Backyard revolutionaries

By Duncan Walker
BBC News Online Magazine

Fashion-conscious Brits are digging up the rose bushes to make space for exotic imported plants. What does it mean for the survival of the traditional garden?

Millions of Britons like nothing more than to potter about quietly in the garden, considering themselves part of an amateur army which keeps this land green and pleasant.

But this apparently sedate scene belies a quiet revolution which is changing the look of the traditional back yard - and the countryside which lies beyond it.

Increasingly fashion-conscious gardeners are shunning quaint old-time favourites such as roses, lavender and peonies in favour of exotic breeds including Punga tree-ferns from New Zealand, black and blue grasses and bamboo.

FASHION LEADERS I still love dicksonias, but I've gone off trachycarpus Diarmuid Gavin (Dicksonia = tree-fern, trachycarpus = Chinese windmill palm)

Inspired by ideas picked up on foreign holidays, garden makeover shows and the home improvement boom, they are prepared to put money into making changes. As a whole Britons spend more than £3bn a year on gardening.

But the enthusiasm for finding a new look comes at a price. Newly introduced plants can, for example, crossbreed with domestic species, take over woodland and infest ponds.

Low maintenance

"People are starting to do different things with their gardens," says designer Paul Southern of PS Gardens. "The vast majority of my clients are working and in their 20s and 30s and don't have a desire to be great plant people, but want an outside space."

As people are travelling more they're seeing things they like and coming back and saying 'oh, can I have that in my garden'? Paul Southern

He says the biggest changes are taking place in the south-east, where space is at a premium and people are particularly keen to plant low maintenance gardens. But the desire for change is taking root across the UK.

"As people are travelling more they're seeing things they like and coming back and saying 'oh, can I have that in my garden'?"

Mr Southern, who is among 11 exhibitors at this week's Urban Gardens exhibition in London, says the result has been the proliferation of "lots of foliage", ornamental grasses, and species like banana and olive trees, which would not normally have been grown in the UK.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society the UK has about 1,500 native species of plant, but there are close to 100,000 types actually being grown.

Will fashion bring an end to the traditional British garden?

The spread of exotic breeds, and the introduction of new ones, is likely to continue with neighbourhood garden centres following the lead set by the TV shows and big events.

For the first time this year the Chelsea Flower Show will have a Maori garden, which will showcase New Zealand's unique native plants including phormiums, hebes and the punga.

The tropical gardens of Cornwall's Eden Project are also playing a role, with visitors now able to buy seeds for plants they have seen, including Indian pokeweed, passion fruit, myrtle, liquorice and bat flower.

'Why worry?'

Wild plant charity Plantlife says the vast majority of the thousands of arrivals cause no trouble - but there are those which jump the garden fence and cause chaos in the UK countryside, as any gardener suffering from Japanese Knotweed will attest.

There's been a steady influx of ornamental exotics since the 1850s Royal Horticultural Society

Whether or not the plants now in fashion will cause trouble is yet to be seen - as it can take years for a species to emerge as a pest. But there are precedents which suggest they should be watched closely.

Among the aggressive alien species is the Spanish bluebell - an easy to grow version of its UK cousin which, according to Plantlife, is the country's favourite wildflower.

After being planted in vast quantities by gardeners the Spanish bluebell is starting to cross breed with the domestic plant, creating an entirely new variety.

"Some people may say 'why worry'?" says Plantlife biodiversity manager Andy Byfield. "But they are both beautiful things and it would be a great tragedy if we lost the British bluebell."

The fashion for aquatic plants has also caused trouble - with small shoots from species like New Zealand swamp weed and parrot's feather quickly growing into metre wide plants which clog up natural ponds and spread swiftly.

Millions has been spent trying to tackle these invaders, but they have taken a hold in England - affecting ecologically important ponds in areas including the New Forest - and they are now a growing problem in Scotland.

Other rogues include some species of berries and even the sycamore tree which, Plantlife says, is taking over woodlands because it is able to grow faster than domestic species.

'A box with borders'

But despite these fears, history shows it would be a bit late for the British to start worrying about the arrival of new plants.

"There's been a steady influx of ornamental exotics since the 1850s," says Matthew Wilson, curator of the Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Harlow Carr. "It's enriched rather than detracted from the garden."

Even roses were imported

Even roses, often thought of as the definition of an English garden, actually originated in China, while Lavender comes from the Mediterranean, he says.

Mr Wilson says the quintessential garden has constantly evolved, with the spread of kitchen gardens, the work of famous gardeners like Capability Brown and the Victorian and Edwardian building booms all playing important roles.

He says what is happening now is no different and the traditional garden will continue to change as people "take ideas from wherever and consider practicalities like money, kids and the dog".

And, Mr Wilson believes, the fact that people follow fashions is ultimately a good thing.

"It has shown people that a garden is a space which can be designed to meet their needs and they now know it does not just have to be a box with borders around the edges."

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Add your comments on this story, using the form below.

Bit ironic really - UK native plants have been widespread "pests" in New Zealand for years.
Toni Read, UK

In 1951 I left the UK and came to Panama to grow bananas for export and limes, avocado, water melons, pineapple, oranges and tangerines for home consumption. I tried to grow roses but failed miserably, and still miss the English rose, daffodils, crocs, violets etc. Grass is always greener!
Peter, Panama

This has been circulating for centuries - some are good (potato) and some are bad (Japanese Knotweed). If nothing is done to regulate the plantation of foreign flora then we are doomed. It is only a matter of time before a few Triffid seeds make it in...
Stuart F, UK