A tropical drive-by...

If you're still on Facebook you probably see plenty of "suggested for you" posts, usually things you couldn't care less about. Recently I was shown a post from something like "Portland's Secret Places" that included a photo of a very plant-intense front garden. There was a location noted so I looked it up on Google maps and decided it was worth a drive by...

Unfortunately I picked a day with high contrast sun and shade, but let's make the most of it. We start at the far right in the photo above.

Mossy rocks!

And then...canna, ginger, colocasia, and ferns, wow!

I've got no idea what this is, but I loved the chartreuse foliage and fuzzy stems.

A few abutilon lanterns are always an interesting addition.

I couldn't get a good photo of it, but there's a Rhododendron 'Ebony Pearl' in the mix (the dark foliage).

I mentioned the ginger, right? (Hedychium coccinea 'Tara'), so much ginger. I'm glad I came by when it was in bloom.

And colocasia for miles (yards doesn't sound as dramatic)...

Looking backwards...

And up, Ensete maurelii (Ensete ventricosum?).

So much big-leaf goodness!

I remembered to look down...

There were Sciadopitys verticillata (Japanese umbrella pine) flanking both sides of the steps up to the front garden. They were an unexpected addition.

I spy a yellow/gold bromeliad or two up in the front garden...

Looking backwards (again).

Almost to the end now...

At the corner...

White Oleander

Erythrostemon gilliesii

At the side fence you can see an upper deck off the home, with plants of course.

A couple more shots walking back to my car...

Here are two dated screen shots from Google maps. The first is May of 2025...

And then going backwards to October of 2024, showing just how much the summer growth explodes, and then dies back before starting up again the following year. I'm going to try to remember to return a couple times to photograph the change.

The Bit at the End

Love a tropical look? Then you'll probably appreciate these leaf rugs from John Derian.

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