The Tropical Garden Then and Now



When we moved in to our current house the backyard was basically a blank slate except for some trees, a pool and a lot of grass.  Before we had even closed on the house the Plant Geek had started designing a garden around the pool.  At our old house we had what we called a shade tropical garden (a tropical look in the shade of our oak trees).  It is very sunny around the pool, so this gave us a new opportunity to create a new garden with a tropical feel.




We moved into our house in May and then it rained...and rained, and rained, and rained. No gardening was getting done, and we didn't even really have a garden, so we collected plants instead and eventually started creating beds.  We also didn't have a greenhouse right away and it took a lot longer to build it than we thought.  We stored a lot of plants in the garage for the first few months of our first winter.  We would take them all out on nice days and put them back in when it got cold.  I will never forget moving plants in the cold rain 6-7 month pregnant.  I was thankful when the greenhouse was finished.




For whatever reason I never took pictures after we finished planting the garden in the Spring of  2016, but the majority of our plants came in gallon or smaller plants.  A few of the bananas, palms, and elephant ears, can in larger pots, but truthfully everything started off small.  I don't even have many photos of the first summer it was installed.  Honestly this is because it wasn't very spectacular that first year, we planted it later than we wanted and it was just getting established.




This is the third summer we have had this garden in the ground and it has really filled in (probably an understatement) and changes pretty radically each year.  Some plants have died and not returned and other have been removed for a variety reasons.  For example, the Castor Beans that seemed so cool that first year, well they make LOTS of seeds and their seeds are NOT cool.  I'm still pulling out castor bean volunteers 20+ at a time.






At first we had a lot of things that needed to come into the greenhouse for the winter.  While everything fit, we didn't and we had no room to start any seeds or take any cuttings.  The desire for more open space in the greenhouse has also led to some plants getting cut.





By the end of the summer it's basically a crazy jungle of plants and weeds and looks pretty fabulous.  After the first freeze, it looks pretty terrible.  We leave a lot of the plant material where it is for a couple of reasons.  The first is because by November/December when we have that killing freeze we are tired and need a break from gardening.  The second is that it helps protect some of the plants.  We don't cut things back until we are sure they have died back to the ground.  The third is it makes a great place for lizards and snakes to spend the winter.  In the spring you should see the critters we find when we finally get around to cleaning up.




Last year we did a little expansion on the garden.  Originally we left a strip of grass between the garden and the fence.  We didn't like having it there, so we tilled it and created a little pathway with a small bed up along the fence.  Here's a picture of it from last summer.  We over planted it a bit and we're still working on fixing that situation this year.



A few things have stayed constant.  The blue pots at the end of the pool get rearranged a bit from year to year, but all stay down here. We've added a collection of succulents displayed on large spools.







I really enjoy this garden overall and I can't wait to see how it evolves over time.  There are a few places that we really need to look at with a critical eye for next year.




Here is a picture of the seldom photographed back side of the garden last summer, looking pretty great.  This year it looks really different in a bad way.  We removed the turk's cap because it was taking over and the bananas didn't come back this year the same way.  Now it's much shorter and thinner and really needs something.  The current thought is to plant a banana or two and maybe some burgmansia.  That should add back a little of what's missing this year.

The other area is this corner.  It's another area that needs a little beefing up on either side of the Nandinas. 



It extends from the bench all the way to the Hardy Tapioca.  It gets a little less water due to the way the sprinkler heads are positioned, and it shows.  The plants here never seem to get as big and lush as their friends at the other end of the garden.  Exluding the tall banans that seem to thrive on this corner.  Besides adding supplemental water, I'm not sure what to do here, but we'll come up with something (or the plants will).




 I hope you enjoyed seeing how this garden has progressed over time.  It will always be a work in progress and a place where we can try new plants.


Comments

  1. I did a progress of our side yard garden about a year and a half ago. I kept meaning to follow it up with the rest of the the gardens too but never did. *Mental note to get that done*. I love seeing progess photos of other people's gardens because it reminds me that my garden doesn't exist in a vacuum, all gardens change from year to year.

    Some daturas would be good in your garden as well..

    My progress update: http://oceanicwilderness.com/2017/01/17/update-on-the-side-yard-garden/ And that side yard garden was even different this year.

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    1. Thanks for the link! I love looking at progression photos too. Our garden is relatively new (we moved in at the beginning of May 2015 and didn't start any real gardens until 2016) and it's hard to look at other's well established gardens and not feel a little envy because our's just doesn't have to look and feel that age gives a garden. What is nice, is that I'll have great records of how things have changed over time.

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  2. Very instructive photos, Rebecca. I see you make a lot of efforts, time and desire to keep your garden so pretty. I especially liked a path along the fence and your succulent garden. We all are mad people creating better and better things around us :-)

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    1. Thanks! This is probably the garden we spend the most time in since it surrounds the pool (a great place to be on a hot Texas summer day) so we have a lot of time to think about what we want it to look like.

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  3. Your tropical garden is outstanding, Rebecca, regardless of any concerns you may still have with it. I was particularly impressed by the pot collection you have! I loved that second photo showing the castor bean plants but your statement about its rampant self-seeding is all the warning I needed - I'll look elsewhere for plants that provide that kind of dramatic backdrop. I'm always on the look-out for plants with big leaves but unfortunately most of them need water I don't have to give them - I wish we got the summer rain you do (or really any summer rain at all).

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    1. I like to try and write out what I want to try and do in the garden in the future. Then when I look back I have a list of my thoughts. It's easy to forget over the winter. The only way I would EVER recommend castor beans is if you are a religious dead-header...Like evangelical in your deadheading. We are not, we are terrible about deadheading and we are now paying the price. Don't be me.

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  4. I could see why you didn't get much done on the first year. He is walking down the path you made. ;)
    I think you tropical garden looks great. Every garden is in flux if you ask me. That is part of the fun of gardening. I am busy untying the Knot garden here.

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  5. Here Castor Bean is considered an invasive and noxious weed. Interesting that you got reseeding even though you get frosts. This is a plant that shines in the PNW and does not reseed--perhaps the warmth there is insufficient or too brief to allow the plant to bloom. A plant that is a serious pest in some areas can be well-behaved in others.

    The story of your pool garden is great! So fun to see how a garden evolves over the years. The photos will also be useful to you for future reference.

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  6. Gardens should always be works in progress, otherwise they get boring. You've done a marvelous job, in my opinion.

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  7. Your tropical garden is spectacular! I love your potted plant collection. The path behind is fabulous and walking there would feel like being lost in a beautiful jungle! Amazing transformation from that first picture!

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  8. I love your garden and how it is evolving! My favorite picture was the little boy walking down the path. That is my idea of a yard! Luscious tropical plants covering every inch. You have done so much work and it shows. Planning gardens is very different from planning a house. The decorations in a room stay put and only collect dust, a garden, is ever changing.
    Good job.

    Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry

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  9. What a fun space! I love the jungle vibe. Do castor beans reseed even in cooler climates? What a pain in the butt to have to pull out so many seedlings!

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  10. I love those beautiful banana plants. They add such great structure to a garden. When I saw the area behind your pool with the new planting I thought to myself. That's about the same size planting area as we have behind our pool. Then I thought this reminds me of the first few years in the garden when I had rosemary and roses and lots of larkspur and spring annuals. But I see you had the same problem as I. Getting a mite overgrown with the years. It's really hard keeping plants in check in a long-season climate. As you say, always a work in progress and it is so much fun to make changes.

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