Garden Pictures
It is a work in progress.
First pic is my small chamaedora microspadix. They made it through last winter with protection.
The following thread was started by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 5:47 pm PST
Hedychium from 2006
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 5:57 pm PST.
Hedychium Tara from 2006
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 5:58 pm PST.
Dicksonia Antartica
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:03 pm PST.
Sorry I seem to be having problems posting. My pictures are too large and I am trying to make them smaller so they will post.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:08 pm PST.
Brahea Armata.
This has gone through three winters now.
It gets about three fronds a year but it really hasn't grown much.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:10 pm PST.
Chamadorea Radicalis
This survived last winter with only minor damage. It also has produced a flower spike.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:15 pm PST.
Chamaerops Humilis
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:20 pm PST.
My large female t.fortunei
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:24 pm PST.
My largest C. Radicalis
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:27 pm PST.
Oops
c. radicalis
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:31 pm PST.
My largest Male t. fortunei
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:32 pm PST.
South Side garden
Canna Tropicana, Feijoa Sellowiana and Choisya Ternata
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:38 pm PST.
North Side garden
Musa basjoo, Yucca aliofolia, Fig Tree
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:41 pm PST.
Small Trachies
I fill every small space with these.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:44 pm PST.
Canna Tropicana
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:47 pm PST.
South side of backyard
C. humilis, yucca Recurvifloia, small cycad panzi
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:50 pm PST.
North side of back yard
Yucca filamentosa, t. fortunei, california lilac. b, castillona, musa basjoo, b. armata, etc
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:55 pm PST.
Beautiful garden, Wes.
Tell me, does your Feijoa ever give you ripe fruit? Yours is fairly large. I really love the Chamaedorea's as well. I have one, and I don't for the life of me know what it is. Yours look great. Thank you for the tour.
-Brian
The above followup was added by Brian in Bremerton on August 23, 2007 at 6:58 pm PST.
Gardenia Hardy Kleims
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 6:59 pm PST.
Brian,
This is the first year that my second one flowered so I am now getting fruit. Here is a pic of one from a week ago.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 7:02 pm PST.
Canna tropical Red
Base of Euc debz
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 7:07 pm PST.
This years pic of hedychium Tara
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 7:08 pm PST.
Meyer lemon
I have four lemon trees that stay outside all year. My oldest has spent 5 years outside
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 7:10 pm PST.
hedychium Tara
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 7:11 pm PST.
Rhapidophyllium Hystrix and Gardenia hardy kleim
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 7:14 pm PST.
Kiwis
Hopefully you enjoyed the pics. I know when I looked at everyone elses I was very impressed with everyone's garden.
This was a great idea.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 7:21 pm PST.
Hey Wes, nice selection you seem to have a little of everything. How do you keep your lemons on mine always get about the size of a 1/4 of a dime and end up falling off. go figure.
Anyways nice yard!
The above followup was added by Paul on August 23, 2007 at 7:29 pm PST.
You have an excellent yard with a lot of different selections of great plants. I really love your Chammy and fern, do you protect much during the winter? Also, what kind of boo is that Phyllostachys aurea 'Koi'? If so, its the first time I've seen someone else with that variety in their yard up here. Anyhow, everything looks fantastic. Nice to see that fig tree, I really like those. Are you growing a loquat tree by chance as well?
The above followup was added by Bryce on August 23, 2007 at 8:06 pm PST.
for your comments.
Bryce, the bamboo is Castillonia. As far as protection, I just use overhead protection on my brahea, chamaedoreas, chammies and with the lemons I have old bed comforters that I throw over them and if it gets really cold then I string Christmas lights around them.
The tree fern I just put a tarp over it on cold nights. This is just to kkep the fronds green all winter.
I live six feet above sea level very close to the ocean and right across the water from downtown Vancouver. I am in one of the mildest areas of Vancouver.
I do not have a loquat, just plums, peaches, blueberries, lemons, figs, kiwis, feijoas and apples.
Paul,
I just water them a lot in the summer and fertilize both the roots and foliage with miracid once a month in the spring and summer. Mine are the size of a store bought lemon but much juicer and sweeter.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 9:01 pm PST.
Your garden has a very old Fashion Charm to it, with a tropical twist. I like it.
I like your plant choices and you show some really interesting plants no one else took pictures of, Super!
I wish I had room for Kiwi. I see your growing lots of palms, also, Your going to have a fantastic garden for years to come, it's only going to get better, as it ages. You have a great collection of plants Wes. What type of bamboo do you have next to the fence?
what do you have planted or will have planted in the middle of your heather bed?
Looks like something interesting is there but can't tell.
That Lemon is fantastic! I just bought one this year and it has lots of lemons also. But, outside all year I didn't think that was possible here. Wow!
Do you cover it all winter?
Great Job Wes!
The above followup was added by roger on August 23, 2007 at 9:07 pm PST.
Here is a close up of my bamboo
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 9:12 pm PST.
When I was downloading pics I ran across this old pic of three years ago. Here is one of my trachies back in 2004.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 9:14 pm PST.
And the same trachy in 2007
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 9:16 pm PST.
Sorry the first pic is from 2003 not 2004 so it is four years old but still good growth.
Thanks Roger for you comments.
I only throw the comforter on during nights that it goes below freezing which is not all that often where I am at.
The bamboo is Phyllostachys Castillonia. It has very colourful culms.
The plant in the middle of the heather is a cycas panzi. It is just now getting a flush.
I also have a good selection of yuccas which I did not post. Most are still quite small so not that interesting yet. I have elata, aliofolia, filamentosa, recurvifloia and some unknowns that came with the house some 20+ years ago.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 9:23 pm PST.
If you can growing your own kiwis are great. They ripen just in time for Christmas and man are they good. Very juicy!
We use to mandarins for Christmas but now we associate kiwis with the holiday season. I had 600+ last year.
We made kiwi jam and it is good.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 9:28 pm PST.
Wes- How long have you been growing the Feijoa Sellowiana? I just planted one this summer and hope to have mine look as healthy as yours! Great garden.
The above followup was added by Brian, Maple Valley WA on August 23, 2007 at 10:23 pm PST.
nice pics dude!! and the Kiwi looks great..actually i buy them at the store alot..i eat them for breakfast..i might try to grow one sometime...but boy that is cool...i wonder if they would be ok here in Portland..hmmmmm any thoughts ...anybody?..lol
John in Beaverton
The above followup was added by John in Beaverton on August 23, 2007 at 10:57 pm PST.
The one you see in the pic is been in my garden for 5 years. I have one right beside it that has been there for three years and it is pretty much the same size. The newer one bloomed for the first time this year so I have a few fruit forming.
You need two to get lots of fruit.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 23, 2007 at 11:06 pm PST.
Thanks for the pics and tour Wes. Love your large Trachys with leaves hanging all the way down to the ground. The conditions of all palms is amazing considering what we went through last November. My C. radicallis, for example, got hammered and retained only one green frond with no new spears in sight (the lowest temp at my place was -7.9 C). I am glad to see that your relatively small B. armata is doing well. Must be getting more sun/heat than my tree, which has not grown an inch since planted in June, 2006. Large Chamaedora microspadix look very tropical, yet seem quite hardy; Jeff's plants are now almost reaching the soffits (see below). Any idea where one can buy them? Lemons grown outside in southwestern BC? I guess part of the answer is in one of your comments (6ft above the sea level). I am 600 ft up and therefore the lemons go in when frost is in forecast.
I like anything that blooms late in the summer and Hedychium gives you just that. I believe the one on your pic is also fragrant. Wes, you deserve another acre of land (lol). Thanks again.
The above followup was added by Vlad Pomajzl, Saltspring on August 24, 2007 at 8:39 am PST.
You have quite a nice garden. I'm glad to see things look so good after last winter.
John: You could easily grow and ripen Kiwis in Portland. You need two plants (male and female) and LOTS of space. When I had mine I measured as much as 35' of growth in a section of vine in one season.
The above followup was added by Jeff, Victoria, 8b on August 24, 2007 at 8:48 am PST.
i like the old trachy with retained fronds. I am glad to see that the meyer lemon has been tough enough to withstand typical winter weather, as i plan on leaving mine outside unless temps below 25 or so arrive. will see
The above followup was added by PeterB on August 24, 2007 at 9:09 am PST.
Thanks everyone. it was fun taking the pics and showing everyone them.
Vlad, man I am with you on the extra acre. What I could do with all of that space.
We are talking a tropical jungle.
My lowest temp was recorded when I was in Mexico and I don't know how reliable it is but it was -6.8C. It could be wrong though as sometimes my remote thermostat misfunctions. I never get much snow. Last year I had maybe two inches and then it was gone.
The meyer lemons can survive our winters with a bit of protection. I have all four of mine close to the house. I provide them protection during nights that fall below freezing and if it gets really cold then I string Christmas lights around the tree and turn them on. I have turn the lights on maybe 6 - 7 times in five years.
The tree it self can survive but will suffer leaf drop in our winters. They do come back the following year. I know this because I forgot about one of them and when I went outside in the spring I could see new shoots coming out. They are pretty hardy trees but the fruit has to be protected to ripen.
The lemons can even ripen during the winter.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 24, 2007 at 9:15 pm PST.
Good pics Wes,,,Good garden! My wife has at least 6 different citrus and this last few weeks I found a variegated pink lime at a nursery out in Port Angeles with Variegated leaves...as well as the fruit....
The above followup was added by David on August 25, 2007 at 1:17 am PST.
Hi Wes, Had a question about your feijoa plants. I have two as well and this winter they lost almost all their leaves. They came back and are at least the size of yours, glad I didn't dig them up. Do you give them rain protection? I've had them about 5 years and they have never flowered. Think I read on here that they wouldn't unless protected from too much rain. Your thoughts? Dan
The above followup was added by Dan Fabian on August 25, 2007 at 9:55 pm PST.
Dan,
I have never given them protection however they are right up against the house and facing due south. They seem to like lots of water. My soil is almost pure sand and rock so I have to amend the soil with compost and manure I use mushroom manure mostly.
I find them to be very hardy. Mine are 6 and 7 feet tall and the smaller one bloomed for the first time this year and only had a couple of flowers. The larger one had numerous blooms and now has a few fruits growing.
I hope that answers your questions.
Let's hope for a mild winter and your leaves should stay on without any protection.
The above followup was added by Wes North Van on August 26, 2007 at 10:17 am PST.