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Florida Gardening

Thought I'd share some pics

13 years ago

I always enjoy when my fellow GWers share pics of their gardens, so thought I'd shoot over some of the things that make me smile in my yard.

Made this from a coconut that was lying around the yard

this is a bougainvillea i am going to try and train as a bonsai

flapjack showing new growth, wondering if i should keep it out of the sun so the whole thing stays green

borneo giant, not yet a giant

desert rose blooming like crazy, not sure if its because i recently changed the pot

rain barrel and recently planted plumeria, started from a cutting. I hope it likes the area. It gets morning and early afternoon sun

staghorn showing new growth in the upper left corner. An area i thought had died and gone away forever

i recently removed all the aralias surrounding the perimeter and replaced with native clusia. what i didnt realize was that this bougainvillea was being supported by those aralias. Anyone want to give me sage advice on how to prune this thing? I would love to keep it as it looks mature, but the structure right now doesnt make sense

this is an avocado that started from seed on its own. If anyone is in Miami and would like to have it, please let me know. I have nowhere to put it.

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Comments (8)

cindygardens
13 years ago
Pretty Garden,I like the coconut planter and your Desert Rose is beautiful,thank you for sharing.Cindy
SusieQsie_Fla
13 years ago
Hi cxjr
Those are such interesting plants you have there! The brom-in-a-coconut might be the start of a cool new fad. A bunch of them grouped together would look great on the deck of a pool where you could view them from down in the water.

I wish I could see more of the bouganvillea where the aralias have left it stranded. Would it break the trunk of you stood it up and staked it to something sturdy? I love the gnarly bare trunk and it seems like growing a bouganvillea "tree" might enable you to keep it and emphasize its structure. I recently pruned an old, twisted giant purple that looked like it would soon engulf a little church. I ended up with several large trunks that needed to be propped with 2x4s to stand upright, and I think once it gets its strength to hold itself in that position and I can remove the supports, it will create a place we can walk under, with the blooming branches arching above. I saw a bouganvillea grown as a tree in Boca Grande 20 years ago and have wanted to try it myself.

I hope you'll keep us posted as to what you do, and let us see your progress on the one you are bonsai-ing.

Oh, one more thing . . . . I suspect your cute little plumeria cutting will soon outgrow its space. I am amazed at how fast they grow and how big they can get. What color is yours?

Thanks for all the great pictures . . . and keep up the good work.

Susie
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petrushka: Thanks! I installed it and maintain it by myself to save $- I planted most of this summer 2012. It was a lot of work initially digging out the grass for the planting beds and getting all the plants in the ground. The dirt in my yard ended up being pretty decent- mostly loose, sandy loam- so I got really lucky with that. Maintaining it isn't too bad, but I enjoy it haha. I probably spend an average of 30 mins-1hr a day working in the yard. I tried a new fertilizer this year that I read about on this forum- Milorganite. It is a high nitrogen lawn fertilizer and I had AWESOME results with it. My elephant ears got way bigger than they ever have, so did my cannas (without sacrificing blooms). Be careful if you have dogs though, mine always try to eat it- It isn't toxic but will definitely make them vomit. When we are short on rain it does take me a while to water, but soaker hoses really help out with that. About 75% of the plants stay in the ground over the winter with just a few inches to a foot of extra mulch on top- incl all the cannas, most of the elephant ears, and about half of the bananas. Both bird of paradises and the other true tropicals ("houseplants") live in my spare bedroom over the winter which has 1 west facing window. I keep them on the dry side- they don't really grow over the winter and some look rough come spring but they bounce back quickly. A few are stored dormant/partially dormant either bare root or potted in the garage with 1 east facing window and stays about 45-50 degrees, incl hibiscus, some bananas (maurelii, zebrina, siam ruby), and some elephant ears (black magic, borneo giant, odora). If you have a question about overwintering a specific variety let me know and I can share what has worked for me! I know everyone has different methods.
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User
13 years ago
love the staghorn...love the pictures....keep them coming.
irma_stpete_10a
13 years ago
Your little piggies made my morning!
cxjr25
Original Author
13 years ago
As an update, the plumeria is loving the spot and glad to be out of the pot.

Check out the blooms.
mocropot
13 years ago
Great pictures! I like the coconut planter, so pretty and your desert rose and plumeria. I just got several cuttings myself and will try to root. Thank you for sharing
katkin_gw
13 years ago
Love the photo's. :o)
Randy Ritchie
13 years ago
Great photos! Ditto on the little piggies and their cheerful presence in the garden. I'll be watching the bougie's progress; more photos over time, please. And your plumie looks so pretty. I accidentally snapped off a young shoot of my young bridal veil plumie, and am trying to root it in a pot...hoping...

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