Late October Update

We had some beautiful weather this October with temperatures in the mid 80s last week. We've recently seen some much colder and more wintery weather with temperatures now approaching the 30s in the overnight and highs failing to get above 60F on some days. I do think that the amount of warm days left are numbered, but there will still be a few before winter. Here are some photos of my plants as we approach the end of October. The garden still looks great, but I am starting to bring the tender plants indoors.

Love the adondilas. All it takes is one to bring the tropical touch. They love our hot and humid summers.

Another view with my largest plumeria joining the shot.

In this view you can see my Queen palm which is just about the tallest plant in my yard (although the castor beans, banana cannas, and my largest plumeria are close to the same height). I am not sure where the queen palm will fit inside my house but I'm determined to figure it out!

Back to the pool area you can see my huge clump of Hedychiums. I bought these plants as two very tiny bulbs from Hawaii. They sell them as plants in airports and gift shops for tourists. Here's some living proof that if you treat them right they will get just as big as the beautiful clumps in Hawaii and the rest of the subtropical world. While Hedychiums are pretty cold hardy I bring mine into the garage each winter because it is so easy to lift up the bulbs.

Here are some of my bananas. I've been saying it all summer but I can't say it enough, my Mekong Giant (to the left in these photos) has just been amazing. It outperformed my Basjoo by FAR. I protected it with christmas lights last year, burning it to the ground. This year I am just throwing leaves on it. My Ensete will spend the winter in the garage. Also check out the Farfugium at the bottom of the pic. Such a cool plant. Beautiful foliage and alien like blooms. The blooms are kind of like dandelions.

Here's a view from indoors.

Thanks for looking!