Successful Planting of Our Natives in UK Gardens

A selection of New Zealand plants ideal for UK gardens feature in a Guardian picture gallery this week. “If you squint a bit, parts of the New Zealand landscape can look familiar to the British eye. However, on closer inspection it becomes clear that any resemblance to a stretched-out Scotland is only superficial. There are ferns taller than a double-decker bus and grassy perennials with leaves that are tipped with ferocious spines. Whilst you may be wary about welcoming something like the spiny aciphyllas into the garden, there are many other native New Zealand plants that are well worth growing in the UK. Some of them, like Phormium tenax and Anemanthele lessoniana, are already a relatively common sight in UK gardens. Silver spear (pictured) (Astelia chathamica – also sold as Astelia chathamica ‘Silver Spear’). The leaves have a silvery sheen to them so it’s surprising to find that they like partial shade and not the full sun that you might expect. It makes bold, handsome clumps that look like a small phormium.”