Hi folks,

After only recently discovering your fantastic forum I now find myself on here daily checking out all your awesome palms and gardens, hence I thought I would post some photos of my garden here in Brisbane (QLD, Australia).... I hope you like them!?!?

First a bit about me and my garden.....I have been pretty heavily invlolved with palms for around 13 years now but have only recently had an opportunity to create my very own garden. This block was purchased just over 3 years ago now and the garden commenced about 2.5 years ago (after waiting out the first winter and planning). This particular house was purchased due the potential I saw in the garden and all I have really done is remove all existing vegetation and revegetate with palms etc. This block is approx 750 sq m and as you will see I have other plant interests in addition to palms but they certainly feature heavily with over 100 different species currently in the ground and most growng well. As with a lot of you I have possibly planted some a little to close to each other but I cannot resist planting as many as possible!

First up will be a few general shots then I will do a close up "tour" of all the gardens and inlcude names and notes as we go(hopefully it all goes ok but please forgive any errors as I am still learning how to upload etc)

"Driveway" garden featuring D. cabadae x 2 plus cabadae hybrids as background / screening plants then 2 x D. carlsmithii and 2 x K. oliviformis as the main feature plants (2 x trees are slowly being removed as the palms mature).

Next photo shows a small pathway that meanders through a section of my back yard.

Next is a few photos of the main section of my back yard, these are the views from our slightly raised deck which provides a great viewing platform.

Here we have a multi planted H. fosteriana, I realise this could be a strange choice but I needed something to fill a hole in the canopy and back privacy screen and this palm seemed to do the job perfectly. Maybe in the future I might have to remove a stem or two but that remains to be seen?

Very nice garden you have there, more pics please

This is the rest of the main section of the backyard. This is all best viewed and photos taken from our slightly raised back deck, great to sit with a beer of coffee or whatever your vice might be?

Now onto the more in depth photos of each garden and I will start back with the "driveway" garden.

Although not a palm this China gold bamboo has provided me with some much needed fast growth and provides great colour and contrast to my palms.

Very nice indeed

On the right hand side of this photo you will see the top half of my super fast growing D. baronii, this plant has shot up and opens new leaves about every 4 - 5 weeks currently and is some sun / some shade. To the left you will see my D. cabadae x D. leptocheilos... This is going to be a GREAT palm, it has been in the ground for only around 2 months now but i expect it also to be one of my faster growers, particularly once the tree over the top is removed and it is allowed to bask in full sun.

Next is a slightly closer photo to one shown earlier, here you should find one of my D. carlsmithii (leftish), one of my K. oliviformis (rightish) and my one and only D. cabadae x D. madagascariensis... I orginally had two of these but sacrificed one to allow for a more comprehensive collection.

Now over to my "Bismark" garden, This was the one and only garden that I have created from nothing. This area started out as grass but was begging for a feature plant to provide that spectacular look. This garden is close to our front entry and is one of my favourites (although I have many!!)

This photo shows a portion of my Bromeliad collection (sorry have to mention them) and the B. nobilis provides the perfect cover and contrast to my vriesia's.

Kenny,

Welcome to PalmTalk! You have a great looking garden with beautiful palms, and ALL those bromeliads - WOW! Colorful and exquisite!

Bo-Göran

Even though this particular garden is smallish I think a couple more photos are warrented? The next should give you some oreintation of this garden in the scheme of my front yard. I was very to close to planting a B. madagascariensis (windows form) in this garden instead of the B. nobilis but the bismark won out in the end!

Next shows the bismark with one of my larger cycads which from memory is an E. manikensis with other foliage plants to fill in the space.

Now over to my main "front" garden where you can see 2 x W. bifurcata... These have at least doubled in size since planting out about 2.5 years ago and are well on their way to being the features of this particular part of the garden. Inbetween those you might be able to see my one and only A. merrilii which was a bit of a "test" specimen, these are unfortunatley very marginal in this part of the world and suffer extremely stunted leaves after our winters... they generally come good again just before the next winter hits so this will always be the one and only in my garden.

Again not a plam sorry but this Pandanus utilis is a great grower and was a very spindly sick looking plant when it went into the ground, in hindsight this was good real estate for another palm but i am going to leave it in it's place just for some more diversity. Zamia integrifolia reside under this pandanus and again provide good colour contrast with the "fireball" bromeliads.

Here is my trio of D. leptochielos, their foliage can look a little on the scrappy side but once trunks are formed I am sure they will become the focus. I planted 2 x medium sized plants and 1 x small plant and as I am sure some of you have observed in your time growing palms the smallest is now the biggest and best of the lot... I should have planted more smaller ones!! These also grow very well for me and have at least doubles in size in their 2.5 years in the ground, they are staring to trunk now (close up photos to come towards the end of this thread) so onwards and upwards for these palms I think.

The next garden to feature is what I am calling my Chamby garden, I am going to confuse you all for a minute though by the first photo which shows my D. prestoniana(???). I know that there is a lot of confusion around these palms but that is what I bought it as and I am happy to believe that the I.D is correct.... feel free to voice your opinions on that?

This has only been planted out now for around 6 weeks but had no spear upon it's planting out but since then seems to have rocketed along and a leaf looks ready open any week now. I have had problems with this particular part of the garden and am sorry to say that a couple of palms died shortly after planting (including 1 x S. luikensis, very annoying!!!). Since then I have dug out the soil to the maximum depth I could and have replaced the lot with nice fresh dark soil and I have my fingers crossed for its current inhabitants!!

Just out of shot here to the left is 1 x C. savouriana (spelling?)

Wow your garden is looking very nice, cant wait to see it all grown up. Some nice planting going on what fun, you obviously have a fantastic nursery nearby Im jealous as anything, I have to fly a few hours by Cathy Pacific to find anything. 

Edited February 26, 201214 yr by Cedric

Here we have my A. australasica and my one and only (freshly planted) Chambeyronia Houilau (again spelling???), this is one of my recent additions to the collection and after seeing some in a friends garden recently quickly became a must have!!

Not a great deal to say about this photo, it was mainly taken to show the understory. More detail for the next photo.

What is this seedling? I like.

These are my Chambeyronia's, 2 x C. macrocarpa and 1 x C. hookerii (as seen in the last photo). Another week or two and I think I could have had a photo with 2 x new red leaves, I might post a photo in this thread once I get that photo???

All three of these are growing well but the C. hookerii has been a little timid of the sun thus far.. I am sure they will harden up and eventually they should be fine.

Onto the "Dypsis" garden now... Not many of you like Dypsis do you?? This garden is home to most of my smaller growing dypsis, some of them are very pretty and are some of my favourites in the garden.. again many favourites!

Here you can see what I believe to be D. florencii(?, again your thoughts are welcome!) to the right and a small but happy and growing Burretiokentia veilardii to the left. The B. veilardii has so far amazed me by its growth for such a small palm... it is out growing my much larger B. hapala and also seems much happier.

This photo really does not do this palm justice, I believe it to be D. psammophilla and the colours are really quite nice. The spear shows a great red colouring to it which seems to dissappear once the leaf opens, it also displays a great purple colour on the lower base of the stems... I just wish I could get a good photo of this one!!

Here is my 2 x D. pambana (centre of photo) flanked by my 2 x D. lanceolata (outside edges of photo), I find them both to be very strong growers although the D. pembana outgrows the the D. lanceolata by two fold. These are currently positioned in dappled shade but may one day be exposed to full sun. I quite like the lanky look that the shade helps them to achieve.

In the front foreground you might just be able to see the foliage of my D. faneva, another more recent planting but so far this palm is powering along. This is my second attempt at this palm but planting a larger specimen seems to have worked wonders. Unfortunately you cannot see it in this photo but the colour and pattern in the stems is amazing.. This specimen currently has it's one predominant stem and 4 nice small suckers coming along. I might try to take a photo of this specimen by itself and showcase it later in this thread with some more of my best and most interesting palms?

To the front right you can see a smallish D. rivularis and to the front left you might be able to see what I bought as a D. thyriana (not sure about the I.D on that one?)

Looking down the opposite end of the pathway that is shown in one of the first posts... again this might give you some aspect and idea of the layout.

A small Coccothrinax and Cycad (Dioon) garden is next in line, here you can see what I think is

a C. alto (barbadensis???). Please respond with your thoughts on any I.D that you think may incorrect, I would prefer to be told I am wrong than continue to be so!

Nice work there Ben and welcome to Palmtalk. Garden looks great and has dad been giving you a helping hand .Hope to see you next week ,setting up for the show at Mt Cootha....cheers Mike Green(Newcal)

The last photo from that garden is one showing the C. alto and a smaller but very well performing and again becoming a favourite C. argentata.

The last garden to be featured is the back and this garden contains the most densly populated number of palms, some are not yet visible but I will mention the best of them.

Photo #1 is a yet another close up photo of one shown earlier, this one might interest some of you fellow bromeliad lovers.

Just out of shot here to the left is a Ptychosperma burretianum (photo to come later) and 3 x small D. "pink crown shaft" and 3 x very small Reinhardtia simplex.

Chamaedorea adscendens is the main palm shown here but just out of sight (to the left of the C. adscendens) is a Kentiopsis magnifica.

The stem of a D. pinnatafronds hybrid to the left.. I don't know what the other half of the hybrid here is but the only possibility I can think of is D. "pink crown shaft" syn. D. sambiranensis. Licuala ramsayii can be seen in the centre of the photo and Areca triandra to the right.

C. metallica mirror the C. adscendens shown in the last post and Licuala peltata (not elegans) can be seen in the centre. While only very young I have high hopes for my Zamia purpurea (cycad) to be a nice specimen and is front and centre.

This next photo might show how many palms one can squeeze into a smallish corner provided the correct species are choosen. More info on this "palm corner" to come shortly.

"Palm Corner" consists Of 3 x "big Dypsis" as the future canopy... D. canaliculata (left of shot), D. nauseosa or whatever it is called these days (I have known it as D. ceracea, D. prestoniana and D. nauseosa in my time) just to the right of centre and D. lastelliana on the far right. Many different understory species occupy the space inbetween, photos coming.

I have 2 x Bentinckia nicobarica towards the front but I have found them to be a marginal species for me here and I am fairly certain that they will have to be removed after the approaching winter, pity!!

A close up of my D. lastellina, I believe there might be a couple of different forms of this palm and not sure which mine is but please note the beautifull pattern / tomentum on the petiole... similar to what is found on the petiole of my D. ovobonstira but white rather than reddish.

Normanbyi normanbya, Hydriastle beguinii and a variegated alocasia also visible here.

Nice work there Ben and welcome to Palmtalk. Garden looks great and has dad been giving you a helping hand .Hope to see you next week ,setting up for the show at Mt Cootha....cheers Mike Green(Newcal)

Cheers Mike, I am sure you will be seeing me next week. I wish dad did give give me a helping hand, I could have used a labourer!

Another of my favourites... a long list I know! H. beguinii in full flight! this palm has amazed me with it's growth and was a shadow of its current self when it was planted 2 years ago. N. normanbya crownshaft detail to the right.

Licuala lauterbachii is towards the back centre here with multiple Linospadix minor in the foreground. The cycad right in the centre of the photo is Zamia splendens and is starting to get a bit of a move along (in cycad time).

3 x C. earnsti-augustii in the middle with the trunk of one of my 3 x C. tepejilote to left.

A Dypsis pilulifera is going to complete my Dypsis canopy and can be seen in the far back corner, this is one of my prized palms, only a recent planting but i have high hopes for this one!!

My afore mentioned D. canuliculata with some small Calyptrocalyx and asterygyne etc underneath, Areca vestiaria (orange form) towrds the back.

A slightly closer photo to that in the last post, C. tepejilote leaf on left hand side.

A "messy" looking photo but I had to include a photo of one of my 2 x Carpoxylon macrospermum (new leaf opening) with an angiopsis eveicta (king fern) to the right.

WOW!!! Nice first thread Kennybenjamin! Welcome to palmtalk. You have a crackin garden there. I'm loving all that colour. Keep up the good work. Nice to see another SEQlder.

Just one more of my H. beguinii from deep in the garden.

And finally for completeness... no palms here, but the last photo of the "tour" my small agavae collection.

Thats it for my marathon posting for tonight, I may have one or two further posts featuring individual palms that I would like your opinions on.

Thanks for visiting my thread and I hope some of you have enjoyed touring my garden.... cheers for now

Ben

Really nice garden! Looks like a great place to come out and work in. What are the broms under the Pandanus ? Are they Neo's or baby A. blanch. ? Are they in full sun?

Ben, welcome to Palm Talk. Your garden is a great piece of art. A well done job.

Your garden looks fantastic !!!! Nice work , if you managed that in 2.5 years i can't imagine how your garden will be 10 years after when your palms gain some more height , just like heaven !!! Loved your bromeliads , especially all those colorful neo's and your cordylines !!!

regards , dimitris

Wow, that's sensational Ken. You seem to be the rare combination of collector and landscaper. What's that Dypsis in post #2 next to the water feature? Looks kinda intermediate to "ambositrae" and Slick Willy (or at least how they look here).

cheers

Richard

Really nice!

LOTS to entertain the eye..

Great tour of your beautiful gardens! Welcome.

KB!

Your garden is awesome! Take it from Bo, who ought to know . . .

Wow, that's sensational Ken. You seem to be the rare combination of collector and landscaper. What's that Dypsis in post #2 next to the water feature? Looks kinda intermediate to "ambositrae" and Slick Willy (or at least how they look here).

cheers

Richard

Hi Richard,

Thanks for your kind words, the Dypsis is a bit a of mystery to me and it is one of the plants I was going to post better individual photos of and ask for peoples thoughts.... You have good eyes and have spotted it before I had a chance!

When I aquired this palm I thought that it was D. ambositrae (it had no label), But I have recently very much doubted that due to it's super fast growth, super green leaves and the colour on the crownshaft etc. Don't have the photo with me currently but I will post it tonight and please let me know what you think? It must be a hybrid of some sort???

Cheers

Ben

Really nice garden! Looks like a great place to come out and work in. What are the broms under the Pandanus ? Are they Neo's or baby A. blanch. ? Are they in full sun?

Kahili, The broms are most definately Neo's and I believe they could be Neo "Fireball", A great little mini brom. They are indeed growing in full sun and loving it!

Cheers

Your garden is looking very impressive especially for its age, will be nice to see updates in the future.....very well done

Wow, that's sensational Ken. You seem to be the rare combination of collector and landscaper. What's that Dypsis in post #2 next to the water feature? Looks kinda intermediate to "ambositrae" and Slick Willy (or at least how they look here).

cheers

Richard

Hi again Richard,

Two more photos of the Dypsis you have mentioned. I know there is a lot of confusion about palms like this one but I am very happy to hear any thoughts on this particular palm!! I thought it was D. ambositrae when I bought it but 12 months later I am sure it is not?? I thought I knew D. ambositrae fairly well and D. baronii very well and this seems somewhere in between to me?

Note the stem / crownshaft colour, curved leaves, DARK green leaves and I can assure this palm is flying along (a leaf per stem per month).

It seems to me to be two individual single stemmed palm multiplanted, and will they clump??

Very nice Kenny. Glad to see you join us. Good work on the garden