The Garden/Landscape Thread

Mikey081057

With all the Cerveza virus stuff going around, we've been taking more walks and spending more time outdoors in SW FL... I don't get many cars going up and down my street, but people out walking have increased a lot.

Been spending some time, a little each day as spring (which is actually like summer) has turned here locally. Temps are nearing or over 90* every day but it has been dry still... The rains will come and soon it'll be raining nearly every afternoon/evening.

Everything has been given a spring fertilization as the soil temps have risen and are in full/growth stage now... A lot of stuff blooming.

I have bananas for the first time and the plumeria are starting to bloom. The ixora and hibiscus have peeked and will need some trimming and will prolly bloom a few more times before fall. I have a gardenia that has gone from green to white flowers in seems like just a few days... the fragrance is intoxicating and I can smell it when I walk out the patio doors.

My palms are growing very nicely having already been trimmed and my prized triangle palms are showing off their unique blue/silver/green/grey coloration...

Get out and work on your garden/landscape it's good for your soul.

steveinaz

This pygmy date palm will be going in on the shallow end of the pool next week. Beautiful yard Mikey!

steveinaz

Is there a company that makes high quality solar yard lights?

Milito

Great looking yard.

Waiting for the weather to stay warmed up in my area. I have a lot of work to do in the backyard.

Mikey081057

steveinaz wrote: »

Is there a company that makes high quality solar yard lights?

So I grabbed some off of Amazon... They are on the south side of the house and have been ok for the few months they have been installed. Nothing like wired LED lights but these are working for me... I am sure the sun and rain will tear them up tho.

I have a pygmy date palm in the front... The one pictured above is a Canary Island Date Palm and the spikes on it can f u up bad.

Here are the lights Steve

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YZ43K3V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

steveinaz

Thanks!

Tony M

Did some refreshing last week.

Mikey081057

I love the red mulch.... till it fades or washes away...

Looks great!

Mikey081057

Copper is an important trace nutrient to those Pygmy Date Palms Steve.... they can get a fungus which appears as brown spots at the base of the frond and cause the fronds to droop and die off prematurely.

But you may have plenty of copper naturally in your soil.... We don't. Boron is important too.

tonyb

Mikey, those white lights don't attract bugs ? Heck, if click a cigarette lighter by me the little suckers are out like zombies at feeding time.

steveinaz

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Copper is an important trace nutrient to those Pygmy Date Palms Steve.... they can get a fungus which appears as brown spots at the base of the frond and cause the fronds to droop and die off prematurely.

But you may have plenty of copper naturally in your soil.... We don't. Boron is important too.

What palm specific fertilizer do you use?

Mikey081057

We have bugs no matter what TB... I am using the warm white version and really don't notice them that much... Just have to keep my mouth closed.... my dog loves the bugs anyway when he is out at night.... I am more worried about the snakes and that is for the snakes sake... my dog will kill anything he can catch and he is very fast... during the day I always check for snakes before I let him out of the screened area but at night they would be in trouble because if I can't see them then I can't save them... Saved one from doing some night swimming night before last. The black racers are beneficial and won't hurt anything but between the predatory birds, the dogs and the humans they are getting scarce.

steveinaz

I have a Mediterrainian Fan palm that is 3yrs old now, and doing really well.

Mikey081057

steveinaz wrote: »

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Copper is an important trace nutrient to those Pygmy Date Palms Steve.... they can get a fungus which appears as brown spots at the base of the frond and cause the fronds to droop and die off prematurely.

But you may have plenty of copper naturally in your soil.... We don't. Boron is important too.

What palm specific fertilizer do you use?

A product called PalmGain from BGI.... They are local to here but I think you can get their products all over... I have had great results with it...

https://www.bgi-usa.com/palmgain/

steveinaz

Sweet...thanks. Still trying to talk Bev into a Florida move....LOL

Mikey081057

steveinaz wrote: »

I have a Mediterrainian Fan palm that is 3yrs old now, and doing really well.

I have a Chinese Fan which I keep having to trim back

I have a Bismarkia nobilis palm that was 5' tall 5 years ago when i planted it and now it is like 20' tall



People either love or hate them... no in between...

There was a Pygmy Date Palm when I bought the house.... actually there were 2... one was too far gone when I moved here and the other has recovered and is doing well now... This was just trimmed recently and is starting to flower/fruit now...




You have to choose palms that can tolerate a freeze Steve?

Clipdat

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Get out and work on your garden/landscape it's good for your soul.

Certainly would if I had one.

Viking64

"It's the Big W, I tell ya! It's the Big W!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r97Nv8N7-mI

Tony M

Viking64 wrote: »

"It's the Big W, I tell ya! It's the Big W!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r97Nv8N7-mI

I've really enjoyed that move over the years!

steveinaz

Mikey081057 wrote: »

steveinaz wrote: »

I have a Mediterrainian Fan palm that is 3yrs old now, and doing really well.

I have a Chinese Fan which I keep having to trim back

I have a Bismarkia nobilis palm that was 5' tall 5 years ago when i planted it and now it is like 20' tall



People either love or hate them... no in between...

There was a Pygmy Date Palm when I bought the house.... actually there were 2... one was too far gone when I moved here and the other has recovered and is doing well now... This was just trimmed recently and is starting to flower/fruit now...




You have to choose palms that can tolerate a freeze Steve?

Beautiful. Yes, mild/rare freezing and usually not for multiple days. The Fan held up well to being snowed on the last 2 Winters, which surprised me. Our Winters are typically pretty mild. Rarely gets below freezing. Grasshopper is coming out next week to plant the new triple Pygmy Date Palm, it's about 4ft tall. They're gonna route my drip system to it as well. I'll post some pics once it's in.

Mike Reeter

Nice Landscaping guys! I envy you all that live in Sunny Florida, Arizona. Been unseasonably cool for the past week or so in our area, and things are just starting to come around.





Maple Trees starting to leaf out

Clipdat

You're living the dream, Mike.

Mike Reeter

Clipdat wrote: »

You're living the dream, Mike.

Drew, I just pinched myself, all I did was leave a bruise

steveinaz

Beautiful lawn. Being a Missouri native, I miss having grass.

ZLTFUL

I used to work for the leading landscaper in the area. I left in 2002 but this is a project I led and did all of the water feature design on and did the majority of the build with 1 other guy. The pictures were taken recently (last summer) as I still maintain a friendship with the family that owns the place.





















I have no desire to have a pool but I am planning on doing some major work on our backyard once I finish the basement.
The plan is to keep our existing deck but enclose it to make it more 3 season friendly.
Off the deck will be a nice limestone flagstone patio with a stone fireplace that will have an outdoor wood fired oven built into it. There will be a combination of raised vegetable planters along with some flowerbeds with limestone paths throughout. There will be a nice rustic garden shed in the back corner of the yard that will be the visual centerpiece of the back yard.

I will also be changing up the existing flowerbed in the front of the house to make it more terraced with stone and some ground cover to make it look nicer than the cookie cutter rock bed the builders do.

Tony M

Fantastic water feature build and planting skills!

Mikey081057

I miss having a real lawn... St.Augustine/Floratam is more like a vine/groundcover....but it stays green for the most part...

treitz3

Ryan, that pool and backyard landscape is absolutely stunning. It's also my worst nightmare. I have about a 1/4 of the amount of flowers in my yard than that property and it is a nightmare trying to maintain that kind of landscape. You can spend hours upon hours weeding and at the end of the day, it sometimes still looks like you didn't do a damned thing....even when the trailer is full of weeds/debris and the burn pile is taller than I am.

I do love it when I have the time to do it right though. The end result is stunning sometimes and I love the year round color.

You did a nice job on that property!

Tom

Mike Reeter

Ryan, Beautiful work man! But Tom is right, all the maintenance involved in a Flower Garden of that magnitude, would be a bit overwhelming at times.

In our former place, I had a neighbor that was a Master Gardner, they had a three acre tract that was almost one big Flower Bed. She would put in a solid eight hours in maintenance almost daily. But, it was her passion...

Mike Reeter

steveinaz wrote: »

Beautiful lawn. Being a Missouri native, I miss having grass.

Steve, I'm one of those fools that likes GREEN Grass also

charley96

Mikey081057 wrote: »

I miss having a real lawn... St.Augustine/Floratam is more like a vine/groundcover....but it stays green for the most part...

Beautiful landscape ya have. I'll be more than happy to leave my nice lawn in Illinois for the south when the time comes.