"My Favorites - This Month"
This is the front entry garden. The burgandy Ti Plants are still showing the stress of the Big Chill, but lots of new buds are showing up. There's also some cannas and cacti hiding behind the Giant White Bird of Paradise. The Gaillardia (Indain Blanket flower) in the front has bloomed all winter...it's been a bright spot! The agave is still a mystery.
I need help from Noelle of AZPlantlady...I have no idea what is going on with my agave as posted in my What's Next Madonna? post.
The Echinacea bloom right next to the Gaillardia and a Ti in the front entry space.
This is the North, shady side of the house where the pool and house systems are located. This garden was started last summer to help camoflage the equipment.
This is the south, sunny side of the house. Some of my favorites are located along this side.
Queen Emma Crinum Lily, milk and wine blooms. These are my absolute faves!!
One of my favorite groupings includes dwarf canna, pentas, mexican heather (it's hiding to the right of the pentas), purple fountain grass and the El Capitolio hibiscus to the left.
The honeysuckle grows on both sides of the fence, creating a fantastic segue into the backyard space...
Next to the honeysuckle in the southeast corner is the gorgeous bouganvillea and navel orange tree.
Yes, those are baby oranges! Woo Hoo!!
My newly planted bromelaid and plumeria cutting are at the bottom right of this photo.
I have plumeria / frangipani cuttings all over my yard. This one hasn't even rooted yet, but it's blooming anyway. Freaky, but I like it!!
The newly planted poolside garden is filling in well...a little too well for my liking. I'll probably relocate some of these as the garden matures...too much going on in one space. This space is flanked by the recuperating Queen Emma Crinums. Lots of cannas in here too!
However, my goal of ridding this narrow patch of grass is almost complete.
The bananas are recuperating quite nicely in the rear of my yard, behind the pool. Soon, my cherished privacy screen will be in full foliage, recreating my tropical escape!!
This shot was taken in the early morning with the dew still on the leaves. I also planted some impatiens under the banans, thinking the shade will give them life during the hot Florida summer. You can also see a newly saved-from-the-garbage bird of paradise along the fence row. Someone was throwing this guy away! I couldn't have that, now could I? The bird will provide privacy during the winter when the chill takes the bananas to the ground.
Other stuff going on in the backyard...
The aloe buds haven't opened yet, but aren't they pretty?!
This is one of the perils of owning dogs that seek out the rabbits and other misc. rodents that may be hiding under the ugly shed... my ferns have been trampled.
Here's another newly planted bromelaid.
The Presidential Hibiscus was just lifting it's pretty face when I snapped this photo this morning.
And this spider lily crinum is in full bloom
The passion flower vine is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorites.
And the cannas on all sides of the house are in full bloom!
I hope you enjoyed today's tour. There's additional, smaller spaces throughout my garden, but they're not photo worthy yet. Soon, I hope!!
Happy Spring!!!
PS - Lola apologizes for missing out on this tour, but she was still sleeping, and if you know Lola...let's just say that it's not nice to wake a sleeping baby!!!
17 comments:
Kimberley - loved the tour! I envy your Bougainvilla and Hibiscus ... they are some of my favorite plants in the whole world, and obviously only a summer teaser for me here in IL. Way cool! -Shyrlene
Hi Kimberly,
I love your April garden. I'm sorry, but somehow you I missed your Madonna post. I just read it and I think that your agave has formed bulbils near the stalk. Some agave when they flower, produce smaller flowering stalks alongside the main one. I think that is what happened here. I hope this helps :-)
Kimberly, I've just been catching up (really can we ever!) and love the pot man and the kitty with chipmunk at the door had me wishing for an outdoor kitty! The banana tree privacy screen is going to be wonderful! Privacy is very important in a world were we get bombarded with too much all the time! gail
I enjoyed the tour Kimberly. You have so much going on in your garden this month. Just beautiful!
Wow! This is truly a tropical paradise. I remember when you planted that poolside garden! It really has filled in beautifully. Your plants did survive the cold quite nicely. Our bougies and hibiscus don't look quite so beautiful in this piece of Florida yet (but they're gettin' there). That burgundy colored passionflower is gorgeous! Do you know its name?
I only have one frangipani cutting and it is having leaves now. It is very cool that yours had blooms already even before rooted! Your garden looks very beautiful! Your poolside garden is gorgeous. My new flower bed I opened since last novemember is also filled with lots of different plants.
A good spring you too, your garden is a real pleasure to watch.
Your bougainvillea is beautiful, I love this plant.
And congratulations for the photos.
Wow, I so envy your yard! :D I have a hard time picking my favourite out of your favourites!
I love that ponytail palm in your sidebar. So pretty.
love your planting schemes Kimberly - oh to be able to grow such architectural plants like that outside..... and such vibrancy in the colours. Thanks for sharing this meme with me - I never knew it even existed though time restricts me this month from participating.
Your Bird of Paradise is outstanding!I really like the your front entry.Actually,I like everything about your garden! Well done!
Kimberly .. every time I have been here I have "jaw drop" LOL
It is just so amazing to garden in your zone with such lush beautiful plants .. I wouldn't know where to start to say I like one over the other ? I just can't imagine walking out into a garden like that .. closest I have been to something like this (in person) was a botanical garden in Spain .. outside Barcelona .. it was amazing .. just like you plants here girl !
Ferns regroup quickly .. doggies have to be doggies ? LOL .. says that cat woman ! wink wink
aloha kimberly,
love this garden tour, lots of beautiful things come out again...yeah
hope you can join again for the hot, lout and proud meme at the end of every month.
http://aplantfanatic.blogspot.com/2010/03/hot-loud-and-proud.html
Lovely garden photos :)
Happy spring to you too :)
Your cannas are so pretty. Those leaves alone are show stoppers. The blooms are just a beautiful extra. The entryway garden is a tropical statement that is just lovely. I rather like your full garden with the Queen Emmas. I can just picture that whole strip planted out with tropical lushness. Your plants are quite a bit ahead of mine. I'm still counting leaves coming up on the cannas, no blooms. Same thing with my crinums. I don't have Queen Emma, but some of the smaller white and also a few pink ones. I'm hoping for blooms before the Lubbers find 'em.
I'm so happy to see everyone likes my garden spaces! Thank you so much for your kind comments.
Shyrlene, I hope the Chicago spring is a beautiful one this year. Always so frustrating when it goes straight from winter to summer.
Noelle, THANK YOU for lending your assistance. This plant has been an absolute mystery for me since last year when it sent up a bloom after just 3 years..a bit young for a "century" plant! At least it's giving me much entertainment!
Gail, so glad to hear from you! I understand oh so well about getting behind and frantically trying to catch up! So glad you enjoyed my posts. Yes, the banana privacy is soooo important for us as the house behind us is so close to the property line. Can't wait for tall mature "trees"!
Jayne, thank you so much. Have you used your rain barrel? I've used mine ALOT and am loving it!
FG, isn't it crazy that we're really not that far in proximity but our garden zones make such a difference? Re. the passion flower, I don't know the exact variety. I'll have to research a bit and let you know. The poolside garden is nice, and I did work hard on it, as you recall, but I'm not sure I like my "fillers", which is what I had to do at the time to keep the dogs out. We'll see.
Ami, this is my first go at the frangipani, so it's so fun to watch it take hold. I can't wait for blooms!!!!
Ellada and Kyna, thank you for your sweet comments..so glad you like everything as much as I do.
Ladybug, the ponytail in the sidebar is REALLY amazing! It's located in a neighborhood that I walk in at lunch. It's my ponytail inspiration! I can only hope mine look like this one day!
Rosie, I hope you will join Susan and the gang with this meme. I think it's an awesome way to log your garden. Thank you for your flattering comments!
Chris, how kind of you! I like my bird, too. Some of my neighbors have made comments that I need to prune it, which I do often, but I enjoy a slightly unkempt look. Besides, the bird is so tropical and should have it's way a bit!
Joy, you've made my day by saying MY garden gives you "jaw drop"...you're so kind! It's still immature (most plants have only been in the ground for 3 years or less) but is doing nicely thus far. It's a labor of love! :)
Noel, thanks so much for your kind appreciation for my garden tour. I wouldn't miss your upcoming meme for the world!
Marie, so glad you stopped by and enjoyed the tour!
Hi, Kay! Yes, the cannas are really pretty right now, although I'm fighting rust. :( I've spotted a couple of lubbers and have taken action. I've been fortunate that I haven't experienced their damage previously, but have listened well to you and other seasoned Florida gardeners...I'm on the lookout for the stinkers!
Aaron, thank you so much for stopping by! We both have a love for crinums...glad you enjoyed the tour!
Hi Kimberly...Your garden is a blooming paradise. I can't believe your bougainvillea...WOW...it looks like the cold weather didn't even affect it. It's amazing how fast the crinums recover. I enjoyed seeing all your "April favorites." Thanks for participating.
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