Friday, September 16, 2016

Lotusland, the Tropical Garden en route to the Cycad Garden...

My last Lotusland post had us leaving the Japanese Garden headed toward the Tropical Garden, with the goal of ending up in the Cycad Garden. The Tropical Garden has a suitably jungle-like atmosphere, but the problem with sharing it here is the deep shadows make decent photography practically impossible.

The magical feel is rendered flat. Still, I can report that hanging baskets full of Epiphyllum surround the path. Can you imagine how fabulous this would be when the plants are in bloom?

Here's one tucked into an old tree-fern trunk, at least that's what I think it is...

And this!

I'd imagine almost any tree could be made to be more interesting with gnarly roots like these growing up it.

And what I wouldn't give to have Monstera in my garden!

This crazy business stopped me in my tracks. I am not a fan of the staghorn fern but wow...this is an entirely different animal.

So massive...

So..."tree fern" staghorn!

I wonder what the trunk they mounted them on once was?

And how many thousands of dollars would it cost to replicate this at home?

Emerging from the shadows and into the sun...

Crazy...

Now I have to warn you that the labels in the Cycad Garden were rather hard to find and I was quite obsessed with our limited time in the garden and didn't want to linger here too long. My 2009 post has many more names assigned to plants than this one does. Don't judge...

Just admire...

And say "wow"...

And maybe even "oh my god..."

I don't remember the pond being part of the Cycad Garden on our last visit.

This is where we first made friends with this little red dragonfly that I swear followed us around the garden for a good hour.

And now I wish my pond water was green. Not sickly algae-green, just a nice bright happy green.

I have the name of this one! Macrozamia communis...

Still loving that pond...

Oh wow...

The plant is drop-dead gorgeous but those crazy orange seeds...

Want them in my garden...

Still to come the garden areas around the house, the Cactus Garden and a lump-it-all-together that I'm calling the "in between"...

All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

19 comments:

  1. I see quite a few of those seeds on the ground underneath, did you happen to slip a few into your bag? Cycads are fascinating and beautiful plants.

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    1. Nah, I'm not really a "seedy-character" so I doubt I would have any success with them. So not worth the risk!

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  2. Wow! That staghorn is amazing! But I like staghorn ferns to begin with. I have a Platycerium veitchii 'Lemoinei'. I like it much better than the typical Platycerium bifurcatum. Monstera climbing up tree trunks and cycads everywhere would be a wonderful thing.

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    1. I don't really know what it is about staghorns that I don't like, but they just don't do it for me!

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  3. If "ferns are the new succulents," don't you need a staghorn? (I've never grown one but ferns of any kind are a dicey proposition here.) Those Cycad seeds are impressive - and apparently edible.

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  4. Another drool-worthy post from this inspiring garden! What a nice way to end the week! The staghorn fern placement is way cool. I've got a staghorn and bet I could rustle up a trunk of some sort...

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    1. Bet you could...can't wait to see what you come up with!

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  5. Everything looks amazing, but those cycad seeds just reached out and grabbed me.
    Very cool.

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  6. Wait, ferns are the new succulents? D'OH!

    Wow, ooh, aaah...the magic does come through in your photos, Loree. That staghorn tree is unreal! Cycads, dragonfly and green water, oh my!

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    1. They are! (so says me...and you know what that's worth!).

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  7. I love cycads and can't wait to visit Lotusland. What a fabulous collection of plants! I like the jungle...would be fun to walk there at night with the Epiphyllum blooming!

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    1. Oh yes! I wonder if they ever do evening tours at Lotusland?

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  8. What a beautiful visual reminder of Lotusland. I was hoping to go back this year but I don't think it will happen.

    By the way, I had a tripod with me on my last visit and I still had a hard time getting good photos of the Tropical Garden. As you said, it's DARK in there!

    The pond in the Cycad Garden has always been there, as far as I know. The cycad growing above it is the famous Encephalartos woodii, one of the few left in the world: http://www.lotusland.org/learn/plant-conservation/cycad-conservation/.

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  9. Wow! The density of the jungle garden makes you wander through dim lit, to be greeted by spectacular cycads in the open, wow again!

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  10. Oh, my. It's very "Land Before Time". What on earth are those striped green roots growing up those tree trunks?

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