What a surprise to see this thread come back up! And what a shock to see my summer garden, from the present moment of the autumnal decline of November. I still have that poem taped to the refrigerator door. Bart, I quit CdG some years ago and have an impression that it's not very active these days. I got quite tired of certain aspects of it toward the end. And I've lost sight of the people I met through the forum, keeping in touch only with a couple of gardeners I met through a different channel. This thread reflects a very rare moment of sociability: I too find relating to others difficult. I garden these days almost entirely in a human vacuum, not liking it much, but perhaps I've reached nadir and a period of more contacts is approaching. Thanks for the invitation, I'll keep it in mind, and definitely do come pay us a visit when you can: it will be interesting to swap notes as well as plants. By the way, I don't know with any precision where you live. We're in the province of Piacenza, comune of Lugagnano Val d'Arda, about half an hour from Fiorenzuola Val d'Arda, which is on the main rail/highway line going from Parma to the city of Piacenza. My pot ghetto reached its lowest level a week or two ago, then began to swell again: cuttings of three kinds of phlomis, double mock orange, Salvia 'Icterina', perovskia, gaura, Clematis integrifolia, some experimental sour cherry cuttings, added to the winter-blooming shrub honeysuckle, single kerria, etc. etc. that were already there. And naturally the propagation beds are once more in expansion. This frantic activity will continue until the garden is more or less completely planted. And believe me, you're not the only one who loses tags: I have far too many unidentified roses, in spite of strenuous efforts to keep them labeled. Bad weather is on the way: the forecast is for snow for Saturday night and freezing temperatures to follow. I need to transfer some of the pot ghetto to the propagating beds, bring out the old sheets to cover those that remain, and get new plastic sheeting to set up the winter cold greenhouse for the succulents; the air plants and clivia must finally come indoors. Summer has definitely gone, now, if only we get some decent precipitation. My currently flowering Tea roses are in for a shock.

Nice Pics Guys Good topic David here are a few from Ft Pierce FL FL Royals Assortment with a totem pole made from a palm. Huge PonyTail Palm in Vero Beach i know it's not a palm it's a lily but it's still huge Some Sabels and a manicured clustering date Coccothrinax or Thrinax? unidentified Thatch Palm

Thanks Inga, my swimming pool is about 30 metres long, about 28 metres wide and about 5 metres deep at the deepest point. Chas, I put a lot of effort into getting that rainforest look, but rainy days really top it off. The hottest months here are October, November and December, but tourists usually start leaving in their droves during September which they find unbearable. The climate here is equatorial savanna, which means adding a lot of extra water to keep rainforest plants happy. FW, not the worst place I've lived in for mozzies, despite having lots of swamplands and creeks around. I have a strategy for mozzies which so far works quite well. Yes Gary, that's a Typhonodorum, it's just over 3 metres tall. You can stand under the lower leaves. The predominant trees in the garden are a few species of Ficus, mostly F. benjamina and also F. racemosa, plus Black Wattle (Acacia auriculiformis), Indian Almond (Terminalia catappa), another unidentified Terminalia species, and still some very large African Mahogany (Khaya senegalensis). I won't go through all the palm species. Only have the one small Tree Fern, Cyathea cooperi, but it struggles. The climate is too harsh for many ferns here.

Thanks for that, tropicbreezent. It doesn't show up on Andy Down Under & I think it might not be an SA species. I'm very confident it's not local to where I live, anyway. However, I'm aware of Andy Down Under. He has some great photos of various natural things & I suspect the site will help me with identifications of moths. So thanks for the reminder!