Update on my tropical gardens at work

OK...it's time for some updated pics of my 4 large parking garage gardens..to show how they have filled in.. I will post all of the same bed pics in this first batch.
This is the bed from the second floor level of the garage.Notice the homeless guy eating a snack on the upper right side (yellow shirt)He likes this bed too. eats there every day..he helps guard the bed against damage by being there.Sometimes I welcome these people to stay near the beds.This was the bed last year that had many huge specimen plants stolen.Anyway heres the pics..enjoy.

another....this bed is partially shaded all day now..the sun is movin south more each day.This bed is on the NE corner of the building along two streets.This is at ground level in the back of the bed against the building.looking north.

This is from street side looking ne across the bed.This is the most visible side of the bed.

This is in the sunny part now looking SE from the corner.Same bed as before just another angle.Its been approximated that about 20,000 cars a day pass this corner.So the beds are very visible.

North end of the bed looking sw.

another view of the west side of the bed.

north end of bed looking across to the beds on the other side of the street.

Tomorrow the fern / ee bed.. :-)

Those are incredible!

I am in awe!!! You would do any planting here proud!!!! Wow, I am really impressed! Of course, within 6 months we would be dealing with a jungle!!! Really impressive, Kyle...I have shown your pictures to 'growing' friends here and they can't believe it!!!!!

The beds have filled in great...you must be happy with them! How are they watered, and who has to do that?

What is that cycad in the bed...it looks to soft for a revoluta, I want one! lol

Kyle, what kind of soil mix are you using in those beds. It must be very rich to support that awesome growth in Iowa. Talk about pushing the zones............... WOW

WOW! I have never seen a bed that beautiful commercially or privately even here in Florida !

Forgive my ignorance, I am new to gardening....What is the dark plant in the corner of the bed in the last picture under the EE's?

Just beautiful!

Kyle, those are gorgeous. What do you feed them to get such growth, and will you dig them all before freeze?

In the pics posted 11:29 and 11:36, is that Lime Zinger? Mine is only about 12 inches.

The beds are watered with a hose from a tank truck.
We really don't feed them much,ocassionally a water soluable fert. in the truck tank.
The soil is just plain garden soil, no additives.(Good black Iowa Topsoil)
Shellabella its an alternanthera, Large form of Josephs Coat.
Peters 20-20-20 every so often in the water truck.
Yes I have to dig ALL of them up unless the vandals steal them first or I don't have room to breing them in.
Andrew (my intern) helped me with planting this year but he is gone so it's just me!..

Kyle, what is that cycad in the first picture, I like the way it looks, sort of feathery, and the leaves look softer than the revoluta

The one under the edge of the elephant ears is a blechnum tree fern(dwarf) the larger plant is a ravenala palm.

OK..now for your viewing pleasure. The Civic center planters for 06. these are about 6 ft across and about 24 inches high. BTW the alocasias are my seedlings from late last fall.

This is part of a grouping of 4 planters on the west entrance not bad considering we had 30MPH winds and a 2" downpour just 3 hours earlier. :-)

the complete grouping.

North doors planter

the draecena in this pic is 5 yrs old from a small pot.the left side of the pot has a candy wind hibiscus in it, no blooms right now, the buds drop when it gets about 100F out.

This planter only had the palm, EE's and th sweet potato left in it last week after the vandal tried to destroy it..this pic is a week after the repairs.

This is across the street at Nollen Plaza near the Carusoe Umbrella (art) and the fountain.These are the low planters, I try to mix things up so each pot is unique to a certain degree.

another grouping

The good thing about pots is that even though most of these weigh 200lbs each, you can still move them when necessary.

Kyle, please forgive my ignorance. Are you the Hort. man for your city? Do they provide you with $ to pick the plants you want, and a GH to winter them. They are all beautiful plantings. Joelle

another angle notice off in the background are the tropicals at the civic center.

Joelle, I am a hort tech (parks dept), I use just about anything I want to plant.Many of the plants I pay for, most are supplied by the city.I also use the plants I trade for online.Diversity is the word. The more kinds the better.

Last for tonight is a group of planters I use to do in tropicals till someone came up with the idea that the public would rather see them in prairie plants..you decide...I call em yuck planters.

Duhhhhhh..is that even a valid question Kyle???????

All are stunning...except for the last one...
Looks like somebuddy stole your plants and let the weeds grow in their place.

kyle, they are all gorgeous! except, for the one full of weeds :o)) great work. i love the lime zingers. are they in full sun? also, what is the plant in the first picture with the variegated leaves? thanks for sharing.

The lime zingers do best in full sun , but thats not always what they get.
the variegated trees are Hibiscus tilleaceous Hau or Mahoe trees.

I hope the folks in your city know just how lucky they are to have you in charge!
I too say YUK! to the prairie planter.

Prairie planter is borrrrrrring. Big yawn here.

lol Kyle...you are right-it was a palm-not a cycad! Talk about talking myself into imaging a new plant!! I pictured this really nice new cycad-one that you could handle that wouldn't hurt you!! oh well...

LOL tigerlily well you can always wish it was safer to handle..LOL

Des Moines is very lucky to have Kyle, Kyle only showed you part of the flowers that he has around the city. The city just built him some new greenhouses & about everything Kyle touches turns to gold from plants to cage birds.

I live 6 minutes from all the plants downtown & about 15 minutes from Kyles house, You should see all the plants he has at home, He can't spend as much time at home on his plants because all the plants at work & downtown keep him busy.

I think about everyone has seen the new brugs & some other plants that he has hybridized..So when he retires the city is going to miss him.
Jerry.

Jerry when do you want the $5..for the plug?? LOL Thank you sir. :-)