June 10, 2007
This week in the garden
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The large pikake outside my front gate is covered with hundreds of blooms. The fragrance is intoxicating. I trimmed the bush a few weeks ago, but it’s growing so wildy that it needs cutting back again already. The branches are surrounding the mailbox that sits in front of it and obscuring the house marker, so I’ll have to do it soon, but I’m trying to wait until the blooming is finished. I’d really hate to waste a single bud.
I got a little carried away buying plants a few days ago. I’d been planning to add some tropicals for a while, so I’m not going to let myself feel guilty about it. The front one here is white ginger. The rear one is blue ginger (I bought two of those.) White ginger is the fragrant one used for perfumes, so I put it close to the screened lanai.
The strange looking plant on the left is black ginger and the tall one is yellow ginger. I’d never heard of black ginger before. I’ve so far managed to resist doing any research because I’d like its blooming to surprise me (assuming that it blooms.) The black may refer to the leaf color, which, on close examination, is actually a combination of red and green but does look blackish.
Pink kimi ginger and heliconia. My plant expert at the nursery isn’t familiar with kimi, so we don’t know what it will look like when it blooms. I’d like to get a pink shampoo ginger and a red ginger to sqeeze somewhere in these beds.
I added two peace lilies to the rock garden with the anturiums and ferns. The red anthurium is healthy, but something is clipping stems from the pink. I’m thinking grasshoppers, since that’s the way they attacked my parsley. I let the parsley go since I try to avoid pesticides in the herb garden, but I’ll probably treat this bed so I can save the anthurium.
My big, ten-year-old jade plant out front has been looking sickly, with stems broken off. I thought maybe the neighborhood kids were falling in it while playing until I investigated today.
This is what I found when I trimmed away the dead growth and lifted up the foliage. The central stem is huge and woody - about as big around as the thickest part of my arm. It’s been completely hollowed out by termites. I’m amazed that the plant has survived at all, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to save it because the damage is pretty severe.
And that’s this week in Skeet’s gardens! I hope you had a little excitement and enjoyment in your own gardens this week.
The offer for the free Home Depot Garden Club newsletter I told you about a few weeks ago was supposed to have ended on June 1st. It’s been extended, so you can still sign up if you’d like. I got some good special offers for gardening supplies in my first email newsletter this week and I’m enjoying the tips and advice on the Garden Club site, so I’m happy with it! U.S only for the newsletter- sorry!
[tags]anthurium, gardening, gardening in Hawaii, ginger, Hawaii, heliconia, jade plant, peace lilies, photos[/tags]
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June 10th, 2007 at 1:00 am, Crafty Gardener Says:
It will be interesting to see how the ginger does in your garden. Too bad about the jade plant. Would you be able to salvage some stems and restart the plant?
June 10th, 2007 at 1:13 am, skeet Says:
Yes, Crafty Gardener, I’ve already potted some healthy cuttings. I don’t have a lot of hope for the mother plant, but her progeny will live on.
I spaced out the ginger because it tends to get dense pretty quickly. I want to put some low bedding plants in front of it, but it will need plenty of room to spread, so I can’t do too much more in those beds.
June 10th, 2007 at 2:54 am, leigh Says:
One day, when we have a real house, we are going to have a great yard like you!! Too bad about the jade plant though.
Thanks for checking the comments on my new site again. I think I just about got the ‘bugs’ out of it. LOL.
June 10th, 2007 at 3:29 am, deb Says:
Termites…yikes! I hope your jade can be saved. Would be such a shame to lose it after all this time
June 10th, 2007 at 11:17 am, Whim Says:
Awww! No more garden pics? I’ll miss them, they were so beautiful.
June 10th, 2007 at 11:46 pm, ruth Says:
Trying some ginger plants myself ..in pots..my garden is quite shady and we don’t have the weather you do…so pots I can keep moving into the sun. Really hoping I may get some flowers!
June 11th, 2007 at 12:56 am, skeet Says:
Leigh, real estate is so expensive over here that most of us have tiny yards compared to what I grew up with. I do love having enough space for my little gardens, though. You’ll have yours some day!
June 11th, 2007 at 12:59 am, skeet Says:
Deb, I took some cuttings off of the jade. I think the main plant won’t make it though, since the damge is so severe.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:00 am, skeet Says:
Could you not see the pictures on the garden post, Whim?
June 11th, 2007 at 1:02 am, skeet Says:
I’m looking forward to the flowers from my ginger, too, Ruth. I only put in one of each plant because the ones I’ve tended in the past got very dense very quickly. I can always add more later if mine don’t do as well, but I think they will since they seem to like this coast.
June 11th, 2007 at 2:42 am, JVT Says:
loved hearing about your garden. I am remembering my one visit to Hawaii, and the way the air was perfumed with ginger and all the beautiful scents of the islands. Sorry to hear about the termites in the jade plant! Where else but Hawaii would you have such a problem!
June 11th, 2007 at 3:57 am, Beth Says:
I really like the rocks in your garden. I have a bucketful of small river stones (average 2″ across) and haven’t been able to make them work yet. Too small for a border (which I tried) but what - a pile? Anyway, yours look natural and comfortable as you have them laid in.
June 11th, 2007 at 8:54 am, Drew Says:
Skeet, great post, I need to come by here more often. I will make a point to do so, glad to see you taking more photos. Also love how you worked in the home depot thing. Nice, you are doing wonders with monetizing your blog.
June 11th, 2007 at 1:02 pm, Chigiy Says:
Skeet,
I love that black ginger. I just bought 3 ginger plants from some dicey looking woman on the side of the road in Santa Cruz. I can’t wait to see what I actually got when they bloom.
I hope your Jade plant survives but if it doesn’t maybe you could start a few new plants from the old foliage.
June 11th, 2007 at 3:58 pm, Tiffany Says:
Wow, your garden is beautiful! I just wish I could grow that stuff.