FM Bencassa's glorious garden

[Kennybenjamin]

Included in our recent grand tour of grand Cairns region gardens was that of Ben (FM Bencassa) and his lovely wife Cassie.

Ben's a great bloke with a great name and great taste in palms, I thoroughly enjoyed his garden and company!! The story goes that he moved from Sydney to Cairns due to either the lifestyle, climate or palm growing potential of the area ( all of the above I reckon ). I believe he said the garden was a bit over 4 years old and his keen interest in it was plain to see! As with all the other gardens we visited Ben had something new and different for us to see.... While we were making a nuisance of ourselves in Ben's garden Comic snapped some pics and here they are.....

Front garden first...

Dypsis carlsmithii, slightly soft / arching leaves on this specimen..

I had never heard of this hybrid before but I could see it was a hybrid by the leaf structure..

Dypsis decaryii x madagascariensis ( lucabensis ).. Ben please correct anything my feeble brain has incorrectly remembered!

[Kennybenjamin]

Great example of the weeping dypsis onilahensis..

This is how you stop the baddies getting into your back yard, plant all the spikey stuff near the fence!!

Aiphanes, astrocaryum and dioon...

[Kennybenjamin]

Just like myself, Ben seems to keep all the best stuff in the back garden. There were some real gems out here!!

First up are some beautiful little coccothrinax! I assume these were planted here so as not to block the vie from his back patio to the rest of the garden. I thought he said these little guys were 20 year old?? If so then not much chance of them blocking the view anytime soon!!!

These cute little heterospathe are in the same area and I assume planted there for the same reason, they were nice little palms that I think get a nice little red leaf leaf too?

Ben had non palm stuff as well... That's weird??

[Kennybenjamin]

As you make your way into the back yard proper you are greeted by this beautiful loxococcus basking in the glory of full Cairns sunlight..

Walk a few more steps and this neoveitchia storkii quickly grabs your attention, this was the largest of about 5 or 6 of these. Paul suggested there were too many and wanted to help Ben by digging one out and putting it in his suitcase..

[Kennybenjamin]

As the 2 Bens make their way through this particular area of the garden our official photographer is going slow, I think he is still counting the number of neoveitchia?

There were multiple nice drymorphleous begunii in Bens garden!!

And also multiple nice Areca halmorea.... Yellow vestiaria type Areca..spelling probably incorrect on this sp. name?

[Kennybenjamin]

Paul wonders what we are looking at and his camera lens follows our line of sight...

The next area of gardens has a few bloody beauties!! Incl. this variegated P. Pacifica..

[Kennybenjamin]

This area is also home to this nice chamby houailou and a chunky dwarf catechu.. 2 of Paul's other fave sp.

Sorry, this pic belonged with the other begunii pics but I have only just found it and it needs to be posted!!

[Kennybenjamin]

A general shot towards the next garden area which awaits us, included in this part of the garden is this nice clean young bottle...

And whatever this palm is called??

[Kennybenjamin]

Ok time to get serious..... Ben loves his Dypsis, told you he was a good bloke!!

He hasn't missed an opportunity to sneak another palm sp. in either.. I too love the use of a small palm as understory foliage..

Arenga hookeriana under D. " dark mealy bug"

D. Pilulifera ( awesome specimen!! ), note the huge amorphophallus bulbs under it!!

[Walter John]

What a great trip you guys had, thanks for posting all the goodies.

[Kennybenjamin]

A very stately carpoxylon which was guarding some little treasures..

Treasures included this beautiful Iguanura ( they don't grow like this where I come from ) and these pretty little Pinanga sp. I'm not a huge pinanga man ( cause I can't grow them properly ) but I had never seen these little fella's and I loved them!! Can you name them for us Ben??

[Kennybenjamin]

Orange Euterpe, nice and colourful.... In the shade! These 2 pics are probably the same but I have 2 pics so I'm posting 2 pics...

A nice little Areca macrocalyx starting to show good colour down low, again note the amorphophallus bulbs underneath...... Be an interesting time in the garden if these all flowered at the same time

[Bismark]

Wow stunning garden and pics thanks again for posting. The pilulifera is an absolute stunner.

[Kennybenjamin]

And last but not least.... A good old Aussie favourite...

Arch. Purpurea with a Chuniophoenix hainanense and some you beaut cycads to boot..

What we didn't photograph was Bens potted collection, I have a lot of experience working with rare palms but many of Bens potted specimens were new to me... This bloke knows his stuff!! Watch out for him in the future with his next larger garden.

Thanks for having us Ben and Cassie!! Till next time..

[comic097]

Nice touch to a great garden Kennybenjamin, Thanks for having us around Ben & Cassie, your garden certainly hits a cord with me mate, loxococcus,arecas,pinangas,hyophorbe's,orange crown euterpe's and some seriously nice looking and great sized neoveitchia and dypsis mealy bug, the list go's on and on, mate certainly looking forward to future posts of your garden. I think I speak for Ben and myself, if your ever down our way, make sure you stop in for a beer or 2 mate.

[NApalm]

Great pics lads. Nice yard ben!

[Bencassa]

Great to finally you both, always welcome when your in our neck of the woods. And when I'm down your way next will definitely look to swing by.

Just as an oddity, had a mate round the other day who's a FM also and spotted that the Dypsis carlsmithii, that is still way off trunking, is throwing its first flower spike! Awesome or something more sinister?

You were right about those little Coccothrinax being roughly 20yrs old. They're C. pseudoragida. So bloody slow.

From the same are of cuba that Copernicia cowelli is from and just as slow.

The little Pinanga are an unnamed species.

Tiny little thing that sets viable seed at no more than a foot high and takes an eternity to ripen. Worth the wait though.

Cheers again boys.

P.s. Wtf is a Drymophloeus beguinii?

[Kennybenjamin]

Great to finally you both, always welcome when your in our neck of the woods. And when I'm down your way next will definitely look to swing by.

Just as an oddity, had a mate round the other day who's a FM also and spotted that the Dypsis carlsmithii, that is still way off trunking, is throwing its first flower spike! Awesome or something more sinister?

You were right about those little Coccothrinax being roughly 20yrs old. They're C. pseudoragida. So bloody slow.

From the same are of cuba that Copernicia cowelli is from and just as slow.

The little Pinanga are an unnamed species.

Tiny little thing that sets viable seed at no more than a foot high and takes an eternity to ripen. Worth the wait though.

Cheers again boys.

P.s. Wtf is a Drymophloeus beguinii?

Bloody speed check obviously changed Hydriastele to drymophloeus, happens to me all the time.

[Bencassa]

Great to finally you both, always welcome when your in our neck of the woods. And when I'm down your way next will definitely look to swing by.

Just as an oddity, had a mate round the other day who's a FM also and spotted that the Dypsis carlsmithii, that is still way off trunking, is throwing its first flower spike! Awesome or something more sinister?

You were right about those little Coccothrinax being roughly 20yrs old. They're C. pseudoragida. So bloody slow.

From the same are of cuba that Copernicia cowelli is from and just as slow.

The little Pinanga are an unnamed species.

Tiny little thing that sets viable seed at no more than a foot high and takes an eternity to ripen. Worth the wait though.

Cheers again boys.

P.s. Wtf is a Drymophloeus beguinii?

Bloody speed check obviously changed Hydriastele to drymophloeus, happens to me all the time.

Hate it when it does that...

[Pedro 65]

Hey, wheres pics of the Phoenicophorium, Satranala, Prestoniana etc plus heaps more, and Ben , wow, your Dark mealy is on its way eh

Pete

[fan palm]

Have seen Bens garden in person and have to say what an awesome job he has done all in all of what 4 years Ben? Goes to show what you can do with a suburban block. This garden is only going to get better with age!

[Kim]

Always love seeing member gardens, never know what you'll find. Very nice collection! PRAs are the best.