amazondk 82 Report post Posted April 21, 2008 This is what a Tropical Rainforest looks like. Is this what people imagine it to be? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
realarch 4,413 Report post Posted April 21, 2008 Tropical rain forest type and thankfully will be in Hilo full time by January next year. Not too many options other than that up where I'll be living. Have started the planning and can't wait to begin the hardscape. I lay awake at night just thinking about it. Bo, I'll be stopping by for some of those Clinostigma in late May! Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neofolis 10 Report post Posted April 21, 2008 That looks great Don, although I probably wouldn't want a large road running through the middle of my garden, a few trails with woodchip on the ground would suit me better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amazondk 82 Report post Posted April 21, 2008 Corey, In this landowners case his lot is about 5 kms wide by 25 kms deep. So the road does not really have much of an impact. Tim, That sounds like an exiting project. You need to plant a bunch of Euterpe precatoria as well. Here is a picture of a middle aged gringo in a rainforest landscape. Actually I am sitting in the stream that runs through our 50 hectares up the Negro River where my wife spent much of her childhood, igarape maravilha. dk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bgl 2,751 Report post Posted April 21, 2008 Don, Looks like a nice place to cool off after you've been planting a bunch of palms! And you've come a long way from Montana...! Tim, Yes, I will be here in late May (getting back from Costa Rica before mid May), so just let me know when you want to come by. For Clinostigmas and Euterpes!? Bo-Göran Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amazondk 82 Report post Posted April 21, 2008 Bo, The water is really quite cold. The place is abandoned now and is a project for the future. When Raquel was small she and here brothers and sisters had to get up at dawn and take the morning bath in the stream before walking down to the canoe about 500 meters away and the paddeling their canoe to school about a km down the stream. Back then they had an area around the stream made into a natural pool. Since no one has done anything there for the past 15 years it has sort of reverted to its natural state. dk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neofolis 10 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Don, how do you manage to live in Brazil and not have a better sun tan, that's quite an achievement. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bgl 2,751 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Corey, As you can see from the photo, Don is obviously smart enough to stay in the shade! This place (Hawaii) is full of white people who think it's a good idea to be out in the sun and cultivate their skin cancer! Bo-Göran Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simona 20 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Here's how an oases looks like: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amazondk 82 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Corey, Bo is exactly right. I do not make it a habit of sun sitting out in the sun. And, when I do I use sun block. I already have had a few problems with my skin from earlier days of abuse. I do have a bit of a tan, I would even whiter if I got no sun. The sun here is extremely brutal when it is out in full force. When I am working outside I often use a long sleeved fishing shirt and always wear a hat any more. I think in most tropical climates the locals don't tend to hang out in the sun. And, you don't normally see locals fried red with sun burns either. Since sunshine is the norm instead of the opposite there is no real incentive to go out and get yourself baked. Simona that is a beautiful oasis. dk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ariscott 48 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Ask me again in 10 years.. and hopefully I can post photos from my own garden by then.... Regards, Ari Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
putu enjula 196 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 This is what a Tropical Rainforest looks like. Is this what people imagine it to be? That pretty much fits what I imagine a tropical rainforest to be. Maybe that is the San Diego Zoo's fault! Quite a few of my favorite tropical plants seem to come from the new world. Plumerias, anthuriums, some types of hibiscus etc... When I first came to Hawai'i, the native forest shocked me... it didn't fit my idea of a tropical forest at all. (I guess because technically it's not!) You always hear about how "tropical" Hawai'i is and expect it to look like the TV show "Lost." I thought Hawai'i would fit the stereotype and look lush. Whenever you see a lush jungle scene from Lost, most of the plants you see are not native. Turns out all the plants that I like over here are not from are not even from Hawai'i... go figure... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Italian terraced style Courtyard garden Private Sanctuary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gonzer 1,601 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Utter chaos! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Island holiday Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Outside room garden Godswana garden seaside garden Paradise Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Mediterannean garden Colourful Garden Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark_NoVA 4 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 'Paradise' would be OK with me... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Neofolis 10 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Don, I guess with a plot of that size, a road is quite a useful thing to have, otherwise it could take a couple of days to get to the tree you need to prune. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
realarch 4,413 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Bo, heck yes Euterpe too. You happen to have any available? Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bgl 2,751 Report post Posted April 22, 2008 Yes - Euterpe edulis, oleracea AND precatoria! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FRITO 34 Report post Posted April 23, 2008 I love all types of gardens, I want my backyard to be "jungle" nothing too fomal and lots of dense plants with mulched paths meandering. fire pit and a hammock clearing. with my shed/tiki shadehouse on the other side of the yard. here are some photos I saved, they are in Spain somewhere. This is perfect for the front yard, slightly manicured but still tropical feeling with a light overhead shade. more . . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simona 20 Report post Posted April 23, 2008 Paradise, your pics are paradise! Thanks for sharing! Here's another oases pic... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
realarch 4,413 Report post Posted April 23, 2008 Bo.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ruskinPalms 426 Report post Posted April 24, 2008 Don, you got it! More and more, I just want my garden to look dense and healthy. I have not been happy with the way a lot of my palms look after a 29F freeze...They are alive, well and growing technically, but they are holding a lot of beaten fronds that are aesthetically displeasing. I am starting to appreciate hardy palms more and more since they will look flawless in my climate while still acheiving the atmosphere I crave. Marginal palms in my garden beware!!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tampa Scott 441 Report post Posted April 24, 2008 Don, you got it! More and more, I just want my garden to look dense and healthy. I have not been happy with the way a lot of my palms look after a 29F freeze...They are alive, well and growing technically, but they are holding a lot of beaten fronds that are aesthetically displeasing. I am starting to appreciate hardy palms more and more since they will look flawless in my climate while still acheiving the atmosphere I crave. Marginal palms in my garden beware!!!!!! Bill, That is also my thinking now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TikiRick 380 Report post Posted April 24, 2008 I always strive for that thick rainforest look. I enjoy mulched pathways to lead to places where the eye can not see. I like small pieces of art tucked in as well. The concern of course, is that for many understory plantings, their has to be some sun. With the taller palms all gettting up trapping most of the light, what does well with little light becomes limited. I know, my neighbors think I am absolutely crazy since you can no longer see but the top of the roof line...even from the street, but that's just how I like it. Thick and manacured. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
amazondk 82 Report post Posted April 24, 2008 Here is a shot of a tropical rainforest. This area the understory is mostly Attalea speciosa. I was on a game trail which ran through the area. dk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ariscott 48 Report post Posted April 24, 2008 (edited) I was hoping to have rainforest area in the back of my property... a bit like the rainforest loop in the George Brown botanical garden - for those who has been there or Don's photo ... So, hopefully it will be self sustaining in 10-20 years (if we are still here), self mulch... and with a lot of understorey palms and other plants - with occassional clean up. Definitely nowhere near manicured. The only manicured bits will be garden around the house... There is nowhere I can maintain 5 acres of manicured garden... The other side of the block will be tall timber parts ... hopefully where I put my teak, mahogany and all the timber trees and some big clumps of bamboo (dendrocalamus). In front of it... is where my coryphas and other BIG fan palms are. Waiting for my mauritia, Don (kidding....). And behind the house (towards the front of the block) is where my fruit trees are going. I can see it already that I will run out of room in 5 years time!!! Regards, Ari Edited April 24, 2008 by ariscott Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bgl 2,751 Report post Posted April 24, 2008 Ari, Don't forget your grove of Tahina spectabilis! Bo-Göran Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 25, 2008 Foliage Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 25, 2008 Banana Garden Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 25, 2008 lomg and winding path great place to sit Outdoor room Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 25, 2008 Pot Garden Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 25, 2008 Gawd look at this Gourd Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 25, 2008 Painted Garden Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 25, 2008 Lupins great nitrogen fixer and palm compliment lupin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TikiRick 380 Report post Posted April 25, 2008 Lupins great nitrogen fixer and palm compliment lupin I wish I could grow lupin! Tried it but no cigar....much too hot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomolos 34 Report post Posted April 26, 2008 I have put together a presentation of my garden from its early stages to present with some music. My lovely wife of 30years singing and myself playing the guitar. Just copy and paste the following http://www2.palmpedia.net/wiki/index.php/I...L_17TH_2008.wmv Cheers Mike Amazing transformation Mike especially the photo with the rock. A real jungle. Any room left for more plants? Cheers Sol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites