Beginning of a new palm centric garden.

[tt68camaro]

We have been building this home for what feels like forever and have finally been turned loose to start on the landscaping. This is the result of 3 days of nonstop planting.  A few more exotic palms to come still and a million understory filler pants but its a start.

[John2468]

22 minutes ago, tt68camaro said:

 

 

 

 

 

Looks good, what’s that palm to the way right?

[tt68camaro]

29 minutes ago, John2468 said:

Looks good, what’s that palm to the way right?

Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum

[kinzyjr]

56 minutes ago, tt68camaro said:

We have been building this home for what feels like forever and have finally been turned loose to start on the landscaping. This is the result of 3 days of nonstop planting.  A few more exotic palms to come still and a million understory filler pants but its a start.

Nice work!  I see a lot of my favorites in there (Carpoxylon macrospermum, Dictyosperma album var. conjugatum, Cocos nucifera, etc.).

[Barry]

1 hour ago, tt68camaro said:

We have been building this home for what feels like forever and have finally been turned loose to start on the landscaping. This is the result of 3 days of nonstop planting.  A few more exotic palms to come still and a million understory filler pants but its a start.

Very nice selection of palms and trees! It is so good to see diverse and beautiful plantings in SWFL. Everyone plants the same things, when we have so many options, most don’t know about.

[SeanK]

Less is more. Most folks will just see an indistinguishable mass of plants on that small plot. How tall does that fan palm get that's growing under the power line? You realize that municipalities and utility companies are automatically granted an easement near the road?

[tt68camaro]

6 minutes ago, SeanK said:

Less is more. Most folks will just see an indistinguishable mass of plants on that small plot. How tall does that fan palm get that's growing under the power line? You realize that municipalities and utility companies are automatically granted an easement near the road?

Sure do thats why I planted a latania and a hurricane palm which will take 24 feet to reach the power lines.  That is near max height in their native habitat and unikely to ever happen here.  Palms grow up vertically so more space emerges at ground level as they grow. 

[awkonradi]

2 hours ago, tt68camaro said:

We have been building this home for what feels like forever and have finally been turned loose to start on the landscaping. This is the result of 3 days of nonstop planting.  A few more exotic palms to come still and a million understory filler pants but its a start.

Congratulations for finishing the house, and planting these palms.  I am curious exactly where in SWFL, if you are willing to share that info.

[Harry’s Palms]

Wow , quite the collection already with some fairly large specimens. 

[TampaBayRay]

Thumbs Up!

[flplantguy]

Is that the native soil or was something brought in?  It looks very different from sand up here.

[fotodimatti]

Great work in progress photos! Cant wait to see later stages.
If you feel like, please feel free to ID the palms and explain, why those species and why you planted specific species where and next to each another species. You know, the landscaping part of all this.
I am a bloody beginner in this. Love to learn.
Thanks!

[tt68camaro]

13 hours ago, awkonradi said:

Congratulations for finishing the house, and planting these palms.  I am curious exactly where in SWFL, if you are willing to share that info.

Punta Gorda Isles

1 hour ago, flplantguy said:

Is that the native soil or was something brought in?  It looks very different from sand up here.

It's a mix of native, sand fill and topsoil.

[Than]

Wow, that's a real collection garden. What is the distance between palms in the second from last photo?

[Looking Glass]

Looks like you got one of everything!    Congratulations!  You’re off to a lightning-fast jumpstart!  

Three things to consider when planting are sun tolerance, individual water needs, and mature frond lengths for crowding.   Try to get your sun lovers and drought tolerant palms out in the open, blasted by sun, away from the water and shade lovers.   Then group your water lovers in the wet areas so they can get blasted with irrigation without rotting anyone else out.  

Each spot in the yard has certain characteristics that might favor certain plants, and you can tailor your irrigation and bed amendments once you’ve got the sun spots picked out.   Pseudophoenix Sargentii will like to be blasted by open sun, in alkaline soil, and will need to dry out.  Satakentia will like to be watered every day to every other day, and might appreciate a little shade break at times.  Chambeyronia macrocarpa will fry and die in full open Florida sun, but prosper in a moist shady spot when younger.  

Not sure about cold protection in 10a, but others can comment on that.  

What direction does the front of your lot face? 

When I first moved into my current house, I came from a condo, so we needed a lot of stuff for the inside.  Some people advised taking it slow, as you don’t know what you’ll need or how things will exactly fit and flow, until you’ve lived there for a year or so.  Since it was just before COVID hit, we took it slow on furnishings and arrangements…. by necessity, at the time.  It worked out well.   

Same can be said about some of the outside plantings.   You’ll get to know the yard, the sun movements during the year, the soil and moisture variations from spot to spot, etc….  Especially if you do your own yard maintenance…. You’ll know every blade of grass, and will notice things very early if there is a problem.  

Doing the understory, shrubs, and ground cover is just as fun as palms.  Crotons, Ti, Philodendrons, and bromeliads can give you some color accents, leaf variations, and pizazz, but each type will need the same considerations mentioned above.   Even boulders and borders can add a lot to the look.  And not everyone will survive long term.  Things will grow big and fast.  Bigger and faster than you anticipated.  Things will look a lot different in 2 years.  

Great place and house though.   You’ve reached the fun stage.   Even small plants will fill in quick in zone 10+.  Crotons and bromeliads can be more addicting than palms

 

 

[tt68camaro]

On 1/3/2024 at 1:42 PM, Than said:

Wow, that's a real collection garden. What is the distance between palms in the second from last photo?

8 ft or so on average.

[tt68camaro]

Still a ways to go but progress continues. Any great rabbit solutions? They have doing a number on certain plants.

 

[awkonradi]

Looks great!  Congratulations!

[MichaelB]

Looks like paradise!

[MichaelB]

What type are the group of 5 short palms in the house corner picture where we can see your shadow?

[tt68camaro]

12 hours ago, MichaelB said:

What type are the group of 5 short palms in the house corner picture where we can see your shadow?

They are dracaena marginata.  They are not palms but related to yucca's.