Claire Whitehouse: Wish You Were Here?

The elephant's ear plant is terrific, lush, jungly bedding plant for growing outside over summer with other large-leaved plants like cannas and Trachycarpus fortunei. When mature it sends up a large, shield-like leaf. Stand in a sheltered spot so that the leaves don't get flayed by strong winds. Dig up in early autumn and repot, and keep in a conservatory at about 18c, giving just the occasional drink. Increase watering as growth begins next spring, and plant out in summer. Don't leave outside during winter in the UK.

Flamingo flower is a spectacular South American epiphytic plant (epiphytes grow on other plants, but they are otherwise independent and not parasitic), which produces dark green, glossy leaves about 23cm long. There's a near continuous show of bright red spathes with yellow spadices. Fix the plant to a piece of dead branch, surround the roots with sphagnum moss, and tie everything together with nylon fishing line, then hang from the ceiling. Grow in a warm, humid greenhouse or conservatory, mimicking the conditions in a rainforest. Don't let the moss dry out, and don't let the temperature drop below 16c.

The South American bougainvillea needs to be grown in a heated conservatory border or large 30cm pot, where the restricted root space means it will not hit the 8m mark which it will in ideal conditions. Flamboyant and fun, it has a rich covering of purple-magenta papery bracts (the real flowers are tucked away inside) from summer to autumn. When pruning, cut back the side shoots leaving three to four buds. Provide a high nitrogen feed when it comes into growth, followed by a high potash feed when the buds appear. Keep just moist in winter.

The Chinese hibiscus is a tropical shrub that needs to be kept in a conservatory pot or bed, and grown in bright, filtered light. The flowers range from crimson to yellow, orange or white, but the fact that they are short-lived isn't a problem. New ones keep appearing, giving a long flowering season, and they are nicely set off by the shiny, dark green leaves. If the buds fall, the roots are too dry, or the plant needs a regular, weak feed or the temperature has suddenly dropped. If kept at 13C, it should keep flowering all year.

Technically a South African shrub, it's typically treated as a climber and is best grown against a conservatory wall. The sky blue flowers (though there is a white version) appear at the ends of the whippy new growth, and last from summer to autumn. If it gets out of control, prune hard in spring and it'll send up a mass of new growth. It can be grown as an annual outside, but cut down and bring into a frost-free greenhouse over winter for planting out next spring. It has been given the Award of Garden Merit by the RHS.