I got in contact with a man over the internet. He was selling plants on Ebay, and lives in an area where I was scheduled to visit. I got his phone number, and while in the area, called in to look at his garden. I reckon I walked around it about 20 times, and saw something new each time. It was gorgeous, and he was a nice man, and gave me a plant to take home.
The following are pictures of his front garden
left (west) of the front door. This garden is on the south side of the house and is protected from the sun with shade cloth. (didn't ask about %) The climate is tropical, and the temps are between 14 degrees celcius and 40 degrees celcius, and very high humidity
This is East of the front door. The logs are bloodwood (either Eucalyptus or Corymbia sp.), and are usually found on the forrest floor, due to having their interior eaten by Termites. The exterior wood is extremely dense and these logs weigh upwards of 150kg! (after cleaning). The logs have to be cleaned by removing the mud deposited by the Termites, and then sand blasted to bring out the grain.
I WANT ONE!
Standing east, looking west across the collection
Another log
and another
One at the front door
Guzmania musaica. (I got a pup of this one)
Neoregelia "Royal Burgundy Supreme'
It was HUGE
Neophytum 'Firecracker'
Around the back, he had a couple of shade houses with some nice treats inside.
This is one of the treats, an Aechmea chantinii hybrid! Beautiful!
And a Neophytum 'Galactic Warrior', also a favourite of mine, although i am told they don't do well in our slightly cooler climate. I would like to get one just to prove them wrong!
I hope you enjoyed the garden tour, and if you are like me, it's probly inspired you to display your bromeliads similarly!
Really amazing photos! I agree, very inspirational.
Ahhh, I wish I could find some wood like that for mounting broms and orchids.
what was his ebay ID?
waterwiseplants (in Australia) he only sells once a year on Ebay, but trades at markets I think.
Thanks again angel_tree_baby, you and me both!
Thank you...Ill watch for him on ebay
Wow!
Sue they are just beautiful ...too cold here to have that kind of display ...mine look great then die in the winter ...perhaps I will enclose that greenhouse next year.How cold is it back in Coffs? you are fairly tropical there aren't you?
Come on fess up how many plants did you haul back?
take care of your cold mate and thanks for the glimpes of paradise.
chrissy
Hey Chrissy, Yeah, a shade house in full sun is ideal, because they stay warm. Are you talking about the 100 foot house? They seem to grow alot of exotic plants in Melbourne, but I guess they must be using hot houses and heat mats!
Its been down to around 6 in the morning here, and only 16-18 during the day. It seems to be much colder now, than before I went away. It's sub tropical, because we have most of our rain in the warmer months, but infact it's been wet all year!
I bought home five Broms from Cairns and some little plantlets off the many colourful ginger plants that line the streets of Cairns. The broms will be ok, but I'm not sure how the gingers will react to the sudden change in climate!
My Daughter wanted to move to Cairns because it is so lovely and warm, but I told her to go there in Summer, experience the humidity, and then tell me she wants to move there!
I really did enjoy it, and would love to make it an annual holiday destination in winter. We'll see how things go over the next year. I wish I could shake this cold a bit quicker, I feel its the worst I've ever had. I guess I'm just not used to being unwell! I'm not even going outside today, and thats a hard thing to say! Anyway, I'll rest up and get rid of it as quick as possible so I can get out there and potter.
See you in the forums. It was extremely quiet for a while, like everyone just stopped dropping in! It's still a bit quiet now, must be people have busy lives eh?
Alright, off now.
Sue
I am sorry you are unwell sometimes it's the traveling to different places , different food ...different water ...different temps ...pollens etc. I think Coffs Harbour is one of the diamonds in the crown of our Country ...far nicer in fact than the famous Surfers Paradise ...I am with you on making Cairns a Winter holiday ...because it it a steambath in Summer ...I have friends there who take their holidays in the Summer to escape the heat similar to Darwin.
I guess if you are retired and can retreat to the insides with air conditioning it would be ok ...but then what's the point? I would rather take my chances swimming with the white pointers than with the crocs thanks. Still there is no denying the glorious tropical plants.
Yes I am going to try and get hubby to recover the 100ft greenhouse ...since he has removed a large part of my jungle while I was away. The Greenhouse was used to grow early veg seedlings in the late Winter for the market garden that was here before ...it gets the sun from dawn to sunset so it probably would be warm enough to grow lots of warmth loving things, so wish me luck won't you. You get well soon. Jean and any lurkers out there hang in there Spring isn't far away and a lot of the bugs are dead now ...frost is good for that and sweetening the earth.
This message was edited Jul 13, 2008 8:36 AM
Beautiful visit and excellent photos, I love his collection and wish such a man should live near to my home. Thanks for sharing with us.
Kaleem
I know what you mean Kaleem! It's a bit far for me to go and visit regularly too!
