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Note: I would like to share with you through these few words, photographs and hyperlinked websites, a 3 Dimensional experience as though you were actually there with us. Click on any photograph and it should enlarge to different size ….. at least half screen or size full screen. It will be clearer in detail than the photo on the post. It will be as if you were really there looking at the actual scene. You are an arm chair traveller with us.
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Subtropical gardening is a style of gardening in which an attempt is made to create a garden in a temperate climate such that it appears to be in a much warmer climate. “The lure of the beauty of tropical landscapes like those found in Hawaii, Key West, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Bali, and other exotic locales is undeniable. Such beauty has an almost irresistible appeal . . . It is the stuff dreams are made of” (Riffle, 1998).
This style of gardening is based on what has been dubbed the “tropical look.” “The tropical look is a bit difficult to define with words alone, but its components include all palms” as very important and distinctive subjects, “all plants with relatively large or boldly shaped foliage and flowers, and all plants with colored or variegated leaves and large and spectacular flowers and flower clusters . . .The tropical look is also based generally on evergreen plants, especially large-leaved herbaceous plants like bananas, bold-leaved trees, and ferns. In short, the tropical look is one of flamboyant forms and contrast.” (Riffle, 1998).
The tropical look can also be considered to include many exotic xeric plants, not just plants that give the appearance of a rainforest or jungle. “The climax community aspect of [desert] areas is uniquely exotic, tropical and colorful” (Riffle, 1998).
….. A subtropical section of the garden with a dark green Allamanda vine growing up some trees. It has yellow tubular flowers on the vine ……
Dwarf Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees with flower-like spring leaves near its flowers. Different authors accept between four and18 species in the genus. Wikipedia.
Read this wonderful website:
How to Grow Bougainvillea: Everything I Know After 20 Years of Growing
Blue Ginger ( Dichorisandra thyrsiflora)
A highly decorative plant which is great in protected areas or pots. Flowers easily during Summer and Autumn. Though this plant looks and grows like a ginger, it does not actually belong to the ginger family.
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Crepe Myrtle:
Crepe myrtles are among the world’s best flowering trees.
They are native to eastern Asia and are hardy in most parts of Australia. Don looked at an exciting new range of crepe myrtle hybrids that reach different heights and spreads, and so reduce the need for pruning. They are also resistant to powdery mildew, a fungal disease that is difficult to control with fungicides.
See this wonderful website from Don Burke: Crepe Myrtle
The frangipani is an iconic tropical tree bearing clusters of colourful and scented flowers during the warmer months of November through to April. … The petals are waxy and the centre of the flower is a different colour – just like the most common variety which has white flowers with a yellow centre.
See this website: Images of Frangipani Flowers
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See this website: Images for subtropical garden design
in very tropical conditions.
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See the next post: Post 6: The Cottage Garden Room
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