Ginger is well known for use in the kitchen, but many home gardeners are unaware of the huge variety of ornamental ginger plants that can be used in the garden. These plants are a ‘must have’ in your landscape, as they provide a lush textural contrast and flower prolifically, with little or no fuss.
A recent walk around the Brisbane Botanic Gardens showed that their design team have extensively utilised these plant varieties to create a theme through the gardens. Large borders of these hardy species are evident, with swathes of Alpinia (shell ginger), Costus (spiral ginger ,pictured below), Hedychium (red ginger), and Zingiber spectabile (bee hive ginger), providing a striking contrast against the beautiful sub-tropical specimen trees.
Incorporate Ginger plants into your garden design
Our garden team loves to use ornamental gingers in residential and commercial designs, because they are so pest and disease resistant and can survive with little care. Pictured below, is a design we completed last year, with a clump of large shiny leaved Costus, in the foreground, providing striking texture and floral interest, contrasting with Heliconias and Murrayas, in the background, to form a striking composition.
Transforming gardens utilize gingers in many planting themes as they provide a great screen for a boundary, with the bonus of adding depth, texture and colour. The garden, (pictured above), adjoins a long boardwalk and provides a perfumed promenade to the main house, a true garden oasis.
Growing conditions and care
Ginger plants love moist, free draining soil, with plenty of fertiliser, compost and organic fertiliser at planting, to maximize their health and vigour. To maintain their growth habit, a regular maintenance regime of de-heading, dead leave and stem removal and regular foliar feeding in the summer, will keep them looking great all year round.
Try some of these fabulous plants, you won’t be disappointed.