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.

Bromeliad Envy

 

While I’m working on my new center island project in the back yard, I visited a bromeliad grower/collector’s garden so I can get inspired and maybe purchase something that would add a nice accent to the various plantings I had in mind for this new bed.

 

 

Now this is not just a bromeliad garden, its one of the most unusual and exotic varieties carried by this grower/exporter. He has an extensive collection that any avid collector would drool over.

 

Needless to say, I was in awe of all the amazing specimens not to mention at a lost for the correct names that he was mentioning left and right and totally not registering in my brain. All I can say was this was an amazing collection that kept me oooohing and aaaaahing at every corner of his garden.

 

 

This one had me at hello, its my first purchase and the only one he had, say hello to my new friend which the grower grew from seed and is now about a foot in girth, there was no identification of this species available unfortunately.

 

The grower had some great varieties of Tillandsias to see, this one was over a foot large which I thought was huge for these plants and the color was an intense orange, of course it wasn’t for sale.

 

 

This gorgeous white growing on a coconut tree was not for sell either :(

 

 

He even stuck a lot of the tillandsias in the ixora bushes which I thought was original.

 

 

 

Well hello you hot fuschia beauty, your stunning – wanna live in my garden?

 

And you are just waaaaay over the top…..I have to just take you home with me now!

 

 

 

The sculptural details on this one was just sublime….

 

 

 

The green, red and yellow of this guzmania just stopped me on my walk because it was in a dark shady green area, but it just popped!

 

 

 

 

This grower breeds unusual varieties like this huge purple aechmea, this specimen was over four feet in its width – gigantic!

 

 

I loved this plant, I’m not sure what it is, maybe some type of caladium? I thought the leaves were huge and so colorful with their black veins contrasting with an orange red interior.

 

 

 

I had to take a picture of this bloom, it was just beckoning me to come over and say hello.

 

Well the friend that came with me, nabbed this gorgeous neoregalia beauty first….lets just say I was not happy and we didn’t talk on the car ride back!

 

 

But I found another neoregalia that looked just as stunning, wouldn’t you agree?

 

 

 

Here’s a last photo of a corner of his beautiful garden…wasn’t this just a fun tour? It really felt like being a kid in the candy store and finding something exciting….

 

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/

The Conservatory of Flowers

During the holiday, when I’m visiting family in San Francisco, I always make it a habit to drop by the Conservatory of Flowers at Golden Gate park to see the seasonal displays and some of my favorite sections of the complex like the grand entry pavilion with its amazing glass entry (and it’s a nice toasty 80 degrees indoors)






I love seeing the new plantings that they change regularly. I couldn’t find a name plate for this gorgeous specimen – I’m guessing it might be some type of calathea or player plants native to the tropical Americas. Isn't the flower just dazzling, the scent is lightly flowered like a ginger.







Above, I spot the huge inflorescence from the bromeliad below is quite spectacular. I’m not familiar with this bromeliad, but it was quite a show-stopper.







Another exotic bloom, I could not locate the name plate for. I’m assuming it’s the spadix of an anthurium plant which I couldn’t even see in the thick jungle above






I love this fountain and the plants surrounding this huge stone pot. The vignettes of beautiful ferns, moss, little pink tillandsias (another guess), orchids and other miniature tropicals.







Its cymbidium season and the conservatory was filled with all different colors of my favorite orchids. Here, huge sprays of giant yellow spikes create a beautiful vignette in a quiet corner.












I enjoyed visiting and staying warm inside instead of being outdoors where it’s a brisk 39 degrees and cold grey skies. Its always nice to get a slice of paradise then the weather outside is the opposite.  What do you think, wasn’t this a great visit to the conservatory on such a cold day in the park?