G a r d e n s: Mangroves in Essex, Venus fly-traps in Liverpool, liana creepers in Penge. We exaggerate. But anything can thrive in an English garden, if you spoil it rotten. Penelope Hobhouse explains how

In Essex, Beth Chatto has created a garden where water-loving plants from around the world thrive. The shallow, gently flowing water is ideal for `emergents': irises, reeds and grasses that live on the nutrient-rich margins of lakes, ponds and streams, whose roots must be in water or waterlogged all year. The banks are home to `lush growers' which need heavy, retentive soil. True aquatics, such as water lilies, grow in the water itself. Lilium canadense from North America, finds an ideal habitat in woods, wood margins and moist meadow together in natural harmonies. They will only give a sustainable `performance', though, if they are given the sort of growing conditions they enjoy. Just by looking at a plant, it is often possible to make a very good guess at this. Grey-leaved plants generally come from countries with hot summers and will need well-drained soil; lush, thick-stemmed plants with large leaves come from wet regions, and they need moisture. Large, soft, exotic-shaped leaves which allow rain to run off will come from tropical regions and be too tender for most garden situations above a certain latitude or altitude.