My Garden in Pyrgos...

[Kostas]

Another Cyclamen hederifolium(native) along with another native plant i have IDed yet

Cryosophila warcewiczii

Potted Castanospermum australe and Pritchardia schattaueri waiting to be planted!

[Kostas]

Zamia hamannii

Howea fosteriana and newly planted Lycaste lasioglossa visible behind it!

[Kostas]

Another newly planted Lycaste lasioglossa next to a Ceroxylon amazonicum

Musa ''Utafan'' and potted Howea fosteriana

[Kostas]

Castanospermum australe

Musa ''Orinoco Tall''

Musa ''Sar''

[Kostas]

A low angle overview of the garden behind the old bakery building

Musa ''Kandrian''

[Kostas]

Caryota maxima(Himalaya)

Bismarckia nobilis(Silver)

[Kostas]

Stangeria eriopus(Forest Form) flushing!

That was it! I hope you liked it!!!

[Kostas]

Time for an update!

Here are a few pictures i took on December 11th!

Howea fosteriana and Archontophoenix alexandrae

[Kostas]

Kentiopsis magnifica

Syagrus romanzoffiana and Howea fosteriana

[Kostas]

Chambeyronia macrocarpa(Hookerii)

Arisarum vulgare. This one is a native aroid i finally managed to ID with the help of a Greek botanist

[Kostas]

Washingtonia robusta(Sonora)

Normanbya normanbyi

Cycas micronesica(Rota)

[Kostas]

Ceroxylon amazonicum

Cycas micronesica(Rota)

Caryota maxima(Himalaya)

Musa sp. ''Kandrian''

[Kostas]

Kentiopsis oliviformis

Musa sp. ''Sar''

Ceroxylon amazonicum

Cycas micronesica(Rota)

[Kostas]

Cycas micronesica(Rota)

Howea fosteriana and Dioon spinulossum

Dioon spinulossum

Musa sp. ''Utafan''

[Kostas]

Howea fosteriana and Lycaste lasioglossa

Lycaste lasioglossa,Ceroxylon amazonicum,Arum italicum(native) and Zamia hamannii

Zamia hamannii

Cryosophila warcewiczii

[Kostas]

Ceratozamia miqueliana

Hyophorbe indica(Southern) and Cycas multipinnata

Olea europea with epiphytes

Monstera deliciosa

[Kostas]

Prosthechea cochleata

Stanhopea tigrina

Leptotes bicolor and Zamia pseudoparasitica

Stanhopea tigrina,Leptotes bicolor,Zamia pseudoparasitica and Prosthechea cochleata

[Kostas]

Prosthechea cochleata

Leptotes bicolor

Leptotes bicolor and Sedirea japonica

[Kostas]

Sedirea japonica

I added another microsprinkler higher up for the Sedirea japonica as i mounted it higher up the tree than any other of my orchids so far and wasnt covered by the other microsprinklers

Astrocaryum standleyanum

[Kostas]

Ceroxylon amazonicum. Its spear is taller than 1,20m

Another Ceroxylon amazonicum. This one has been recovering for quite a while now but seems to be getting stronger. The high humidity and frequent rains surely help it!

These were all the photos from December 11th. I will be posting some updated photos from the 1st of 2012 very soon!

[dimitris]

Hello !

Your plants are great , congratulations ! I spend 2 hours looking what you have done there ! i believed that i was the only one being crazy about palms in Greece , i still can't believe that there is another palm lover & lives within 13 km ! My house is in Katakolo 50 m from the sea ! You have lot of palm species there & several which i don't have even try & surprisingly doing well ! I have read that you living in Athens and you visit your garden in Pirgos the weekends and i 'd like to inform you that the following monday we will have very low temperatures all day long and bellow zero at night , so the more tender plants will need some protection !

[Kostas]

Hello Dimitris!

Its great to see there is another palm lover close to Pyrgos! I pass by Katakolo many times for a nice car drive on the beach or a walk. I probably have seen your house without knowing!

Thank you very much for the heads up for the weather! I very much appreciate your concern and first hand weather info! I am following the weather there with the meteorological station in Pyrgos which is very close to my house and in a similar microclimate,maybe a little colder than me. That Monday you said,the station recorded -0.4C as a night minimum and is the first below 0C temperature for this winter. Due to living so far from my garden,but also to make my life easier,my approach is to not protect my plants there unless there is a size or acclimation goal i am trying to achieve before leaving them on their own. Right now,i dont have any such project running and everything is supposed to survive on its own...and they do,at least most of them! I always plant a few gamble plants and see how they fare through the winter at my garden but so far,the plants that survive a winter at my garden,survive all subsequent winters fine. A strange winter was last year when from high temperatures daily(25C) the temperature got down to -0.1C just 2 days after. That was damaging but again,all the plants that survived the previous winter,survived that one as well without being affected too much. The real test will come sometime in the future,when the once in 20years record cold will hit again along with a little snowfall. I am sure the snow wont do much but i am afraid to see what -3.6C can do to my garden..... And i doubt i will be there when it happens to protect the tender ones to assure i have them another 20years....On the other hand,everything will be much bigger 15years down the road and they may build their cold hardiness enough to survive the few hours below 0C and the brief low of -3.6C,which is the record low for my area so far

I would love to see what you are growing at your garden in Katakolo and i am sure other members would love that as well! Open up a thread for your garden if you wish and load it with pictures for all of us to enjoy! I know i never get tired of looking at palm photos and when these show palms that actually live nearby ,so much the better!!!

[dimitris]

That 's a good idea but i usually take pictures using my mobiles phone camera and those have low resolution ! I could take some photos now using my digital camera but at this time of the year almost all my potted plant's are indoors with some exceptions and some of the ground planted are covered for protection , i don 't even tell in what condition is my lawn , i have thoughts on removing it so i haven't take care of it for months !

Anyway , i 'll give a try and will see ...

[Kostas]

See,your garden was really enjoyed by all of us Dimitris! Thank you very much for sharing your photos with us!

And now,the photo update i promised you! The photos were taken during the 1s and 2nd of 2012,some from me and some from a friend who was staying with us for the vacations!

Howea fosteriana leaf

Archontophoenix alexandrae

[Kostas]

Female Cycas revoluta

Magnolia grandiflora with 2 Zamia standleyi and a Chamaedorea tepejilote(Blanco) underneath

Ceratozamia miqueliana recovering...When it flushes again hopefully,the majority of its recovery will have been completed,its just missing good new leafs...Its latest flush was destroyed from sun overheated mulch touching it...

[Kostas]

Acanthophoenix rubra,reaching 1,5m tall now and growing

Kerriodoxa elegans

[Kostas]

Chamaedorea tepejilote(Blanco)

Ceroxylon amazonicum on a long recovery process which is going well...

My biggest Ceroxylon amazonicum at 1,2m tall,opening a new leaf

[Kostas]

Ludisia discolor flowering!

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Hyophorbe indica(Southern)

Another Chamaedorea tepejilote(Blanco)

Ceratozamia miqueliana

[dimitris]

Everything looks great especially your Acanthophoenix ! Nice to see plants like those growing in Greece !

[Kostas]

Thanks for your kind comments Dimitris! Not everything looks perfect now as some of my plants are recovering from various things but they should all eventually recover and look perfect!

Cryosophila warcewiczii

[Kostas]

Yet another Chamaedorea tepejilote(Blanco)!

Cibotium glaucum recovering after being left unirrigated for 2 weeks the past September due to power cut from the irrigation computer...Its soil was bone dry when i found it...

Howea fosteriana sun burned from its sun acclimation the past months,when i hadnt decided on its planting spot. It should grow a new,adjusted leaf canopy within two years and look perfect ever after in its permanent, shady position Lycaste lasioglossa orchids can be seen in front of and behind it!

[damir]

all looks great! specially i liked a.alexandrae!! regards

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your kind comments Damir! I am glad you liked it!

Another acclimating Howea fosteriana. This one is recovering and progressing real well now and it has definitely gained growing speed! It recently opened its first leaf since ground planting it in summer and already has grown a good sized spear,a big progress if you take into account that it pushed its first,already 3/4 grown spear all summer and fall to open it in winter...I think its already establishing for good in the ground and should look much better soon!

Grevilea robusta,Dicksonia antarctica and Musa sp.''Kandrian''

[Kostas]

Musa sp. ''Kandrian''

Cycas micronesica(Rota)

Stangeria eriopus ''Forest Form'' and Zamia standleyi

Normanbya normanbyi

[Kostas]

Washingtonia robusta(Sonora)

Bismarckia nobilis(Silver)

My bigger Washingtonia robusta(Sonora)

[Kostas]

Male Cycas revoluta

Coccothrinax alexandrii var. alexandrii waiting for a new patio to be opened and prepared to get ground planted!

My potted bananas are also waiting for that and other patios to be opened and prepared...hopefully soon...

[Z4Devil]

Uff! Wooooow! My goodness, Kostas - do you need a compass to find a way out of your garden? How many palm species you are growing? How large is the area of your gardin? Unbelievable! Have 3 favourites found:

Acanthophoenix rubra

Howea fosteriana

and the beautiful Cycas - what a plant.

Well done, much succes for the next coming centuries.

[Kostas]

Thank you very much for your kind words Verena! I am glad you like my garden!

Unfortunately,my garden is too small to need a compass for navigation,its all around an old building and along the walkways so you cant get lost in it, even if you want to! The good thing is however that now the plants have grown enough that there are places in my garden where you can go and not be noticed by anyone passing just a few feet away! Also,now,a person at the back part of the garden,cant always hear when others call as the sound gets greatly filtered through the vegetation to the point its barely audible,if at all sometimes! This wasnt the case even just a year before!

I am currently growing more than 112 plants of 62 different species and varieties,belonging to 53 different genus,in my Pyrgos garden. Palms comprise 21 of the 62 species i am growing in Pyrgos and more will be added in the near future!

As for the size of my planting area,from a rough calculation,it must be less than 100sqm in total unfortunately...

I am glad you found some favorites among my plants! I know you too are growing successfully the first 2 of the species you mentioned,and very likely the third as well,so you are enjoying them first hand too!

Thank you very very much for your wish Verena! I hope they grow well and thrive in my garden long term

[Kostas]

And last,i kept a few shots from the veranda that is getting very palmy as the palms grow