Tropical Gardens: A jungle setting in your own backyard<\/p>\n
Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The beauty of tropical plants never loses its charms and it is
\namong the most popular concepts brought home to adorn residential
\ngardens.<\/p>\n
When adopted for gardens, the tropical concept offers low-
\nmaintenance natural attractiveness that highlights its wildness
\nand exoticness, all nicely blended on a piece of land.<\/p>\n
\"Tropical gardens have particular characteristics, including
\nthat they last for years, usually focus on leafy trees and
\nplants, require little pruning but still maintain their beautiful
\nshapes and less hassle for maintenance,\" said Budi \"Tuti\"
\nDarmastuti from landscaping contractor Tata Eksotik.<\/p>\n
\"However, like other plants, tropical plants require basic
\nmaintenance, like good watering twice a day, periodical feeding
\nand pesticide application and hoeing the earth near the roots to
\nmake the soil less compact,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The firm's director, Edwin Suryadi, explained that there were
\ndifferent kinds of tropical gardens but one of local favorites is
\nthe Balinese garden.<\/p>\n
He explained that such a tropical garden would not only be
\nsuitable for a Balinese-style terrace or house, but with careful
\nplanning, such a garden can also be harmonious with those of
\ndifferent designs.<\/p>\n
He said that elements of the garden were differentiated into
\n\"hard\" elements, including those that highlight an ethnic theme,
\nlike using statues, lamps, garden benches, pots, stones and other
\nnatural stones as materials for the wall, pathway or artificial
\npond.<\/p>\n
\"The use of these objects would bring the Bali theme in a
\ntropical garden concept. They usually are installed as the focal
\npoint in the garden,\" he said, adding that placement of these
\nobjects should be planned based on the garden and the position of
\nthe house.<\/p>\n
For optimum results, the terrace need to be furnished with
\nitems made with tropical materials like wood or rattan.<\/p>\n
For the \"soft\" elements, or the plants, Edwin added that
\nbasically all tropical plants can be used, but certain plants do
\nexert a stronger tropical effect than others.<\/p>\n
Among these plants are various kinds of palm trees, banana
\ntrees, ferns and bamboo for leafy plants. Lotuses, orchids and
\nsoka (or ixora), heliconia are perfect as flowering plants.<\/p>\n
Tuti explained that most tropical plants flourish in areas
\nthat receive direct or partial sunlights.<\/p>\n
For ground cover, especially for areas that receive partial
\nsunlight, instead of using grass that may not survive in such an
\narea, people can use natural stones.<\/p>\n
As usual, placement of the plants should be made based on
\ntheir height. The lowest plants (ground cover) can be planted on
\nthe outer area of the plot, followed with medium height shrubs
\nand then tall trees, like palm trees, at the back.<\/p>\n
Edwin stressed that each of the plants had a different
\nfunction, such as for ground cover, border and fence, and they
\ncan be strategically placed based on their functions for esthetic
\nreason as well.<\/p>\n
He said people can \"break the rules\" by installing medium
\nsized or tall trees in such a way as to better enhance the wild
\ntropical image.<\/p>\n
\"This trick is adopted to create an 'unpredictable' accent and
\nat the same time maintain the naturally wild character of a
\ntropical garden,\" he said.<\/p>\n
There is also other considerations for selecting the right
\nkinds of tropical plants, which is the character or condition of
\nthe household.<\/p>\n
For this purpose, there are some basic questions -- including
\nwhether they have a gardener or servant to take good care of the
\ngarden, if there are children and do the adult members of the
\nfamily like gardening -- can help define what kinds of plants are
\nsuitable or which placement is best for their gardens.<\/p>\n
\"For example, a prickly agave plant is not suitable for family
\nwith children. If they love the plant, they can install it in an
\ninaccessible area. Families without domestic helper need low
\nmaintenance garden,\" Tuti said.<\/p>\n
Apart from proper watering twice daily, other routine
\nmaintenance includes protecting the plants against pest attack by
\nusing pesticide, feeding the plants with manure every three
\nmonths and fertilizer every two weeks.<\/p>\n
\"To avoid harmful effects of pesticide, it is important to
\nread the label carefully and to provide nutrients and favorable
\nsoil condition for the plants. It is better to use manure and
\nfertilizer alternately,\" Tuti said.<\/p>",
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