 😂 Right plant, right place/I got this plant for free/Gunbrella
Brilliant video. ❤
Loved watching this. We're building a Japanese garden in Stoke.