Brad's Tropical Paradise

As September comes to an end here in The Tropical Paradise, the tiny tropicals in the understory are starting to really look their best. They should be fine until the really cold weather hits in December. It can get below 20F here in the desert, and while it may not kill these tender tropicals, they will look pretty bad. Pictured, left to right, spearmint (poking up behind the light fixture), Phoenix roebellini (dwarf date palm), zamia cycad (the ferny-looking plant), begonia (next to the light fixture, haworthia (the spiky plant poking up behind the rock, coleus ( dipt in wine is the variety), African Mask Plant (behind the coleus), natal plum boxwood beauty (below the coleus), more haworthia, aloe (right foreground). In the background are cannas and elephant ears. And at right is a caladium "Gingerland". The groundcover is carpet bugle.

This is the first year that I've really tried to create a canopy/understory in The Tropical Paradise. Most of my experiments fail, but since I have a poor memory, that doesn't bother me. The successes live! This area, which is under the canopy of some palms, cannas and elephant ears is really starting to show some life after the brutally hot summer. Just like in real estate, location is everything. And with plants this small (you are looking at a space that is only a couple of feet wide), I have found the best thing to do is to generous, plant a lot of small plants and bulbs, and hope that life finds a way. And if an area that I thought would be perfect turns out to be a death-trap for a plant, I hurry and try to find it another home. The two plants in the foreground (the spiky ones) are aloe and haworthia. They are actually not under the canopy, so they have to be able to stand at the full force of the morning sun, plus the reflected heat of the rocks and flagstone in fr...

It's the first week of September here at The Tropical Paradise, and even though it's still miserably hot, it's not as bad as it was in August. And the tropical plants are responding beautifully. This is the view from the dining room window, which looks like it will be completely blocked again this year by Elephant Ears ( alocasia ). The cannas have a nice orange tropical flower, which I enjoy for a short while but am quick to snip off, as flowers sap energy from the plant which I prefer to go to the tropical purplish leaves. But still, how can you just go chop off a flower like that? By tomorrow, it will be ratty and I won't feel so bad about snipping it off. Down below this canopy are the understory plants, which are doing well, too. Under the protection of the canopy above, plants like caladiums can be grown. The struggle for survival has been the careful balance of light for photosynthesis, and shade, to keep from getting burned up. In the winter, the canopy pro...

The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona is one of the most luxurious and expensive resorts in the world. And if you're wondering if you can make your garden in the Phoenix, Arizona area look like it, you can. The reason for this is climate. The Phoenician is in the same climate as you are. They are growing the same plants. It's all about presentation, and maintenance. And there is nothing magical about what they are doing. If your plants look a little sad, well, chances are you are using what I call the "cheap HOA maintenance" approach. That's the scenario where a bunch of guys jump out of a truck, with their power hedge-trimmers already running, and cut everything either down to stubs or in the shape of "pom-poms" or "Dr. Seuss plants", as I call them. You will also see this type of maintenance at government buildings, such as schools. You will even see this in parks. But you won't see it at The Phoenician. And the reason, as you ...