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NorCal "Tropic Zone" Garden Pics From Today


Jim in Los Altos

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Well, Summer's half over so I thought it would be a good time to post my annual garden photos. This summer has been balmy and humid and most of my palms are in high gear right now and growth should continue through November before most screech to a halt. I'm downloading lots of pics so please be patient.

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Yours truly and a fat Livistona chinensis front porch area

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view from front porch

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Licuala ramsayi and R. regia and small Dictosperma to right

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  • Upvote 1

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

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Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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Dypsis decepiens and Beccariophoenix alfredii

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Heliconia in bloom by mailbox

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Parajubaea toralii friendly snake :)

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  • Upvote 1

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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post-181-0-16774000-1407537236_thumb.jpg post-181-0-52293800-1407537278_thumb.jpg

Lemeurophonix hallexii

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Rhopalostylis sapida

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Ropalpstylis bauri

  • Upvote 1

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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post-181-0-49914300-1407537575_thumb.jpg post-181-0-38801400-1407537617_thumb.jpg

Livistona chinensis young Jubeaopsis caffra

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driveway to side gate

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through side gate blue bamboo

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Pritchardia species?

  • Upvote 1

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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post-181-0-02064500-1407538035_thumb.jpg post-181-0-97729200-1407538058_thumb.jpg

Manila mangoes

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Livistona australis Hedescepe

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babaco papayas ripening

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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Looks comfy doesn't it? thatch roof gazebo

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The pond holds 20.000 gallons

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  • Upvote 1

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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post-181-0-76215000-1407538923_thumb.jpg post-181-0-51055600-1407538986_thumb.jpg

stairs to top of waterfall view from top of waterfall

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stone waterfall and climbing ficus

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patio

  • Upvote 1

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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post-181-0-34112200-1407539286_thumb.jpg post-181-0-37030600-1407539384_thumb.jpg

I planted that Washingtonia!

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Cayota urens I love this Chamaedorea elatior

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Bentinkia Parajubaea fattening up

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One of my Archontophoenix groves

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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Some nighttime shots.

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  • Upvote 1

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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A few more pond shots

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small greenhouse around the corner

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Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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post-181-0-82490100-1407540558_thumb.jpg post-181-0-67369900-1407540609_thumb.jpg

Bismarckia nobilis Wodyetia in background

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waterless lawn foxy lady

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to front porch Phoenix reclinata X roebelenii

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King palms are way over the roof now

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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post-181-0-37532900-1407541001_thumb.jpg post-181-0-39813900-1407541049_thumb.jpg

Dare I say dariani

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I THINK THIS IS ENOUGH! I hope you enjoyed.

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Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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Looks awesome Jim. Your yard looks incredible year round though. One day, I tell myself!

Ben Rogers

On the border of Concord & Clayton in the East Bay hills - Elev 387 ft 37.95 °N, 121.94 °W

My back yard weather station: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/hdfForecast?query=37.954%2C-121.945&sp=KCACONCO37

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Always like seeing pictures of the garden Jim.. More South Bay yards should look this awesome..

-Nathan-

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Jim, your garden is absolutely awesome and certainly a credit to the hard work that you have put into it :greenthumb:

Andrew,
Airlie Beach, Whitsundays

Tropical Queensland

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I am with Paul - a stunning garden Jim. And an inspiration for someone living in Melbourne. Thanks for posting the pics.

Climatic Zone: Vile..

Location: 37.765 (S) : 144.920 (E)

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L. chinensis looks so tropical, just liking them more and more. Sometimes I think we get so caught up with all the exotic stuff and overlook the more common palms. Will be studying these pics more.

David Simms zone 9a on Highway 30a

200 steps from the Gulf in NW Florida

30 ft. elevation and sandy soil

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Jim's garden is even more awesome in person, every palm is grown to perfection! Jim has a ton of canopy which makes it possible to do a lot of zone pushing. Every time I visit Jim's garden it renews my motivation.

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Jim, how large is your yard and what shape is your lot.

Excellent photos. Beautiful yard. I will be plagiarizing the crap out of your yard.

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Beautiful gardens you have and are still creating their Jim :greenthumb: every pic shows your passion and persistence, great stuff.

Pete :)

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Hmmm, I think I must see this garden in the very near future.

In my post I sometimes express "my" opinion. Warning, it may differ from "your" opinion. If so, please do not feel insulted, just state your own if you wish. Any data in this post is provided 'as is' and in no event shall I be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, damages resulting from accuracy or lack thereof, insult, or any other damages

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Jim, how large is your yard and what shape is your lot.

Excellent photos. Beautiful yard. I will be plagiarizing the crap out of your yard.

Adam, my lot measures 100' X 98' so just under 10,000 sq. ft. With the majority of it taken up by the house, driveway, patios, lawn, and pond, I've had to cram my 300 plus palms into a relatively small area that lots of companion plants also share. It's beneficial in that the denseness of the planted areas makes cold damage as well as heat damage less likely than a more sparsely planted garden would and I really prefer the lush look.

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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When is the tour?

Any time Will. Come on down!

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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Bravo!

07690.gif

elevation 328 feet

distance from mediteranean sea 1,1 mile

lowest t° 2009/2010 : 27F

lowest t° 2008/2009 : 33F

lowest t° 2007/2008 : 32F

lowest t° 2006/2007 : 35F

lowest t° 2005/2006 : 27F

lowest t° 2004/2005 : 25F

Historical lowest t° 1985 : 18F

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Superb! Well done...

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is now...

~ Chinese Proverb

 

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Now this is what pt is all about! Outstanding! I look forward to more northern hemisphere garden photo tours now that summer is nearly over and the yards have had a few months of growth to look at their best. Bravo Jim

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Jim your tropical garden is looking Gorgeous! So many palm species it mind blowing. :greenthumb: And, lots of color and attention to the understory. Love it!

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Beautiful garden Jim, it's nice to see what can grow up here in Nor Cal. Your garden looks like a tropical paradise. There are a lot of stand outs, especially your Parajubaea and your Phoenix reclinata X roebelenii. I'm going to look into that Phoenix hybrid. Thanks for posting.

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Awesome garden, just gorgeous. Lots of inspiration here what can be done with even a minimal available space. Lots of plants crammed in the areas, but layout is nice because of the pathways, added rocks for effect, and great layering.

After looking at the pictures again, what's striking is that most of the photos appear to be of the front yard. IN the back yard there's a patio, koi pond, bridge (to where?) and a wall behind the pond. Again, great great stuff there.

Jim, what does your irrigation system look like and how much watering do you have to do?

Also, how much editing do you do after the plants grow too big for an area?

How old is your yard - when did you start planting? The archanthophoenix look 20+ years old...

Thanks!

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Fan-"fracken"-tastic! Truly an inspiration and a darn good display of your landscaping philosophy for "Las Palmas Design"!

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Awesome garden, just gorgeous. Lots of inspiration here what can be done with even a minimal available space. Lots of plants crammed in the areas, but layout is nice because of the pathways, added rocks for effect, and great layering.

After looking at the pictures again, what's striking is that most of the photos appear to be of the front yard. IN the back yard there's a patio, koi pond, bridge (to where?) and a wall behind the pond. Again, great great stuff there.

Jim, what does your irrigation system look like and how much watering do you have to do?

Also, how much editing do you do after the plants grow too big for an area?

How old is your yard - when did you start planting? The archanthophoenix look 20+ years old...

Thanks!

Pando,

Lots of those shots are from the backyard starting halfway through post #4, all of posts 5,6,7, and half of 8 as well as part of post #9 and all of post #10. My palms are almost evenly divided between front and back because I have a fairly wide side yard in back that contains a lot of the backyard palms and other plantings. Most of my landscape is on a timed pop-up spray and a small portion is on drip/soaker. Most of the front and back are watered early morning three times per week in peak summer for up to fifteen minutes per station. Parts are watered just twice a week. I hand water pots and occasionally supplement the watering on thirstiest palms.

I generally haven't ever removed any mature plant material except for a large hollywood juniper damaging the house, a big ugly, messy Cordyline tree, and one Trachycarpus fortunei that was the odd man out in an Archontophoenix grove. I also removed a lemon tree that was huge and dumped tons of lemons on the ground and planted three Hedescepe in its place. The rest of the garden contains lots of older palms and lots of very recently planted ones under the older ones. If I need to thin out succulents, I use them at some of my jobs. You're right about the king palms. The oldest are twenty five years old. I had a few palms in my garden back then but didn't get really serious until about ten years ago and have been on a planting frenzy since with well over 300 palms, hundreds of bromeliads, ferns, anthuriums, succulents, bamboo, etc.

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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L. chinensis looks so tropical, just liking them more and more. Sometimes I think we get so caught up with all the exotic stuff and overlook the more common palms. Will be studying these pics more.

You're so right. I think L. chinensis are incredibly beautiful and use them liberally in my jobs when I can get them.

Jim in Los Altos, CA  SF Bay Area 37.34N- 122.13W- 190' above sea level

zone 10a/9b

sunset zone 16

300+ palms, 90+ species in the ground

Las Palmas Design

Facebook Page

Las Palmas Design & Associates

Elegant Homes and Gardens

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