The Hot, the Loud, and the Proud #5

Show us your tropicals and exotics, your hot mediterranean colors and wild combinations, amazing discoveries and unusual variations. Or how about something exciting you just saw, a crazy garden,  amazing garden art or design, an inspiring visit or hike?

This meme is open to all (you do not have to live in an exotic location to participate)  and will be on the last day of each month…so mark your calendars and lets do something fun on the hot, the loud and the proud meme. I’ll have the link available early, east coast time (USA) to catch you early birds and even earlier for those of you in other countries.

Its our monthly hot meme and for August I’m taking you on a tour of my friend, Carol’s beautiful garden here in Orchidland, Hawaii.  This is truly an amazing tropical paradise filled with many  tropicals flora and exotics. Instead of various outdoor rooms focusing on specific plant genera like many of the collectors here on the island, Carol’s garden is made up of long walkways with large beds on both sides, the walkways snake throughout the various parts of this magical garden filled with color, texture, variegated forms, unusual shapes and exotic scents.

They are quite the collectors, amassing an array of unusual and rare palms, bromeliads,  bamboo,  hoyas, orchids, unusual gingers and heliconiias and aromatic beauties that you discover at every corner.










At the front entry to the home is a colorful collection with different varieties of bromeliads. dracaenas, coleus, pothos, various variegated plants and a huge Medinilla magnifica that was setting up huge cascade of blooms.








I spotted this gorgeous combination of a ti plant, with a beautiful agave in the background and this euphorbia in the foreground. Carol is really into layering many shapes, colors and sizes into different garden vignettes.









Passing through this area, I spotted this beautiful alpinia that I asked Carol about since it is rare. I wish I didn’t lose that small note which identified this beauty. The picture below shows a nicer close up of its flower with some rain droplets jewels.













A very unassuming, yet stunning cattleya blooming between some rocks cast a beautiful morning glow and makes me pay attention and admire its beauty.









There are many shady areas along these paths created by various heliconias, bananas, and a huge travelers palm, in the background of this trail is a large stand of crotons that are the size of miniature trees.









This heliconia Caribaea Jacquinii grabs my attention right away and the different shades of green leaves add layers of green texture to this photograph.






These red sealing wax palms or Crytostachys lakka are extremely slow growing and therefore a very expensive acquisition.  Even plants that are in the ground like this can take decades to start showing the red culmed crowns that create its shocking coloration.





Here is a detail shot of another Medinilla Magnifica which is the size of a tree in her garden. So many cascades of these pink flowers cover the entire plant at this time of year.




Is this starting to become sensory overload? Well if so, we’ll continue this tour for another segment since there’s a lot more I would love to show you blooming in Carol’s garden. It is an amazing place and to think only her husband and herself maintain this large twelve acre parcel on their own.

I hope you enjoy this tour for our Hot, loud and proud meme. Come and view the other posts below from our other participants.
To link a post or to view on the Hot, the Loud and the Proud Meme, see the link below