Late August by my pond

I was so excited to have a pond when I moved into my place 2 years ago, but let me tell you it was a HUGE learning curve to landscape around it, but I think I have it sorted this year! There is SO much fun happening in this little pocket. 

A view from the top of the pond. I need to put a chair here (and wear more bug spray!)

Love this view! The Cordyline Australis is a winter survivor by the way! So is the Fiesta Hedychium ginger which is now MASSIVE!

I guess I won't get any blooms from my Queen Emma Crinum this year,  but it sure looks happy! My Hybrid Musa Sumantrana Gran Nain is really surprising me! 

Musa Sikkimensis is the star, but Colocasia Black Stem is catching up!

Welcome to the pond!

Hedychium Daniel Weeks. My easilest blooming ginger and defintiely my favorites

Passiflora is THRIVING!

Closeup on Passiflora Lavender Lady. It's a new purchase from Fantastic Gardens 

Love this little grouping. The medinilla magnifica is having an amazing year.

My panama hat palm was a perfect houseplant last winter. It's actually not a palm, but a relative of the prayer plant! Despite it's relation to those finicky cousins, this one seems easy. Botanical name is Carludovica palmata

Sanchezia noblis is a zone 9 perennial that can actualyl bloom! I think this will be hard to keep as a houseplant but it's an epic summer plant! My Variegated Monstera Thai Constellation looks great! 

An incredible sunset!

 September ended on an incredibly gloomy note with rain nearly every day and much cooler than average temperatures. It was a HUGE departure from how we started the month - a heat wave with record warm mornings well into the 70sF. 

After record-breaking rain on September 29 (more than 8" at JFK airport (4.30" in my backyard), I saw this brilliant "apology sunset" from Mother Nature. WOW what a sight!

A few tropical plants that are LOVING the shade on my patio

Most of my favorite tropical plants (like my bananas) love getting as much heat and sunshine as possible, but these have been thriving with just a bit of afternoon sunshine. They really seem to thrive indoors as houseplants over the winter too.

Here are how they look in September! 

My flamethrower palm, Chambeyronia macrocarpa only produces a single frond a year, but the leaf is huge and red. It's such an exciting plant!

An orchid flower peeking out between Coleus and Variegated Alocasia wentii “vintage silver”

Dicksonia antarctica

I've had my Medinilla myriantha since 2017 and it's bloomed every single year. A fantastic houseplant and an even better patio plant!

I mean check out those blooms! I'm in love.

Classic Anthurium that i've also had since 2017. It bloom all summer long. 

My Panama Hat Palm, Carludovica palmata, looked completely dead after it suffered transplant shock. It's not a real palm tree though (It's more closely related to elephant ears!) It looks like it'd make a promising houseplant so I'm excited to see how it performs inside during it's first winter.

Comparing my Garden Spaces through the years

They say gardening takes patience *and it does* but transformations can happen before your eyes. That's why I love taking before and after photos of my own garden on Long Island and the garden I've grown up caring for at my parent's house on Staten Island. 

This post is about how my garden spaces have changed through the years. Later in the summer, I'll post comparisons about how much things have changed from spring to summer - honestly, I think that one will be even more exciting! 

 Move-in Day- May 2022

WHOA, how'd that get there - September 2022

My first tropical transformation is something I am so proud of! My mom actually suggested I put a banana tree where the hydrangeas are so I have to give her credit for that. She didn't have an interest in tropical plants when I was growing up, but she's taken care of so many of mine over the years that I think she's grown very fond of them! 

May 2022 - Move-in Day (notice all the plants still in the driveway)

 The Windmill Palm survived its first winter outside alongside the yucca gloriosa and a gardenia. The other plants were all new for this year. 

June 9, 2023

Look at all the growth just one month later It's just spectacular to see!

July 2022

July 2023

July 2022

I added patio furniture to the space in front of my house. 

July 2023

Along the path, I have a Trachycarpus. It's my welcome home sign, but the Vinca didn't quite work in that spot last year.

July 2022

This year I opted for Petunias and added pine bark mulch to help with moisture. I also extended my plantings along the entire length of the path.

July 2023

The backyard had a blank spot against the house that gets full, baking sunshine all day long. It's perfect for tropical perennials like ginger, cannas, and bananas. So that's what I planted!

Early July 2022

The Viente Cohol banana is so much bigger. It's growing a new leaf each week. The garden bed is lined with Dahlia in the front. The dark foliage on one side compliments the dark cannas behind the Dahlia on the other side. I love how this turned out! 

Early July 2023

Also in the photo above, I want to point out a few fun winter survivors! The cannas, Sabal Minor, and even my Southern Star Jasmine (hidden from view) all survived this past winter low of 3F flawlessly in this mild microclimate.

That sunny and hot area against my house extends to my patio. I was really excited to get a container garden going here, but last year it looked SO awkward. 

July 2022

This year I added watermelon vines to the front for a little bit more texture & put larger plumeria to fill the space better. It made a huge difference.

July 2023

The benefit to using potted plants

Growing anything in NYC almost always requires using potted plants because, at least in my yard, there is not enough room in the ground to convincingly pull off the tropical look. One of the perks to using tropical plants is the ability to move things around as the season progresses and that is exactly what I did last week. I wasn't happy with the way that the plants along my stairs were looking so I did some rearranging and a little bit of manipulating.

Here's how things looked before. My issue was the crotons were pushed too far to the back and the adondila was a bit low.

I decided to add a bit of lift to the plants in the back using some crates and plant stands. All of these stands are covered by the plants in front of them. The trick is to make the plants in the back higher without making it obvious why they are high up.

 Here is the final product! You can't see that the plants toward the back are lifted up but you can see the way the plant's heights increase mimics the stairs. The croton definitely earned their place in the front of the arrangement with their thick and colorful foliage. When the cannas to the right grow out in a few more weeks everything will look very thick and uniform and most importantly - tropical!

Rutgers Gardens Plant Sale Haul

Last week I went to Rutgers Garden's annual plant sale. If you live in the NYC metro area and love plants, this plant sale (which happens in the first weekend of May every year) is the place to be. Great prices and a great variety of plants for sale. I am almost finished planting all of these plants out and will make a post soon showing where all the plants ended up! Here are a few of my favorite purchases!

Colocasia illustris, Colocasia Tea Cup, and a variety of Begonias


Passiflora incarnata and Fatsherdra (tree ivy) are both hardy to zone 7. I'm looking for a warm microclimate in the yard for both so a cold winter will not knock them out!



Passiflora incarnata


A colorful variety of coleus


I've been looking for Banana cannas for years and they had beautiful clumps for sale at the plant sale. I am so excited to have these growing in the yard this season.



These hardy delosperma ice plants will look great in a sunny spot. I'm also really excited to have these in the yard.



Tibouchina grandifolia is one of my favorite annuals. I really fell in love with these plants in Florida, the fuzzy leaves are hard to miss and the bluish flowers are just another great plus.



These tassel ferns should stay green year round in my gardening climate. The foliage is really beautiful and I have the perfect spot for them so I am very excited to get these in the ground!



I've been looking for Musa zebrina for a long time now as well and finally found one. Bananas grow so much in a single season that this plant will be unrecognizable in a few weeks if all goes well!





I went to Rare Find Nursery a few weeks ago and while I found some great plants I was disappointed that they were sold out of Magnolia ashei. Rutgers Gardens had them for sale though! This magnolia is not evergreen, but the massive foliage, huge, fragrant blooms, and low growing habit makes it perfect for bringing the tropics to a small yard. I am so excited to finally have one!



Another really cool purchase were these Farfugiums! These plants are so weird and beautiful and also are documented to have decent cold tolerance. They are way too rare for me to attempt them in my zone 7 yard outdoors so I'll be keeping them in pots and bringing them into the garage over the winter for now.



Farfugium japonicum 'Gigantea' has massive foliage


Farfugium japonicum 'Aureomaculatum' has yellow specks on the leaves making it great for adding a bit of color to a shady spot.


Another exciting purchase was this Musa Basjoo. This is definitely the largest basjoo I've ever seen offered for sale (nearly the size of my garage door!). The price was very fair. I'll be putting it as the centerpiece of my front yard. If all goes well this could become the tallest banana I've ever grown in a few more months! The fact I won't have to dig it up in the fall is such a nice plus!



This cabbage tree is not cold hardy but it sure looks cool. I had to get one!



I'll end with these hardy ground orchids (Bletilla striata). I think only plant nuts like me can really get excited about the idea of having an orchid survive the winter outdoors, but everyone can appreciate the beautiful foliage and modest blooms of this species.  Native to Japan and one of the easiest orchid species to grow, they should get more beautiful with age! they will breeze through NYC winters.


I hope you approve of my plant purchases. Get excited because the growing season is here!!