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Tropicalesque Gardens

Picture time- lets see your tropical look...

19 years ago

I did mine on the 'cheap' this season. Almost all the tropicals I wintered over in the garage in a dormant state. I purchased annuals early and then took starts from them to make more plants. I also started several type of annuals from seeds. It's so packed in some of the beds you can't even walk in them.

Front walkway-

View of the bed-

Driveway-

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Comments (12)

Datdog
Original Author
19 years ago
The back of my house is a little harder to plant but I manage.
This area gets about two hours of direct sun

I use lots of potted plants back here...
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To top it all off I have a sea monster looking after it all.
jiggreen
19 years ago
wow, that is lovely!!! thanks for sharing the pics..you are inspiring me to try to bring a little tropical flair to my pennsylvania gardens next year!
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Let me hear your stories and see your pictures!
Q
Comments (20)
Morning, Purple & Marquest. Okay, a third plant to consider.. ") Btw, I've never heard of Zephyranthes. Heck, can't even pronounce it. lol. Okay, just Googled, and by gosh, I think you're right. Purp, yes, the plant has thin, strap-like leaves. Gotta check Zeph's care now, and change the name on my photo pages. Thank you gals... Marquest, your Amy is definately an original..before culivars came about??? You can tell its old by the flower. Different than any around today. Same applies to ancient Christmas Cactus..Ever seen the flowers? Grimes..Many here on GW use PB. My pics are on Flickr, so I can't help, but I'm certain someone will explain how to download so you can post pics....especially since you started this thread. lol. SJ...WOW, now thats some tree AND green house!!! Wish mine was as large as yours. My dinky 8x12 looks like a closet compared to yours. lol. Filled w/mealy..How terrible!!! I'm against chemical insecticides, but if you want to rid those awful pests, perhaps you should use systemic Bayer. Many swear it kills mealy and other insects. Your Ficus is too beautiful to have mealy. When did you notice mealybug? Are you not worried your other plants, 'which are gorgeous,' will catch mealy? I've tossed a good number of plans when I couldn't rid mealy..I didn't use Bayer or any other chemicals... Sprayed and wiped with Rubbing Alcohol, but it didn't work. Love your palms..WOW! Impressive. Toni
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Pet Photo Time! Let's see your garden buddies!
Q
Comments (71)
Lynn - the dogs love him (Shelties seem totally intrigued by cats), GrayC ignores him, and Jack can't stop watching him. No mad playing yet but I expect it to happen quickly. He and Jack will be buddies, I'm sure. The new guy is settled in enough so that he's running, dashing, skittering and all the other adorable stuff that kittens do. He's been dragging even the dog's big stuffed toys around, growing to himself over the stuggle. I think that once he is allowed out in the screen room, the lizard population will plummet. I predict him to be a little killer so I'll have to keep him in and away from the birds! We found him at www.1-800-save-a-pet.com - a rescue organization that operates all over the US. You put in your zip code to find animals listed near you, then contact the individual rescue place. It's worth some computer time just to check them out. I had a Siamese as a child so I was sort of looking for one. When I saw this Siamese mix with the Big Foot I couldn't resist. I drove up to Jacksonville to get him! If anyone is interested, he has an identical brother and a crazy little sister who is tabby striped in gray and peach. I've never seen a cat with her coloring before and she's just beautiful. Both of the siblings have the toes too. Many of the cats in Key West are polydactyl and are referred to as Hemingway cats . (If he were female, Polly Dactyl would be a great name. Maybe Paulie Dactyl???) They are common enough so that you can even do a search on that save-a-pet site for Hemingway/Polydactyl cats. There was a fluffy black poly cutie listed in Orlando but the foster people never responded to my email about that one. Kate For a picture of Peaches (the sister): Peaches the 6-toed peach/gray tabby/Siamese
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post your bird picture let see how many we can get
Q
Comments (144)
The hawk in Menifee, CA can only be a Cooper's Hawk but it is an oddly-colored one. Something going on with the feathers, such as a heavy molt or missing feathers for some other reason. If you have other photos please post.
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LOOKING for: Oh my Lord.. Please let someone see this in time!!
Q
Comments (4)
This is from oneforthetable.com: MamaÂs Famous Sweet Potato Casserole Bake 8 large sweet potatoes in the oven for one hour at 350 degrees. Be sure to lather the skins in olive oil before baking so the skins will slip right off. Let the potatoes cool then peel the skins and mash the potatoes in a big bowl. In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 2 cups of evaporated milk and 3 eggs. Add 1 cup of melted butter. Mix all the ingredients with a mixer until you have a smooth liquid texture. Pour the liquid mix over the mashed potatoes. Add raisins as desired. Stir. Pour your masterpiece into a buttered casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes or until itÂs firm in the middle. Remove from oven. Add an entire bag of miniature marshmallows on top of the casserole. Put the casserole back in the oven to brown the marshmallows. Be very careful not to burn the marshmallows. Remove form oven and enjoy immediately. Note: If you are taking this dish to someoneÂs house do not do the marshmallows at home. Instead, add them at the last minute and brown them in their oven right before serving.
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rusty_blackhaw
19 years ago
datdog, congratulations on your beautiful plantings.
Is that Canna 'Australia' in the second picture (and what's the large-leafed plant at left)? And if you could supply the name of the pink Brugmansia...

Here's a sampling of my subtropical-overtoned bed, now reaching peak.

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Here is a link that might be useful: The Victor/Victorian Garden '04
mich_in_zonal_denial
19 years ago
drop dead gorgeous dahhhhhlings !
Datdog
Original Author
19 years ago
Eric your bed is wonderful. Very tropical... I'll check on the canna name for you. The large leaf plant is a grocery store taro, it's sold in the produce section. The pink brugmansia is Kyle's Pink it's been a great bloomer this season. If you'd like some brug cuttings come fall I'd be happy to send you some.
Thanks Michelle wish I had your zone to do it year round.
rusty_blackhaw
19 years ago
mich gets some credit (or blame, depending on your point of view re design) for sharing a division of Canna 'Tropicanna' with me (seen at far right in the above photo). I broke down and bought a couple additional pots of it as well to make a fair-sized grouping. The other cannas in the bed this year are 'Wyoming', 'Pretoria', 'The President' and 'Red King Humbert' - not unusual hybrids, but I'm enjoying all of them.

I apppreciate the brug cutting offer. I don't have that one (it's a beauty), but 'Betty Marshall' has already been in flower in the same bed and a couple other varieties are currently in bud.
sujiwan_gw 6b MD/PA
19 years ago
Wow! Those pics are so inspiring!
Datdog-2 questions:
Are you putting your brugmansias directly in the ground in NJ and then digging them up for the winter?
For perspective purposes-how much space are you utilizing for your gardens (How big is the yard you are working in?
daveandlaura
19 years ago
Wow!!! Those yards look great!!!

I'm new to plants and tropicalesque as of this year and I'm pretty proud of my plants. But I've got no landscaping whatsoever. Any pics I put up would be "scrawny and weak" compared to Datdog's and Eric's. Hopefully next year . . .

Thanks for sharing!
JohnnieB
19 years ago
Here's a link to a photo I took just a few days ago. The tropicals LOVE all the rain we've been getting. (Click on "back to album" to see more shots of my gardens.)

Here is a link that might be useful:
michaelzz
19 years ago
WELCOME TO CT !!!

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michaelzz
19 years ago
let's try again !!!

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arpy
19 years ago
I'd like to post a photo of my tropical garden. I don't see a spot to insert the link to my photo. Help?

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