Garden Lot Photos, Cape Coral, FL, 01-06-21

January 6, 2021

This afternoon I took photos of my largest garden area, which I call, no kidding, "Garden Lot". We bought this 125' x 125' 3-lot site in 2011 before Cape Coral began to emerge from the Housing Bust, during which the Cape had the 2nd most foreclosed real estate market in the US. Houses remained vacant for years, residents fled the state and no one would spring for vacant land at any price. We bought this barren patch of weeds and fire ants with the intention of creating a garden that would block the view of the newly built LCEC electrical substation, also known as "Osama bin Laden's FL Vacation Compound" for its sandy pink stuccoed concrete block walls. The erector set is installed but to this day the substation remains unfinished and inoperable. Par for the course in Cape Coral.

The first palms we planted were 5 Bizzies in 3-5g pots. We later added another Bizzie as point because it was so purple. Now it is silver and huge. Juxtaposed with and behind the Bizzies we planted Livistonas. We wanted all decoras but ended up with 2 decora, 2 australis and 1 mariae courtesy of a nursery with suspect expertise that shall remain unnamed. Fast forward 9 years and what you will see in the following photos is what you get.

Vacant End Lot: Sabal sp and flowering bottlebrush & Cocos trunk, bananas, bottlebrush

Garden Lot Views: south side

Leaning Coconut of Irma

Livistona mariae

Sabal palmetto of unknown age. Lot mowers had hacked it to the ground 6x per year for possibly decades. It just barely fits inside our property line so we decided to give it a chance to grow. This is what we have after 9 years.

Copenicia prunifera

Livistona saribus w/black teeth

Borassus flabellifer

Cocos nucifera Dwarf Red Spicata Twins

Copernicia alba, Chamaerops humilis & Agave americana mediopicta

Dypsis decaryi

Roystonea violacea (f) & Cocos nucifera Dwarf Red Spicata single

January 6, 2021

Thanks for the post and especially the photos, Meg! You have a very nice variety there!

Especially love the Madagascar Palms. Even if they're not a palm - they are very cool looking!

I have 5 of them in 7 gal. pots and still trying to find the right place to plant them here! :lol:

January 7, 2021

Garden Lot views from the west side. I am standing in front of bin Laden's towering compound walls.

When I returned from across the street I was met by our cat Lizzie who read me the riot act about being too close to the road, so I let her escort me back into the lot.