Thirsty Frontyard

[Gileno Machado]

We finally had a good and much needed drop here last night but March has been unusually dry in NE coast... 21 days in a row with plain sunshine back on top 90° up our heads up here on the coast is a real challenge for most grown up palms, surviving on their own.

They've had rain high above normal in São Paulo and Rio this summer but El Niño seemed to keep the S. Atlantic humidity away from the Northeast coast for quite some time...

Here are a few pictures from the previous weeks...please feel free to post frontyard images here as well.

...and Please do the rain dance for me...

[Gileno Machado]

Now these Bismarckias don't seem to need frequent showers...they fry OK and seem to enjoy:

[Gileno Machado]

Pritchardia pacifica under stress;

Chamaerops faces bottle amidst weeds in the lawn by the empty (soup warm) small night pool:

[Gileno Machado]

Trois Veitchias slowing down;

moving into Cycadland:

[Gileno Machado]

Bottle head dog;

Get that coco back!

[Gileno Machado]

Cycas thouarsii fights circinalis for bluer colour contest;

Grilled Livistona rotundifolia anyone? under mango attack...

[Gileno Machado]

filibusta laughs at the skies;

[Gileno Machado]

Don't ever ask your dog to come into the Clinostigma picture for scale;

Latania loddigesii stands drought but needs a wet foot meanwhile:

[Gileno Machado]

mitis peacock;

Ptychosperma elegans in flower, right next to Areca catechu recently planted:

[Gileno Machado]

Euterpe oleracea compliments and embraces the Washingtonias;

Back to work, amigos...

[Lowey]

Looking very nice Gileno even without enough rain, we have had lots of good rain perhaps a little too much, some of my seedlings are dying from being too wet

My front yard about a month ago.

[DoomsDave]

Gileno:

YOu know you're on the list for TORTURE . . . .

[BS Man about Palms]

Very nice Gileno, I Hope more rain is in the cards for BOTH of us!

I am weeding and remulching my front yard, I'll take some pix then.

[LauraAnu]

Great looking garden Gileno.

Here, it is so dry, my garden is looking like a dust bowl.

These few pictures are some taken of my front yard last month.

Laura

[Moose]

Great looking garden Gileno.

Here, it is so dry, my garden is looking like a dust bowl.

These few pictures are some taken of my front yard last month.

Laura

Looks like someone has been scanning her island finding palms to add to the yard!

[Gileno Machado]

Wow Bruce...your palms look so well treated !! That fat spindle is awesome. What kind of fert do you use with them and how often?

Dave, when are you comming down here for a visit? When will the classic red converse icons finally step the sands of Sirinhaém?

Bill, thanks for your comments...our prays for rain are starting to come true...I'll be posting a special Dypsis pictorial in your honor soon. stay tuned

Laura, nice garden...neat Latania...it looks like you still have a lot of space to play with, hmm? How about some more photos of your palms and beautiful island scenes?

[Lowey]

Wow Bruce...your palms look so well treated !! That fat spindle is awesome. What kind of fert do you use with them and how often?

Dave, when are you comming down here for a visit? When will the classic red converse icons finally step the sands of Sirinhaém?

Bill, thanks for your comments...our prays for rain are starting to come true...I'll be posting a special Dypsis pictorial in your honor soon. stay tuned

Laura, nice garden...neat Latania...it looks like you still have a lot of space to play with, hmm? How about some more photos of your palms and beautiful island scenes?

Gileno, thanks, I use a combination of a high volume nitrogen fertilizer, with a calcium/magnesium blend that suits the acid soil I have.

Lets see the Dypsis pictorial they are my favorites

[Wanderanwills]

I just I thought I would add these as a bit off a laugh, my wife calls it the quarry.

Hopefully will get a few palms in soon.

Regards

Wanderanwills

[Wanderanwills]

I would like to get the lush look soon and do away with the quarry look....

[iamjv]

Gorgeous front yard Gileno! Hope you get some rain soon! Jv

[Mark Heath]

Your front yard is breathtaking Gelino! I would have to move back to Miami in order to have

Large Cocos like yours! A beautifull garden for sure!

[LauraAnu]

Hi,

These are a few more shots I took of the front yard yesterday. I am doing some work in the back and will post some pictures when that is through.

Laura

[Kris]

Dear Brother Gileno

Nice visuals..

Love,

kris

[Gileno Machado]

Thank you Kris, Lowey, Mark and JV. Where are the pictures of your frontyards?

Laura, your garden looks great...we can't have Bougainvilles in the front yard because of the constant winds but my wife loves them and has them growing on the street, behind the house in a more protected situation. Do you irrigate your palms?

Wanderanwills, I'm sure you'll be planting a few nice palms by the street soon, so keep us updated with the progress. I like the motorboat though...

[paulgila]

awesome pix,gileno! nice use of space & not too crowded(like my yard)

[LauraAnu]

Hi Gileno,

The bouganvillas here are a usual fence planting as the animals don't really eat them (they have to be famished first ) and they are drought tolerant. As my lot is only a 1/4 acre I use that to give me privacy in the front yard. I don't have an irrigation system, what I do is water the plants about twice per week in the front until they are in about 1-2 years and established. After that, It depends on the weather and if they start looking stressed.

Right now we are experiencing severe drought all across the Caribbean and I am watering about twice per week in the front yard and more often on the new plantings in the back. Hopefully we will get some more rain soon and my plants can get a bit bigger so I don't have to water more than once per week all across the yard.

Laura

[LauraAnu]

Moose,

I am always on the lookout for palms . I travel for miles all over the land just to add to my collection

Laura

[Rafael]

Hi,

These are a few more shots I took of the front yard yesterday. I am doing some work in the back and will post some pictures when that is through.

Laura

Very nice!!!

I also travel a lot for palms. These days i jumped 1300 Km twice, just for palm in Spain searching!!!!!

[Gileno Machado]

awesome pix,gileno! nice use of space & not too crowded(like my yard)

Paul,

Not a real balinese appeal yet...

Watering and establishing new palms in our sand is a challenging task, anytime but specially in summer. I've been lazy about planting in the frontyard lately and concentrating the efforts in dealing with a whole great bunch of seedlings in the backyard... Besides, I've been very reluctant in blocking the view (and the breeze, thanks). Don't forget humans need shade and wind movement here to survive...

Anyway, what do you think of a new Cycad(s) in the lawn part, to the left...May I take your suggestion?

[Gileno Machado]

Hi Gileno,

The bouganvillas here are a usual fence planting as the animals don't really eat them (they have to be famished first ) and they are drought tolerant. As my lot is only a 1/4 acre I use that to give me privacy in the front yard. I don't have an irrigation system, what I do is water the plants about twice per week in the front until they are in about 1-2 years and established. After that, It depends on the weather and if they start looking stressed.

Right now we are experiencing severe drought all across the Caribbean and I am watering about twice per week in the front yard and more often on the new plantings in the back. Hopefully we will get some more rain soon and my plants can get a bit bigger so I don't have to water more than once per week all across the yard.

Laura

Hello Laura,

I understand your feelings about a drought, as our climatic conditions sound similar. We've had here more than 2400 mm of rain last year, well distributed, so we were kind of "spoiled" by the frequent showers and performed less waterings than are currently demanded this season. Usually we can pause waterings here in May and only think about that again in early August...it should be raining more here by now...but weather gets crazy sometimes, hmm?

Here's your sister's blue (not so) Latan:

[Central Floridave]

Nice shots! Sorry about the drought. Speaking of el Nino it seems like the moisture has moved into Florida. We have been getting a lot of rain for spring. I got two inches last night. April/May is typically Florida's dry season. I'm wondering if El Nino is going to keep us in the wet season in the early part of April. Pre winter the weather predicters were saying that Florida would get a wet and cool winter and they were right about that! It sounds like El Nino gives Coastal Brazil a dry summer.

[Gileno Machado]

Nice shots! Sorry about the drought. Speaking of el Nino it seems like the moisture has moved into Florida. We have been getting a lot of rain for spring. I got two inches last night. April/May is typically Florida's dry season. I'm wondering if El Nino is going to keep us in the wet season in the early part of April. Pre winter the weather predicters were saying that Florida would get a wet and cool winter and they were right about that! It sounds like El Nino gives Coastal Brazil a dry summer.

Only the Northern part, Dave, unfortunely...the South and Southeast/Central are actually drowning...I hope it stops for the Biennial, otherwise we may have an Amazonic wet visit to the Botanical Gardens in Rio...

[Lowey]

Cycad in the lawn area, great idea I think

Very well maintained lawn considering your sand.

And RIO, I can't wait, raining or not, where I come from we get wet so often we almost have webed feet anyway

[palmtreesforpleasure]

I would like to get the lush look soon and do away with the quarry look....

Hello Stephen

Look much nicer with some palms,A few Chambeyronia's, Clinostogma's,Pritchardia's to name a few

regards

colin

[palmtreesforpleasure]

Hi Gileno

Love the garden

will have to visit one day

keep planting

regards

colin

[Walter John]

Hi Gileno

Love the garden

will have to visit one day

keep planting

regards

colin

ditto Gileno. Found any new coconut varieties lately ?

[Kathryn]

Beautiful Palms Gileno!

[Gileno Machado]

Cycad in the lawn area, great idea I think

Very well maintained lawn considering your sand.

And RIO, I can't wait, raining or not, where I come from we get wet so often we almost have webed feet anyway

Thanks Lowey...and by the way, they had another severe storm in Rio during the last couple days...I guess we'd better take the lifesaver boats to the biennial...

[Lowey]

Cycad in the lawn area, great idea I think

Very well maintained lawn considering your sand.

And RIO, I can't wait, raining or not, where I come from we get wet so often we almost have webed feet anyway

Thanks Lowey...and by the way, they had another severe storm in Rio during the last couple days...I guess we'd better take the lifesaver boats to the biennial...

Gileno, come hell or high water I will see you there buddy, nothing could keep me away from Rio, life boats or not

[Gileno Machado]

Cycad in the lawn area, great idea I think

Very well maintained lawn considering your sand.

And RIO, I can't wait, raining or not, where I come from we get wet so often we almost have webed feet anyway

Thanks Lowey...and by the way, they had another severe storm in Rio during the last couple days...I guess we'd better take the lifesaver boats to the biennial...

Gileno, come hell or high water I will see you there buddy, nothing could keep me away from Rio, life boats or not

Let's see if you Ozzie guys are real good swimmers then...