Ribbon Palm - Livistona decipiens

Great looking palm with some pretty decent cold tolerance. I already have a livistona chinensis in the ground (survived the past 3 winters). I might give this one a try in the ground as well in a few years. I got this palm in the hamptons almost 2 years ago to this day.

More Big Plumeria pics

I think I'd like this plumeria even if it never bloomed because the huge leaves and overall shape and size of the plant adds such a nice tropical look to the yard. Fortunately it also has 2 healthy inflorescences so blooms are on the way. This plumeria is my only plumeria to bloom every single summer. Typically the blooms first start opening in late August/ early September which gives it a solid 6 - 8 weeks of blooming before going indoors for the winter.

Dicksonia Antarctica - Hardy Tree Fern

Dicksonia Antarctica is the most cold hardy tree fern out there.  I got it from San Diego in 2010 for only 25 dollars. It was a HUGE plant when I got it but is much smaller looking now. We had very dry weather in October 2010 so all the fronds burned off and it is just starting to look full again recently. I think it will really benefit from being planted in the ground so I will probably test it's cold tolerance next spring. I'll keep you posted!

Dracaena marginata 'Tricolor'

I've had this plant for about 3 years now. It lost all it's leaves this spring because of sun burn but is growing back nicely. The color of the leaves is my favorite part about this plant.

Before and After!

The Before pic is taken back in late June and the After pic was taken today. These pics represent 2 months of growth. Looking forward to seeing what my plants will look like 2 months from now!

My front yard in 8 weeks!

Here's the kind of growth that happened in my front yard in 8 weeks. 2 months of summer really does make an incredible difference. Unfortunately 2 months of winter has the opposite effect!

June 2nd, 2013... My Ensete Banana was pushing out it's second outdoor leaf of the season. My Brugmansia was pretty bare and my Alocasia hadn't even made a leaf yet. My European Fan palm was looking good though as was the Sabal Minor and oleander.

August 3rd, 2013... Lost count of the number of new leaves on the Ensete, but I think it's around 7 or so. The Brugmansia filled out really nicely and my Sabal Minor has grown a bit too! 

What was a bit disappointing was the butterfly ginger I planted in the front yard. If you look very carefully you might see one next to the spiral ginger in the 3rd pic on this post, but it definitely has not grown much. There is still time left though and while I'm not expecting blooms from this clump, I do think it will be in much better shape for next season.

Thanks for looking!

Oleander bloom

One of my favorite plants in the yard. This is it's 4th summer in the ground for my Oleander and it really is a very reliable bloomer here in NYC! I protected it with a bunch of frost cloths this winter and a plastic garbage bag for protection from the rain. This was the first year I gave it minimal protection so there was more damage than usual, but no stem dieback which was great!