Whether it is a stick of rock, a straw donkey or a bottle of plonk, I always like to bring a souvenir back from a holiday to remind me of the stunning views and sun-soaked days I enjoyed by the pool.

But it is not just sweets and handicrafts I have picked up on holiday.

Travel has inspired styling ideas for my work too. I will never forget being totally smitten when I spotted a striking architectural agave tequilana for the first time during an excursion to a tequila factory in Mexico.

That same feeling of wonder still washes over me when I see agaves in the UK.

I am designing an exotic garden at the moment and I have been struck by the seemingly abundant benefits this type of gardening offers us, living in a cold climate.

Exotic plants provide a sense of escapism in a garden, mentally transporting us to a lush jungle, devoid of traffic and the daily grind.

Popularised by the Victorians, who packed their new glasshouses with tender specimens from foreign shores, people very often misappropriate tropical plants as being difficult and overlook them when selecting plants for their garden.

However, exotic garden plants require far less primping and preening than more traditional garden stalwarts.

They need little or no pruning and their large leaves mean they are great at suppressing weeds.

There is also a myriad of exotics, such as trachycarpus fortunei and phormium tenax, that are both evergreen – giving year-round interest.

Surrey Comet:

Trachycarpus fortunei. Picture: Tropical Britain

These can usually tough out a British winter in the south-east.

So next time you consider revamping your planting, why not take a walk on the wild side and invite that holiday feeling into your garden?

l Georgina Chahed is a garden designer and the owner of Touch Landscapes. Visit touchlandscapes.com.