Have a Seat in the Garden

[Kim]

After some heavy weeding the last few days, time to relax and enjoy the garden.  Imagine yourself enjoying a cool drink while seated in the chair (for scale).

Dypsis saintelucei and D. prestoniana

Or maybe you'd rather sit next to D. canaliculata...

Here's an update on the Voanioala gerardii

The D. robusta is a twisted, strangely tilted chunky palm pulling itself deep into the ground.

Chalky D. onilahensis, very lax leaflets, so elegant...

[Kim]

Dypsis sp. 'Jurassic Park' (formerly misidentified as Tokoravina) is living up to its epithet.

Neoveitchia storckii along the driveway, a couple of Loxococcus rupicola to the left.

Alien resident from Madagascar

Hm, what do we call D. sp. 'Mealybug' these days?

[Kim]

Planted just a week ago, two Dypsis sp. 'Orange Crush' (formerly misidentified as Pilulifera).  These replaced an overgrown D. lutescens that was encroaching on the driveway (another was removed from close to the house).

Tahina spectabilis just keeps throwing out bigger and bigger fans.

The Clinostigma lawn (samoense), the picnic place.

View beyond the lawn toward the back with more Clinostigma samoense, Licuala (have to look it up), Verschaffeltia splendida (left) and some Dictyosperma album var. furfuraceum (did I spell that wrong?)

Over in the red garden, Chambeyronia macrocarpa var. Hookeri living up to its reputation with the new very red leaf

[Kim]

Dypsis now known as coursii

The red garden from another angle to show off the red leaf of the Calyptrocalyx albertisianus.

Yes, the largest Lemurophoenix halleuxii and a closeup of the stems

That's all for today, time to get to that cool beverage.  Need a refill?

[trioderob]

Kim-

you are one of the worlds greatest palm woman.

Edited May 18, 2016 by trioderob

[RedRabbit]

What a garden! Thanks for sharing all the pictures, I'm completely jealous. lol

[doranakandawatta]

5 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

What a garden! Thanks for sharing all the pictures, I'm completely jealous. lol

WOW, me too 

I am glad I start the day watching so wonderful pics in the morning!

[Pando]

Stunning images Kim. I hope you don't mind that I edited two of your wonderful images to balance the colors and bring out these wonderful details.

 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2016 by Pando

[mike in kurtistown]

Kim,

Fabulous palms, beautifully designed garden, and hard work defeating those nasty weeds.

 

[Tropicgardener]

Absolutely sensational !!!

[Steve Mac]

Very nice, all the hard work shows, a lot of effort goes into keeping a garden as nice as that.

[steve99]

Fantastic.

 

 

[BS Man about Palms]

Wow Kim, A drool worthy garden of epic wonders!

[Kennybenjamin]

Totally rad pics there Kim, love it all!! Your Jurassic park possibly my fave amongst them but all are A1!!! Congrats!!

[Palms4Steve]

Sensational Kim. Would be perfect sitting back in your chair with a cold beer.

[Monòver]

Wow!!! This night i will be dreaming your garden!

[realarch]

Geeze Kim, looks fantastic! Nothing like growing palms in Hawaii.

Tim

 

[Neil C]

I'd happily sit anywhere in your garden, although I'd rather a nose around.

 

Regards Neil

[cristi]

A piece of paradise. Wonderful!

 

[foxtail]

[Cindy Adair]

Kim,

Everything looks stunning!

So satisfying too knowing it is your work and planning transforming what likely started out as an ordinary plot of land.

My palms look miniature in comparison! 

 

[Palm Tree Jim]

Wow.

And I would just love to sit in that chair!

[Tracy]

Spectacular garden... the only thing that needs an upgrade now is the chair.  You need more of a throne for your garden for a queen; although I would be happy sitting on a beach towel on the ground in any of those photos.  I can only dream that I could grow such beautiful specimens in my garden, but you inspire to try!

[bgl]

Hey, I recognize some of those palms!  Come to think of it, I recognize ALL of them!  And seems to me you should have asked the neighbor to take the photos so you could have relaxed in the chair with a well deserved Mai tai! Would have been totally appropriate!

Bo-Göran

Oh, great job with the weeds...

[Danilopez89]

Looks like palm heaven 

[BS Man about Palms]

9 hours ago, Kennybenjamin said:

Totally rad pics there Kim, love it all!! Your Jurassic park possibly my fave amongst them but all are A1!!! Congrats!!

This reminds me Kim. Can you see much of a difference between the Jarassic Park and the Prestoniana. Its hard for me to see a difference.

[Jeff Searle]

Kim....your garden is really becoming a wonderful collection of some of the rarest palms we all love and enjoy. I love the size that your Clinostigma are right now. Not too small, and not 60' where you have to hurt your neck looking up. If they could only stay about that height. Lol. Also your Mealy bug palms look great! Dypsis mananjarensis. This does very well for us here in the ground. I hope your creating lots of trails and sitting areas, this adds so much charm to the garden. See ya in Borneo....

[Kim]

Good question, Bill.  I had to go out and look critically to find defining differences, and they are slight.  For one, the bulging base of the crownshaft is noticeably longer on the D. prestoniana -- however, this may be a function of the differing ages of my two palms, the prestoniana being several years ahead of the Jurassic Park in my garden. (By the way, I am told by a reliable source that Jurassic Park is now D. pilulifera -- can't imagine how Orange Crush and Jurassic Park would have been confused, but there you go.)  Getting back to the question, upon close inspection, it is the ranking of the leaflets along the stem that is most notably different.  D. prestoniana has grouped leaflets, though very irregularly -- 4, then 2 or 3, maybe 4 again, but there are "blank" spaces between the grouped leaflets along the stem.  The Jurassic Park doesn't have the obvious blank spaces and the leaflets, while still somewhat irregular in arrangement, are not in such obvious groups.  In spite of that, the overall appearance of Jurassic Park, at least at this stage, is a "messier" look, while D. prestoniana has a neater, more balanced look to the palm overall. That can change over time, so who knows?  And no flowers or fruit from my palms to compare yet, there could be huge differences -- or not. Presumably those observations are available somewhere.

I recommend you come make your own observations in person! 

 

[Kim]

Thanks everyone for all the very generous praise.  Any PalmTalker who makes the trek to Hawaii is welcome to visit the garden for a tour and a refreshing beverage!

Cindy is correct, there was not much to see when I first bought the house in December 2009, just a tangle of impenetrable weeds, junk trees and vines.  The sections were carved out a little at a time -- the backhoe operator has been here maybe four or five times?  The design is conceived as a series of garden rooms connected by wide paths with open spaces alternating with denser plantings, more or less.  The design evolves over time.  These photos show only about 50% of the first acre.  The second acre remains mostly wild. At the last formal count in July 2015, there were 315 palms of 99 species in the garden, but that has since been exceeded. And Cindy, your garden will soon have many palms overhead, too.  Isn't it fun playing in the dirt? 

Bo: my photographer neighbor seems to be not at home!  Maybe you know something about that?

Pando: you can rebalance my photos any old time.

Tracy, a throne would be much too fine for this gardener -- when I take a break at the end of the day, I am the image of a filthy farmgirl.

Jeff, if you know how to slow down a Clinostigma, let me know!   There are paths in the garden, but only the tea house for seating so far.  Weather here is hell on furnishings, I'll have to get stone benches or something.  I'm open to suggestions!  My only garden art is my stone elephant, affectionately known as Chitwan, and he has grown a black patina from exposure.  Boulders seem to be the only garden ornaments that are sufficiently durable to stand up to the elements, though I am experimenting with wind chimes on the lanai. 

[jardinierpalmiertrat]

Congratulation for this amazing garden

I love it!!!

i want the same!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rafael]

Kim, your garden and palm collection is truly unbelievable!!That's an inspiration to all of us here 

Congratulations to you and Bo!  

[doranakandawatta]

Kim, 

I LOVE your pale green chair, it seems to be so inviting in so many places of your paradise.

Lucky you if you need to know how to slow down a Clinostigma, I still wonder how I can ask them to grow in Sri Lanka. 

[LJG]

Wow Kim. What a transformation. Looks awesome. 

[DoomsDave]

Typing praise through the drool on the keyboard . . .

squish squish etc.

[OverGrown]

Good job Kim! Very impressive garden!

[Bill Austin]

Thanks ever so much for posting Kim it's been quite a dry spell on palm talk for us more tropical folks. Your garden is a WINNER

[enigma99]

wow Kim, looking good. Now I know where I will have to retire :)

[palmfriend]

Dear Kim,

absolutely awesome photos and a great inspiration for all of us!

Thank you very much for sharing those pictures!

Among all of them I have an absolute favorite one -

the Clinostigma Garden! It is too nice to be real...

best regards

 

[fan palm]

Unreal Kim! Some choice palms you have in your garden

[Firepalm]

Wow Kim!  The progress and growth in your garden has been phenomenal.  Makes all of us Cali guys jealous.  All you hard work is really starting to pay off!