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! 

A few photos from Long Island today.

 It's hard to believe August is. aweek away, but it's been a great summer and there are definitely more surprises on the way. 

This is my Queen Emma Crinum that I purchased from Miami in 2021.

Plumeria "Inca Gold" is starting to bloom. Musa Sikkimensis is growing a new leaf a week and is getting very full. I love the variegated cordyline here too! 

Mini Hibiscus "Peppermint"

Giant, hardy hibiscus - Airbrush effect! 

Musa Ae Ae is producing a new leaf a week. SO exciting! 

Bismarkia is having a great year! 

Cycas revoluta x Cycas panzhihuaensis

Mickey Mouse Elephant Ear

My Vanda Orchid is blooming for the first time since I purchased it in April 2023! 

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!

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!

What a Difference 2 weeks make (and a comparison to this time last year!)

This weekend was the hottest in a long time in my yard. While the air temperature "only" maxed out at 97F (which is pretty typical for the hottest August days in NYC),  the dew point temperatures have been brutal. For those of you who aren't too familiar with dew points, I'm going to put my meteorology degree to use and explain it very briefly.

Slight Tangent: 

      The dew point temperature is a way of measuring how much moisture is in the air. Cold air is denser than warm air so there is less room for water in colder air than there is in warmer air. That's why it doesn't feel muggy even when it's wet outside in the winter - the air can only hold so much water when it is cold outside. When dew points are above 70F, it's means it's very humid -- because if the air temperature were to drop to 70F, the water vapor would begin to fall out (as dew) simply because it couldn't hold any more water. Any object below 70F would fog up.

      The past 4 days have had dew points in the 80s in my yard! That's about as high as it gets in the US. The windows around the house are dripping wet every morning and my plants are growing right before my eyes.

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Ok back to the plants! Basically to summarize, it's been very hot and very humid and my plants are very happy. So I figured I'd try and compare some photos from earlier this month (and from August 2015) to now and see what's improving and what's not!

2 weeks ago

Now - the banana canna grew the most and the basjoo is growing modestly. Nothing too impressive in this planter bed this year but still some more time left for good growth!

Last year - the front yard definitely looked a bit nicer last year with the ensete, but I don't have to dig much up this year so this new look is lower maintenance! And I think that the front yard holds its on this year!

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Watch the way the castor beans shoot up. The cannas also got huge. All of these tower over me now. Remember I didn't even plant these castor beans!

2 weeks ago

Now - (slightly different angle). 

Last year  - the cannas are MUCH bigger this year! 

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Look at how the Mekong Giant Bananas and banana canna filled out in just 2 weeks time. The Mekong Giant, which died to the ground and did not sprout until nearly June looks bigger and better than last year at this time!

less than 2 weeks ago

Now 

Last year

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Not much growth but I love the cordyline in this spot.

2 weeks ago

Now

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Not much has changed in a year for the pool plants. 

Early August 2016

Early August 2015