My that is an absolutely beautiful pond! Hopefulauthor, I don't want to sound like a know it all, but you have asked so many questions about 'elephant ears' I think I can help you understand about them a little more. 'Elephant ears' are Aroids. They are in the same general family with Philodendrons, Anthuriums, syngoniums, caladiums, etc. "Taro" are 'elephant ears'. Taro is a sort of a general term used for the edible tubers of elephant ears. Taro is a very important food crop worldwide. Its most commonly known as "poi" in Hawaii. Its also called dasheen and eddo. The type of taro most commonly used as a food source is COLOCASIA. In the ornamental plant trade and industry, there are really only three types that are used on a widespread basis in the USA: Colocasia, Xanthosoma, and Alocasia Of these three types, Colocasia and Xanthosoma are widely grown in water. Alocasia are more terrestrial. There are a couple of alocasias that will tolerate being grown in very wet conditions like standing water, many will not and will simply rot. Here is a series of photos of some of the plants I grow. There are a lot of them, I apologize, but I hope you will find them interesting and helpful. Almost all of these grow in my yard. They go dormant in winter whether they grow in the ground or in water, and come back every year. A very few of these I have to keep in my greenhouse, they would not make it outside here. You may see some here you might want to try sometime. I will split it into 3 separate posts. First, COLOCASIAS: This is a very small colocasia that I use as a ground cover. Its called Colocasia Fallax. It will grow in water or in the ground. It spreads very readily by overground stolons. It rarely gets over about a foot tall. This is a very large growing Colocasia cultivar called Nancy's Revenge. I grow this both in tubs filled with water and in the ground. It also spreads quickly and rapidly by overground stolons This is a relatively new colocasia to the plant trade, but it is actually one of the oldest forms in cultivation, having been one of the major varieties grown for decades in Hawaii as a food crop. This is a variegated colocasia called "Milky Way". The old Hawaiian name for it is "Elepaio". This type loves water and I grow it in water, and also in some of my flowerbeds in the ground. This is another variegated colocasia called "Yellow Splash". This variety is very beautiful, but the variegation can be a bit unstable. If you give it too much fertilizer, it will revert to all green. I grow this one mainly separate from all the others in its own tubs of water so that the can be grown "hard" (without fertilizer) to keep their variegation Here is one that is very readily available, this has been in the trade a long long time. Colocasia antiquorum "Illustris" (also known as "Imperial Taro"). I have these in many different places in my yard. The ones in this photo grow in a natural bog which alternates between being dry in periods of no rain and wet when we get adequate rain. These plants are about 5 feet tall with leaves that measure 12+ inches wide. The all green colocasia to the right is a large growing variety called colocasia "Ruffles". This is a "mixed" photo. The green ear is a Xanthosoma called "Lime Zinger" planted with Colocasia "Black Magic" for maximum contrast. These grow beside a small inground pond in the back yard. The smaller ear to the far left is Alocasia Culculatta. The COlocasia "in the distance" to the far right is Colocasia fontanessii, another definite water lover. This is a tub garden I have that has 3 different contrasting plants growing in it. The dark ear is Colocasia "Black Marble", then there is Colocasia "Yellow Splash" and Xanthosoma "Lime Zinger" And this is one of the newest colocasias on the market, it is called Colocasia "Tea Cups". The leaves are cpuued and point up, and hold water like a cup. This is a PARTICULARLY AQUATIC colocasia and loves water. I only grow it in water. It can get 6-7 feet tall.

Hi Since my large aquarium started leaking have been racking my brain trying to decide what to do with it Can't be fixed and remembering the weight of the monster I know it;s never going to moved again.lol. Thinking maybe a terrarium for some of those deep jungle terrestrials. Maybe the moss garden I've been itching to try but with much more exotic varieties. All I have to do is to come up with a way to keep the rain out ,temps down and learn to plant while standing on my head lol. Since the tank is 32 inches deep on an 18 inch stand it's tough to reach the bottom. I'm thinking raised bottom with waterfall and mabe even mist forest as a theme. lol One more problem how do I keep the entire garden under glass free of water spots lol?? I'm not even sure it's possible to keep a "terrarium"outdoors in this climate. lol. Maybe it can be a veggie steamer?? gary

Tropic I've grown Vandas for many years but generally in the usual ways .Slat baskets ,in the shadehouse with winter protection .The above pic in the palms was bits and pieces of various ones that I moved out there several years ago. They are terete/stap and hybrids as well as some epidendrums Have had terrific growth but not much flowering but they were small pieces and I suspect too much shade but the palms have grown considerably so I think that problem is resolved During cold I cover with a temporary tent made of frost cloth usually when temps fall below 45 have always used tap water on all my plants including the orchids Though a bit hard and alkaline I think it's okay generally the rainfall is enough.. I think this summer I'll see much better results . This winter has been about average low has been 39 and way above normal rainfall in fact too much lol I;m expecting great improvement this summer lol I have catts. epicatts dends, and phals attached to the trees . While they do survive easy to see that they are stressed so the numbers and quality of the flowers is less. My shadehouse is in need of serious repair and feel I'm getting too old for that so decided to try some experiments with the plants . Have always wanted an "epiphyte" garden and caution (good sense} is being replaced with experiments lol Thanks for the pix!!! gary

Random thoughts Ive been sailing for much of the last week among the natural rock gardens of the San Juan Islands, which lie a few miles to the west of us. At this time of year, these rocky islands look sun-baked and dry, but even in summer, wherever there is soil, grasses, wildflowers, and trees thrive, and wherever there is moisture and shade, mosses cover the ground. Even the bare rocks rising sheer from the water sprout trees mostly madronas and shore pines. Besides wild rock gardens, the islands also have underwater gardens of kelp, eel grass, and sea anemones, which are best viewed in the tide pools at low tide when the reflections of sky and cliffs and trees seemingly tie them to the flowers and grasses of the dry uplands. In the nineteenth century, before corporate farmers from the huge latifundia of central Washington ruined their market with cheap, irrigated fruit, the San Juan Islands were famous for their apples and pears. I have a pear tree, a variety called Orcas, which was discovered growing in the islands and is supposed to do very well in western Washingtons cool maritime climate. But my tree is still young and has not yet borne fruit, though it flowered for the first time last spring. I returned home just in time. Last week was sunny and warm, but yesterday our skipper noticed a definite change in the air and decided to come back a day earlier than we had planned. Im glad he did, because I woke to drumming rain this morning. This meant one thing: slugs! I got up, grabbed the ammonia sprayer, and started to look for the slimy critters. I found quite a few and big ones, too. I slew them all. By early afternoon, the clouds drifted away and the sun came out. Time to do garden chores. But my garden has become almost self-maintaining. Even though I was away for five days, there was not much I had to do to it (except for savoring blueberries and raspberries) I pulled a few native grasses and buttercups that were trying to get established and I clipped back a few tree branches that had grown too long, and that was it. After finishing these "chores," I poured myself a glass of wine and settled onto the front porch with a book (Second Nature, a gardeners education by Michael Pollan). Out front, where the fireweed is blooming by the road side, a man and a girl rode by on their bikes. "Theres a secret garden in that jungle," said the man. "Whats a secret garden?" asked the girl. I couldnt hear his answer because they had pedaled out of hearing range. The raccoons came early tonight, before dusk. I suspect they missed my handouts. They were angry with me, however, because I threw out egg shells when they wanted eggs, and they crowded up to the back door, staring at me as I cooked an omelet. They didnt get any. But I will give them cat food and bread crusts after dark, when they bring heir babies.