Visiting a Local Garden

[Jeff in St Pete]

Tim (Realarch) and Bob from the Big Island visited with me for a few days. I had a great time with them!

Yesterday we visited a farm that I have never been to before. We brought along my friends Alexander and Donna.

Tim and Alexander shortly after arriving

Ginger

A pair of Livistona

[Jeff in St Pete]

Our host is growing Ensete from seed

He also grew all of these Ravenala madagascariensis from seeds.

He said they were two years old.

Looking back up his driveway

[Jeff in St Pete]

Variegated ginger

Cryosophila sp.

Tim with Cryosophila

[Jeff in St Pete]

Breadnut Tree - our host said they look almost identical to Breadfruit.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Heliconia

Bob and Donna checking out She-Kong

[Jeff in St Pete]

Our host didn't know what this large bush was. He said the seed must have been dropped by a bird.

The berries open in sections and look like flowers

[Jeff in St Pete]

Tree ferns across his pond

Our host with Donna checking out the Ravenala's.

He planted these 8 years ago from one gallon size.

Alexander (in the middle) checking out the trunks and the bloom

The bloom - Travelers Palms do not bloom very often in this area.

When they do bloom it's quite the event!

[Jeff in St Pete]

Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) by the pond

Another Heliconia

Calathea

Closer look

[Jeff in St Pete]

Heliconia rostrata

Heliconia pogonantha

old and new blooms

Heliconia pogonantha new bloom

Can't remember the name of this Heliconia

The bract grows in a circle

[Jeff in St Pete]

Tim standing next to She-Kong

Heliconia imbricata

Alpinia purpurata bloom

Our host Lou showing us another bloom bigger than his head

[Jeff in St Pete]

More Heliconia flowers

Ornamental banana

[Jeff in St Pete]

Pink Torch Ginger (Etlingera elatior)

Another heliconia

Garden View with Bactris gasipaes (spineless form)

[Jeff in St Pete]

another Heliconia...

I thought this was more H. rostrata but Lou said it was something different. The bracts are larger, and when the

flower bract emerges it grows horizontally for a few feet and then starts to hang down.

[Jeff in St Pete]

Another native Heliconia

Bananas

Fragrant Hedychium

[Jeff in St Pete]

I should have called this "The Heliconia Thread"

H. xanthovillosa Shogun

[Jeff in St Pete]

Love this fern. It hangs down from the trees

Birds nest about 4 feet off the ground

With eggs

[Jeff in St Pete]

Croton with Bizzie in the background

Bismarckia nobilis

[Jeff in St Pete]

Iriartea deltoidea growing into a Ravenala

[Jeff in St Pete]

I thought this clump of Dypsis lutescens looked

cool with all the little plants growing on the trunks.

The crownshafts are still smooth and white.

More Etlingera elatior

Broms growing on tree trunk

[Jeff in St Pete]

Bactris gasipaes

Garden view

[Jeff in St Pete]

Not sure what this plant is. It was growing out

of an old stump.

And this one looked the same only it had burgundy leaves

Cycads

Zamia

[Jeff in St Pete]

Another Zamia

Cyrtostachys renda roots

Alcanterea imperialis

[Jeff in St Pete]

Zamia furfuracea

Small Foxtail palm

Another brom

Hibiscus flower

[Jeff in St Pete]

Back near the front entrance getting ready to leave

Bromeliad with green flower

After we left the farm we stopped at Alexander's heliconia and spice farm for another tour. It started raining while we were down in the rainforest section along the Naranjo River and we got soaked! I didn't take any photos since I've posted lots of photos from this area before.

After leaving Alexanders Farm we stopped by this local joint for platters of grilled chicharrones and yuca with lots of fresh lime juice

Another fun day in Costa Rica! Hope you enjoyed the photos!

[ariscott]

Whoa.... Jeff!!! Look at all those heliconias!!!! How wonderful!!! And all those hairy heliconias... all only a dream for me at the moment, until I have canopy!!! Can't wait for that day!!! Heliconias are still my first love as far as gardening goes. Mine has started flowering now after 2-3 years in the ground and some are just so stubborn to start, I have to start fertilising with something else to induce the first flowering... It will be my dream garden to visit!!!

And that one which looks like H. rostrata, might be H. standleyi. Longer bract than H. rostrata, but very tropical in nature...

Thank you for posting those... I enjoyed it immensely!! If you have more, please post more....

Regards, Ari

[NakaB]

Speechless! Love how the ravenalas look stretched out as if grown in the shade. Never seen the red roots of a Cyrtostachys until now. Don't get me started on all the heliconia flowers. I gotta get down there. Thanks!!!

Edited August 10, 2010 by NakaB

[LauraAnu]

Jeff,

You have me drooling all over my keyboard here . Loved all those heliconia pictures.

Thanks for that fix.

Laura

[Kim]

You could knock me over with a feather after looking at all those incredible photos! Too much richness to comment on. All the saturated colors are overwhelming -- love it! Thanks for the extensive photo documentation!

[BeerPlant]

Like everyone else thanks for posting! So nice to see all of the plants that we would love to grow but cant!

[paulgila]

awesome garden! thanks for posting these shots,jeff,i know its alot of work.

the food looked tasty,too!

[Jeff in St Pete]

Thanks everyone!

Ari, thanks for the possible ID on the H. standleyi!

Paul, the food photo was for you...

[paulgila]

thanks,jeff! i had yuca for the 1st time in sofla with ken johnson & i liked it! you dont see it much in socal yet,tho.

[FRITO]

Jeff, thanks for the tour, crazy heliconia! I can;t beliebe the groth on those travelers in 8 years!

I too enjoy the food pics!

I gotta come visit somtime!

[junglegalfla]

OMG! I want one of each. That large stand of she-kong is outstanding, heck every plant in this thread is ridiculously stunning. :drool:

[Al in Kona]

Jeff, here there is a saying, "Lucky you live Hawaii" but the same could sure apply to you - "Lucky you live Costa Rica"! En otras palabras: !"Que suerte que vives en Costa Rica"! Just look at those gardens and all the beautiful tropical plant photos you posted and that tells it all. As you know you don't have to prove it to me however, because I saw some of it in person.

[Mark_NoVA]

Beautiful photos!

Yet another gorgeous spot there -

[amazondk]

Jeff,

That is a great garden. Thanks for the photos. I bet Tim enjoyed the place and has a lot of new ideas for plants in Hawaii.

dk

[Xenon]

Fabulous!

Thanks for sharing,

Jonathan

[Jeff in St Pete]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. The owner of this garden is coming to visit me today to see what I am growing. He wants to work out some trades which I am more than happy to do!

Paul, glad you had a chance to try yuca. It's very popular here and is served as a side dish with most meals.

I prefer it fried over boiled, but my favorite is Yuca Con Mojo which is only served at one local restaurant called La Cubanita. The owners are a married couple - he is Costa Rican and she is Cuban. The yuca is marinated in a sauce of butter, garlic, and lime juice (or sour orange)... delicious!

Don, I think Tim will be purchasing some new heliconias when he gets back home...

[KPL]

Jeff, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Those heliconias with their richness and vivid colours are breathtaking.

Job, well I take that back. It's not really a job, yet it's extremely well done.

Karoyn