December garden in Orchidland

 

 

Its time for garden bloom day again, I haven’t participated in quite awhile due to recent travels and holiday gatherings with friends that have kept me occupied.

 

But, this morning was a clear and sunny day, a nice change from a cool rainy night seeing the Christmas parade in Kea’au town last evening.

 

 

After a month’s travel in Japan, I was greeted by large grass, junky castor bean plants and various weeds popping up in my new back yard garden bed almost full grown within a month’s timeframe.

 

The weeds below are already taller than my six foot height – things grow exceptionally quick here – especially the weeds that love the new garden beds below.

 

 

 

After clearing out one section of the garden, I can finally see the bones of the garden I planted the month before starting to appear again- its looking pretty good again.

 

In the jungle area behind, I was able to find a variety of my bromeliads hidden in the tall grasses. I only spotted them because of the bright yellow blooms from this beauty brom below peeking out through the thick grass.

 

 

The area around my water catchment tank is another area that needs to be weeded completely, here you see it crowded out with ferns, grasses and the ever present purple princess flower (no blooms in the photos)– tibouchina urvilleana – a real pest that reseeds everywhere.

 

 

 

The front yard is still in decent shape, even though I haven’t tended this part of the gardens in also because of the holidays. A beautiful spike from a group of bromeliads are at their third month of blooms now. My bright yellow croton adds more color and is one of my favorite yellows in garden.

 

 

 

Here’s a sweet bloom from one of my ti plants, they are pretty up close, but insignificant at a distance.

 

 

Not too many of my hibiscus flowers in bloom at this time of the year except for my stalwart yellow dazzler at my side gardens.

 

 

 

I think its time to start trimming the leggy impatiens, they are so easy to propagate here, especially this orange variety below.

 

 

This is the 3rd round of blooms from my white bauhinia orchid tree…yeah!

 

 

I have large swathes of pink flowers coming out from my medinilla magnifica, almost the size of miniature trees in my front yard.

 

 

More colorful impatiens, red ti and strobilanthes to add a full spectrum of color.

 

 

A last sweet bloom to great me this morning, one of my favorite purple hibiscus flowers.

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the tour, to visit other gardens around the world for bloom day, go visit

http://www.maydreamsgardens.com

Back Yard Center Island Progress

 

I’m loving this new center island berm in the back yard, its set in classic display and will be filled with an eclectic grouping of tropical plants  and succulents.

Below you see the urn has the white bromeliad, Alacanterea Oderata with a circle of red thin leaved dracaenas around the rim.

 

 

More progress is happening at a faster pace now, I’ve started planting the front portion by the cherub below.

 

 

Here’s a better shot of the lower grassy area with the jungle in the background that is being reclaimed.

 

 

In the front section with the fish fountain, I’ve planted an interesting collection of echeverias, black mondo grass, purple heart and mini aechmea starlight along with two yellow aechmea blanchetiana as acccents.

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve completed the stone surround and have filled it with crushed lava rocks, now the plantings around the sides and back of the bed are starting to take place. I’m planting a variety of different bromeliads and minis around the lions below.

 

The mini red bromeliads called neoregelia’Scarlet Charlotte’ adds a nice contrast to the variegated ‘Wee Willy’, a rose colored aechmea and behind the lions are variegated white/green neoregelia sp.

 

 

The other side with a portion of the back area which is still in progress, I haven’t decided what to put in the back outside of these variegated white and green bromeliads, I’m looking for some interesting texture like dyckias which I think will work well but I have to do some nursery shopping, or hopefully visit a friend’s garden for some freebies.

 

 

Well that’s taking place very nicely in the lower garden. Now take a look below and see what else is waiting for me in the back yard.  I’m sure it will be a real long work in progress even at this stage were most of the jungle crowded with thick vines, junky trees and shrubs have already been weed whacked and partially taken out. The area that used to be a vegetable garden is finally coming back but I’m not really sure what will be in this space because there is no access to watering from a hose to this area and I’m not about to carry water in buckets to the growing plants here. What do you think, any suggestions for this space?

 

 

Okay time to get outside and pull more vines and weeds from this area, it’s a dirty job and I’ve got a lot of weeds to get rid off. Stay tuned for more updates.

A Major Back Yard Re-do

Too many projects going on with the various garden areas around my home lately. I’m now tackling some major work and new beds in the back yard which have been so neglected due to many non-gardening related activities. But, spring time has given me a new incentive to make some big and dramatic changes to the back yard.

Most of the back yard towards the right side was a neglected vegetable garden, becoming a jungle area again. Reclaiming this from all the deeply rooted vines, junk trees and shrubs is  going to be a major undertaking that I’ll be tacking on later.

The grass area is large and divided into an upper and lower section. I’m planning an elevated center bed with a combination of aged statuary mixed in with colorful bromeliads, succulents and other tropical adornments.

These cement lions below along with some other statuary will be placed into the new island in progress.





After a few days of playing around and moving rocks, the center island bed is coming into place with a classic urn place on top of a lava rock base and filled with crushed lava rocks.








After taking massive breaks from moving the heavy rocks into place, the outer walls are coming into a floral patterned bed.








I decide to place a tall white leaved bromeliad on top of the urn as an accent to the black lava rocks so it would look dramatic…what do you think, does it work?







Here’s a close up detail of the island with the statuary in place.






I think its falling into place pretty well, don’t you agree?  I can’t wait to start putting in all the beautiful plants next. Stay tuned for the fun part coming up in the next post.

April Garden Bloom Day

(Late afternoon light my newly transplanted vireya in the new side garden)



It’s amazing that spring is already here, how quickly the season changes, even here in Hawaii where we practically have two seasons, wet and dry.
Come and take a walk with me around my garden this morning, there’s a lot of beautiful blooms to greet us on our tour and I want to show you some more of the areas that I’m starting to work on and get your opinion.






These are the beds from the front door over looking the roadway and forest in Orchidland.  The plants in this bed is tightly packed in with impatiens, geraniums, ti, dracaena, ferns, crotons, vireyas, fuschia and strobilanthes.






A detailed shot of corner portion of the front bed with various plantings.






On the other side of the front beds is this hibiscus ‘Yoda’. Something has been eating the leaves so I have quickly mixed up a water and hot pepper spray on the leaves along with the ti plants that have also been getting big holes in random spots. I’m sure our hot Hawaiian peppers will stop these predators from munching on more delicate leaves.





Below is a newly created bed in the front corner lined with these huge lava rocks I rolled into place since they were just to heavy to carry. A large six foot Medinilla Magnifica (left) is setting of some flower buds and will be blooming soon. In this bed are newly planted maroon colored ti, yellow ribbed croton, black magic taro, red dracaenas, fancy coleus and hot pink fuschias.




Here’s a detailed shot below.




Another front garden jewel, say hello to hibiscus ‘Starfish Pie’.




In a small front bed, one of my small tillandsia with its bright red plume sits next to some variegated shapes of crotons and miniature bromeliads.






The side garden re-do is starting to take shape, this variegated bamboo, Phyllostachys edulis, was planted a month ago and is starting to fit in nicely and the plants behind are growing and hopefully form a nice barrier to the next door neighbor.





Behind the bamboo is a beautiful vireya shrub that’s also taking to the new area and has started to bloom with these hot pink flowers with orange throats, I’m so glad things are finally taking shape in this area that was totally neglected and used for storage.





In the other shady side garden, its wild and filled with different ferns so I never know what will be coming up from this jungle. Here a pink vireya is greeting us this morning.





Beautiful ‘Mountain Air’ is greeting us again this morning, with its soft lavender blooms.




I have this beautiful green pot that’s been empty for the past year, I finally got around to creating an interesting combination to complement a new back yard bed below. Inside is a mixture of black mondo grass, red  and variegated red/green dracaena, black ti, fuschia, strobilanthes and a large phormium.






Below are some hot pink and almost black hibiscus in the back yard, I’ve been doing a lot of work recently in the back yard and will post the progress of the area in a future post.








I enjoyed our walk this morning hoped you saw a different part of my world today that inspires, thanks for joining me.


To visit other garden tours this morning go to http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/

A Garden Bloom Day Tour in Orchidland

Its been awhile since I’ve done a garden tour for garden bloom day. Maybe, its because of all the new garden projects happening at the same time. I’m currently  re-working and creating new areas in the front, side, and back garden, oh and yes even the ‘ jungle area ‘.


Needless to say, I’m not ready to show you the mess being created outside of the work I’ve been doing on the side garden if anyone has followed the progress for that inspiration.





It’s a little too much trying to work on all these areas by myself. But initially when I get in the mood, I have to tap into this energy immediately or else it gets diverted to many other outside interests. That can easily occur in Hawaii when there are so many distractions to do other things than spending time weeding and mowing the lawn.

A sweet vignette with my ceramic cocqui frog.



Let me show you some of the more presentable parts of the garden and flowers in bloom this March in Orchidland.



A small Rock berm in the front yard with tilsandia, bromeliads, crotons, strobilanthes and dracaenas.






The front garden has been getting a major re-do, below are the areas being reworked.
A front yard view from the house with new berms and variegated pandanus and ohia trees in the background.






Bedding plants along the front walk way to the house and flowers in the next few pictures.








Geraniums, ti, crotons, vireya, dracaena, ferns, and various impatiens line the front beds.







One of my favorite hibiscus blooms, its so large its drooping, say hello to hibiscus ‘Mountain Air’























I’m starting to like the hot pinks and purples in the front garden against my yellow house.

















Anthuriums are always blooming and I never have to do anything to them.
















The Back yard is getting a major re-do but I’ll just show you a small area on the right side that is somewhat presentable. Last year, it was basically jungle and is being brought back into view able range from the house.





The larger hibiscus to the right of the mosaic has these beautiful candy cane-like flowers below.






A good portion of the back, back area and the jungle are filled with these pretty pink ground covers, but beware, they can really climb up a shrub or tree and cover them completely in no time!




Well that’s a small look at the new things happening on my garden, thanks for coming to visit and hope you enjoyed the tour.


To visit other gardens around the world on bloom today go to http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/