The Cloudforest Gardener is a site dedicated to the cultivation of exotics and subtropicals in a cool, maritime West Coast climate. Our aim is that this site will become a resource for gardeners who enjoy the unusual and like to push the boundaries. There is a richness of exotic fruits and foliage that thrives in our cool climate. For example, the babaco papaya, as shown below, originates high up in the Andean mountains and grows well here in the hills above Santa Cruz.
We live in Santa Cruz, which is nested almost precicely on the line that divides Northern California from Southern California, and our weather very often behaves accordingly. One day it will be hot, and you might think you're on a beach in Southern California. The next day it will be bone chilling cold, with fog and drizzle engulfing our redwood covered coastal range, and you might as well be somewhere in the Pacific Northwest.
The Cloudforest Gardener is home to the following discussion forums: