"Jungle Plants"

[Chrispy]

I recently bought a new house which has an oasis pool in the backyard. (the house was empty for a while and many of the plants died because of a lack of watering). I need ideas for what types of plants I should plant around the pool to give it a sort of "jungle look"

I live in Atlanta,GA which doesn't go far below below freezing (if it ever does), and gets rather hot in the summer. Most of the areas that need to be planted are in the shade, although there are some that have some shade as well as some direct sunlight. Some of the plants that are currently planted are ferns and cast iron plants.

I was thinking of possibly planting some bamboo, but I've heard that it is considered a "pest" in Georgia and will spread like crazy....Is this true?

I also wanted to plant some palms, are there any types that can survive in part sun?

All suggestions and advice is welcome! Thanks in advance for your tips

[Jess]

Hi Chrispy.

I have Trachycarpus fortunei growing in my garden and this is fine for semi-shade. It has tolerated down to -8C but was about 4 years old by then. They need some winter protection whilst small.

Here is a link to some others but I have no experience of growing these.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles1105/hardypalms.asp
I also grow a Bamboo called Fargesia nitida. Grows to about 11ft and stays in a neat clump. To get the "jungly" look you could also try ornamental Rheums and Rodgersias. They have large leaves and some varieties have red/purple leaves that look quite exotic. last but not least Angelica. Hardy and grows to about 6ft. There is a purple flowering form called gigas. This is a biennial that will self seed quite readily and grows in shade.

[Chrispy]

Thanks for the tips jess. :)

I'll check out those plants to see what I like (and what isn't too hard to grow)

[AO]

If by jungle you include tropical, then I have two plants that may help. First is the pygmy date palm which are small slow growing palm trees that may be able to be brought inside during the winter, and dracaenas which are also slow growing and could be brought in for the winter. Both are palm tree type plants and dracaena's, I know are not hard to care for since they can survive droughts. Google the plants to find out more.