Hello and welcome back to Exotic Gardening with Yorkshire Kris 🌿 I hope everyone has enjoyed a peaceful and relaxing Christmas break. We’re now in that lovely “betwixtmas” period between Christmas and New Year, and I thought it was the perfect time to take a gentle walk around the garden, reflect on what we achieved in 2025, and look ahead to what’s coming in 2026. Despite it being the depths of winter, it’s been remarkably mild – and the garden is responding in the most une

By Yorkshire Kris – Exotic Gardening Every autumn, I take time to check in on one of my favorite long-term garden experiments — my row of Trachycarpus palm trees , all planted more than ten years ago  along the south-facing fence line of my garden. This lineup includes nearly every Trachycarpus species you can think of, from wagnerianus  and fortunei  to the rarer oreophilus  and geminisectus . This year’s report brings both successes and a bit of sadness , as one of the spec

🌿 Welcome to Exotic Gardening Weekly Hi, I’m Kris— and welcome back to Exotic Gardening Weekly ! If you’ve recently bought a red banana  ( Ensete ventricosum , also known as the Ethiopian or Abyssinian banana*), you’re probably wondering what to do with it once the weather turns cold. These stunning tropical plants create a bold statement in any garden, but they’re not frost-hardy , so they’ll need protection through the winter months. In this guide, we’ll go step-by-step t

It’s that time of year again — mid-October — and the garden is starting to wind down. The days are shorter, the nights are colder, and I know it’s time to start thinking about overwintering my tropical and exotic plants . This post (and video) walks you through my full overwintering regime for the 2025–2026 season , step by step — from lifting tender plants to protecting hardy exotics. Whether you grow bananas, cannas, or palms, this guide will help you protect your plants t