I have a small back yard in Southwest Florida, zone 10. Our pool cage consumes most of the yard, but we have about 14' by 60' beyond it. Viburnum and fackahatchee grass run the length of the back border. I have 2 palms in each of the corners next to the pool cage with jasmine vine covering the trunks. I have orchids hanging from a chain between two of the palms. I have some bromeliads & "dutchlady" gave me a few plumerias! I am looking for a very tropical feeling. Next week with the help of my father I am adding a small 7x7 brick patio as well as two beds in the back corners in front of the fackahatchee grass. I am patient enough to let the plants mature, but I just have a hard time visualizing what it will look like. I just want a little oasis in the middle of my 2 year old neighborhood! To compound things I have a swingset to work around. Does anyone have ideas or photos of their own yards to help?
Need ideas for small back yard in SW Florida zone 10
There are several people on this forum that will be able to help that I have not seen post today. Thinking everybody is already getting ready for New Year's Eve. Don't be impatient if they aren't up and running again for a couple of days.
Welcome, teri. Most congenial bunch you will ever find. I swim upstream by growing tropicals in North Central Texas. But I dearly love it.
I forgot to attach a picture. Thanks Lou.
Rj or Tropicman can whip that out in no time. They plant their entire yards in tropicals. Check their threads. May have to go back aways. We are threads 7 or some such. That is Rjuddharrison.
Your area is already beautiful. They will be a lot of help.
LouC
Oranges Paul
We are prohibited by our HOA - no fruit trees. We will never live in a deed restricted community again!
i lived in one place like that we moved paul
Hiya Paul!! About time you started chatting on here!! :~)
Hey Peper adds anoth P lol
This message was edited Jan 1, 2008 10:48 AM
Can't get much more tropical than elephant ears.
Dutchlady- we met through FreeCycle. Thank you for the plants you passed on to me! I appreciate them so much. Mostly there are jasmine bushes along the pool cage, along with 3 pointsettias, a bird of paradise, philodendrom & oyster plants. I have a difficult time layering & spacing the young plants so they will grow in nicely. I do want to use crinum lilies with bromeliads underneath. Do you think I should build a low brick "retaining wall" on the beds I am adding in front of the fackahatchee gree? There is a slight slope.
Teri,
What about Brugmansias???
Gardenias? There are some great low growing ones. Also the Tabernaemontanas...wonderfully fragrant! EE and Caladiums. YESYESYES on the Crinums...really easy and some of them can be really fragrant. Fan palms fill in a lot of space and are tropical...also some of the gingers. Tropical Rhodies, Vireya, take very little care....many are fragrant. Ti (Cordyline fruticosa) give a lot of color and are good vertical points...
Carol
Carol, can I grow vireya here in Kihei, or is it too hot?
OH...if you can give it enough water, Jenny... let me find out which ones would do best for you....
Mahalo Carol. My drier air will be okay you think?
Well...in the shade around some 'watery' plants like Alocasias etc...with water...I can't see why you couldn't make them grow. i will call a Vireya Maven friend of mine and see what she says.
Jenny, do you have Tabernaemontana....much like Tahitian Ginger...very fragrant!!!! ?
No Carol, I don't but it sounds lovely! Must look it up.
We don't seem to have all the choice you have in the plant department on this island. I think all the growers are in your neck of the woods.
What is the name of your nursery? Are you guys on-line?
I am. But only for my hoyas. But on the property we grow most of everyting...so if there is anything you covet...let me know....i can start it now and bring it in Feb.
Well, I covet one of everything - in fact I covet your whole property LOL.
I am not even sure if Hoyas will take the conditions here, can't wait till you come so I can pick your brains, I sure need the advise, I am such a newbie at gardening in this climate. Lots of the plants I have bought at HD or L I don't even know what they are because they had no tags. The big garden bible I have doesn't give too many pictures.
Will do my best, Jenny...lots of Hoyas will do fine there...you have a wonderful climate!!!!
Carol
I need to copy the names of these plants and look them up. As I have said before, I have a red flower, a white flower....hahahaha
Tabernaemontana is like a huge Gardenia except it smells spicey with cloves and allspice!!!
As soon as i find out the dates for my trip, i can make plans for Maui....Daughter is off islands too... we will make it work!!
Carol
Yes, crinums are very showy!
I'm not sure how thick or tall your wanting the tropical look, but for me tropical look is about a tapestry of various leaf sizes, shapes and colors.
Alocasias--all kinds of different colors and sizes
Colocasias
caladiums..for the lower areas...
Rubber trees--also different colors and varigation
Bird of paradise
syngoniums for smaller leafy vine, also different varigation and colors
Ti tree (small but colorful pink and other colors )
Some gingers or costas (tall) but nice tropical shapes.- I'd recommend varigated..nice shape/color
Erythrina x bidwillii - very showy frequent blooming but kind of sprawling shrub/tree.
Powder puff shrub - also there are trees.
Princess flower Tibouchina candolleana
Philodendrums- all kinds of colors shapes and sizes...very tropical
Pothos..large tropical varigate vine that winds it's way through the folliage like a python..likes climb
Hibiscus..thousands shapes colors...gets huge....Tequila sunrise has a very tropical look
anyway..the list can go on..here are some pictures you can look at.
this is my pond area
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/i/17850/
exotic tropical blog, includes pictures of 3 types of rubber trees and the syngoniums
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/rjuddharrison/2044/
2006 pictures
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/rjuddharrison/2941/
Rj
This message was edited Jan 2, 2008 1:17 PM
Both the Pandanus and the variegated pandanus are wonderfully tropical!!! Any of the lilies.... Agapanthus look terrific...especially with Canna.
The variegated one is a slow grower...and there are many other varieties that don't get monstrous.
All of you are amazing! RJ - I want your garden!!! May I ask how "old" it is? My thanks to everyone I have all of my landscape & plant books out. Your ideas are wonderful!
LOL...I do that too..take all the landscaping books...then realize my tastes are unaffordable, then try to figure out how to get the look without the costs..
The garden is a little over 7 years.
teri, if you read the RED LETTER DAY IN HOUSTON you will see a story about some of us meeting at Randy's garden in November. I can tell you that the real thing cannot be shown in pictures. It is certainly a labor or love. Gosh, watching the sun come up right now. Even at 23* it is beautiful.
Happy Thursday everybody.
Christi
You can't beat a clump of 3 King palm. Take very little room at base, grow 3' a year when trunk appears, they curve out then up very trop looking, beautiful green shaft, gorgeous lavendar infloresence, self cleaning (drop there fronds), just all around champions! They don't like being below 32F. They should have them at the nursery. Also, the giant bird of paradise is a good one. Also never below 32F. Good luck, my friend.
-Don
How big do they get Don? I love palms, and am just adding them to the garden...
I've been wondering, if I may impose on your thread terichris
What kind of Bird of Paradise is this? It keeps getting bigger and bigger.. It seems a little different in the way the leaves are to the ones that are around here...the leaves on mine are more banana like as they lay over, while the ones I usually see here are sticking straight up. Is it just that they are little longer..they also look a bit wider.
I'm going to post 2 pictures as it's difficult to get it in one shot in it's location. The leaves are looking a bit scrappy this time of year. First picture will be the top, and then the second will show the trunk.
For scale, the fence is 9 feet tall.
Second BOP pict.
It's a bit crowded in this corner as I had no idea those two behomeths would get so huge. glad the bird of paradise is tall!
Okay...thankyou..I was suspecting it was that.. I cruised through pictures on PF and google, but just couldn't tell as the photos were of very large ones.
Is White Bird of paradise the same as Giant white bird of paradise, or are they different?
How about Hibiscus for color?
Cannas should do well allso.
John
Terichris, Aloha, Yokwe, and Welcome to the tropical gardening forum! I see you have been given advise from the best of the best, so I will merely add a vote for ee's...a fast growing tropical look anywhere, as long as they have a little shade or filtered light. These folks are the best, and this is the friendliest forum! I have had the pleasure of seeing Randy's glorious garden, and Carol's incredible property (too large to be considered anything but a botanical paradise!). All the other suggestions were outstanding, and you can't go wrong by trying any of them. Just don't get discouraged, hang in there, and soon you too will have a beautiful tropical setting in your young neighborhood.
Again, Welcome!
Shari