Because I cannot upload a photograph, I will post the original message another time.
This message was edited Sunday, May 11th 8:24 PM
Michelia champaca and Alexander Palms
I purchased a Michelia champaca on Saturday and I plan to purchase Alexander palms. I would like to plant these(and other yet to be determined tropical plants) in front of my home, which faces east. However, I'm a novice gardener and I can't decide where I should plant the Michelia or the palms. I welcome suggestions from everyone and a slightly crooked photograph of the front of my home is attached. :-)
deleice, Michelia's get to be quite large tree's , I have both orange campac and alba...They also drop allot of leaves during the winter and fruit if it is a orange campac.. You have a nice open area to the left front middle corner.... With care they grow pretty fast and you have to image the tree and what it will look like as an adult.
Alexander's are great looking palms! sometimes people will flank either side of an entrance way with them... This can be nice if the both grow evenly but sometimes one will take off leaving a uneven look.. Have you thought of planting 3 of them in a clump type arrangement they realy look natural that way :) I think they would look lovely as a clump planting near the front right corner.
Wish I lived on the east coast as I would bring my tiller over a give you a hand!
John
John, would love to see pictures of your gardens
John:
Thank-you very much for your suggestions and the information. I like the idea of planting the Alexanders in a clump of three so I will definitely do that.
I appreciate the information about the Michelia also. I tried to find all the information possible on the internet and in my tropical gardening books but not one of those sources mentioned that the tree drops a lot of leaves and fruit. That is information that I'm glad I know now. I hate grass, which you could probably tell by the condition of my grass LOL, so any leaves that fall can remain to cover up that offending groundcover. However, I have a question about the fruit: If I don't remove fallen fruit, will they eventually sprout?
I agree with tiG, I would LOVE to see photographs of your garden. I imagine that you are surrounded by a lush, tropical haven that I might one day be able to duplicate in my own garden. :-)
Veronica
did you buy the lot?
delecie,
You have such a great open slate! Not only can you get some nice plants in your yard, but I believe you can also get some nice bushes in the area between the sidewalk and the street. Please keep us updated on your progress, I am right now in the process of trying to fit more plants in my front yard, and it's proving to be quite the workload :)
Regards,
Olga
OlgaN , that is the most exciting thing about delecie's front landscape is the clean slate :) No bad palms to deal with or even worse a ficus tree that is 100 feet tall with roots galore ... I give both of you much credit to have the savvy to go to the plant sale !! I would have been there but I'm not needing tree's right now ...
John
Olga & John:
One of the things I am grateful for is the clean slate. When I bought my home, there was one palm in the front yard and a huge avocado tree in the middle of the back yard. The palm was uprooted during the "No Name" storm and was removed. I planted all of the plants in the photograph last year but I think I may have been a bit over zealous. I no longer find the plantings aesthetically pleasing. :-(
My co-worker suggested I make copies of my home survey so I can have "aerial views" of my property. He said he'll help me draw different sets of plants, trees, and hardscape items in so I can have different options to choose from. I'm so happy that everyone is so willing to offer suggestions to help me.
delecie, I look forward to seeing your landscape grow and grow it will down here ! I've not noticed sprouts from the seed that drop around the campac ...but I'm a mulch junkie and the seeds must not have a chance with my efforts!
Here is a pic of part of my garden to be, as of now. This is looking from the back of the new lot looking at the back of my house.. This is my native garden and the pathway leads to a other path's in this garden and a gate that opens into the fruit and tropical garden...My native garden is full of life and is a joy to work in : )
John
John:
Your garden looks so peaceful and huge! I know the wildlife is very happy there. I love natives also and my back yard contains a mixture of natives (Hamelia patens, Byrsonima lucida, Psychotria nervosa, Psychotria ligustrifolia, Sideroxylon salicifolium, lysiloma latisiliquum, cordia sebestena)and exotics (Brunfelsia nitida, Carrie, Icecream, & Glenn mangoes, Senna polyphylla, thunbergia erecta, brugmansias, plumerias, scotch bonnet pepper bush, assorted potted plants). Everything was planted last year so I don't have the lush look of your garden and I still need more plants because I can still see my neighbors! lol However, seeing your garden has given me hope and I can now dream of things to come. Thanks for sharing John. :-)
oh I'm just plain jealous of you both!!!
I wanna yard like that!