Brad's Tropical Paradise

Today I'm doing more grouting of the flagstone that I laid for the little path around the tree. As you can see, this is a tiny area, like the rest of my backyard, and I treat everything less like a construction project, and more like an art project. My background is in graphic design, not construction! The most important thing to know about grout is that it's mostly for show. It won't hold the flagstone in place if you haven't gotten it laid completely level. So, before you even think about adding grout, be sure that there is no *teeter-totter* effect when you step on the flagstones. The grout won't fix that, all it will do is crack. I generally wait a few days before adding grout, walking carefully on the flagstone, checking for any imbalance. If there is, I pull the flagstone back up, and try again. One of the worst mistakes I ever made many years ago when I first started adding flagstone to the garden, was to mix up the grout wet, and try to pour it in. Wha...

The good news about protecting your tropical plants in the winter in Phoenix is that it's the same as protecting them in the summer. The best thing to do is to give them only morning sun, and to give them overhead protection, from a tree, or an overhang. And that's why this area in The Tropical Paradise is *prime real estate*. It's against an east-facing wall, and it's under a tree. In the summer, of course, the tree offers much-needed shade, and the plants here get the benefit of afternoon shade from the house. But in the winter, where it can get to freezing and below, there are also benefits. The morning sun warms up this area as quickly as possible. The days are short in the winter, and your tropical plants need as much sunshine, and warmth, as they can get. And at night, having an overhang, such as a tree, helps to trap in whatever warmth there is. That's because, if you remember from your high school science class, heat rises. If it can be trapped, even...

It's December 23rd and a friend of mine just stopped by for a few minutes. We walked into the backyard and I watched him immediately walk over to the only area where there was any sunshine. It was also an area that I hadn't maintained for a while, and I discouraged him from going there, as there might be some dog poop that I hadn't cleaned up. After he left it struck me that, while I don't have enough room for a seating area in the tiny bit of sunshine that peeks in at this time of year in my backyard, I could easily do a standing area. I found some stray pieces of flagstone that I had along the side of the house and set them in. I'll probably add more river rocks, or something, to finish it off. But at the very least there is a place where someone can safely stand in the sunshine. This little *path to nowhere* will give people a place where they can stand confidently, without fear of stepping in anything. The dog, and the visiting cat, don't poop on flags...

If you have Cape Honeysuckle and are in the Phoenix, Arizona area, it should be blooming in December. That's part of what makes it such a great plant for here, it doesn't mind the heat of the summer, and it blooms all winter. If yours isn't blooming, chances are that you are too neat a gardener. That is, you may have cut off all of the potential blooms by trying to keep the plant looking neat and tidy. And yes, you can keep Cape Honeysuckle in a compact shape by trimming, but it won't bloom. So here's what you should do: • Put away the shears, or the power trimmer, and leave the plant alone a bit. Yes, it will start to get a little shaggy, but that's just what the plants needs to be able to bloom. • Get out there and trim away the shaggy parts that are not blooms. Look at them, and snip them off. After you've looked a bit you will be able to recognize just plain leaves from a flower bud. Cape Honeysuckle in bloom. I got a little bit too neat ...

It's December 14th and I just turned off the automatic watering system for the winter season here at The Tropical Paradise in Glendale, Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix). I will turn it back on in late January or early February, depending on the weather. Even though the plants that I have here look lush, they really don't require all that much water. Note that I don't have grass, which is a major water hog. And what look like ferns are actually cycads, which not only don't require much water, they can actually die from overwatering, especially when the weather is cold. The annual flowers, and the bulbs, I will continue to water by hand, using a big plastic watering can. The Phoenix area typically gets gentle rain around this time, and this year has been no exception. I call them *Christmas rains*, and that's plenty for most of the garden all winter.

This past year I started experimenting with river rocks in the garden, and I am pleased by the effect. River rocks (or roundy-roundy rocks if you prefer) make a great fill-in for areas that are not quite grown in, or in areas where the plants come and go, such as bulbs, or annuals. From a design standpoint, they create what I call *visual interest* (better than just looking at dirt!), and they perform two practical functions, they help trap water for the roots of the plants, and they give me a place to step if I need to get one of my big feet into the garden. I just put some more in, and you can see how they seem kind'a *new-looking*, but they will settle in very quickly. I have river rocks all over the garden, and periodically I check to see if a plant is trying to grow between them. If it is, I move the rocks out of the way, giving more room for the plant. For bulbs that die back after blooming, I move the rocks back into place - you know, so I'm not just looking at dir...

Mediterranean fan palms are a great choice for the Phoenix, Arizona area. They love heat, and they laugh off the coldest temperatures we get here. There are a couple of drawbacks, though - they get wide and bushy (and look their best that way), and the needles on the fronds are razor sharp. Here at The Tropical Paradise, I have given my Mediterranean palms plenty of room to grow. Mostly I don't bother trimming them at all, and I found after trimming them last year, for the first time since they were planted, that it was a dangerous job. Then I remembered some advice I had received from a person who trimmed rose bushes - long leather gloves. I bought a pair of long leather gloves (about twenty dollars at Lowe's) and some new bypass pruners (about ten dollars) and I went out to experiment. I works great! The leather gloves really do protect your hands and forearms from those deadly spikes. As I write this, I don't have a scratch on me, and I just trimmed a lot of fr...

A friend of mine gave me a whole bunch of cuttings and pups of Sansevierias this past year. When I first planted them, they didn't look like much, and I really couldn't tell them apart very well. But one of them has turned to be a spectacular standout - a Sansevieria Cylindrica, commonly called an African Spear Plant. I planted a lot of them, all over the yard, but this spot was the right place for this plant. It's in an area that I call *The Outback* - sunnier than the rest of the yard, but it still gets a bit of shade from the olive tree in the afternoon. If you've only seen these plants looking like, well, spears, you might be surprised at how they grow when given a chance. Once this plant established, it immediately started its growth pattern of radiating spears. It has its own watering head (hidden behind the rocks back there), and it's planted on a slope with well-draining soil (a lot of sand). As you can see, the new growth starts in between its *fing...

It's December 4th and the Phoenix area is getting a gentle rain. I call them Christmas rains. Every year at this time we get them, not much, but they are welcomed by gardeners. Christmas rains will fall, usually at night and early morning, through January. I know that this will spoil the golf dates of our winter visitors, but it's nothing like the violent thunderstorms that Phoenix gets in the summer. Then it comes roaring in with lightning, thunder, and flash floods. And while rain is welcome in the garden, I know that the summer thunderstorms are terrible,  and cause damage. But the Christmas rains are different. I am listening to the gentle sound on the roof of my house right now, and it's the sound that I woke up to a couple of hours ago. I am looking at The Tropical Paradise through my bedroom window and I know that this the best thing in the world for the plants. I am also happy that I have artificial turf, so that the yard doesn't turn to mud, and doesn...

Many people are surprised by how cold it gets in the Phoenix, Arizona area. It doesn't ever snow, but it can get below freezing in late December and through January. Luckily for us humans, it only happens in the wee hours of the morning. As soon as the sun comes up, it warms up very nicely. But it can be a danger to your tropical plants, and that's why you should have some frost cloth handy. Here is how to use it: • Use either the frost cloth you buy at Home Depot, or old bedsheets. I've used both, and bedsheets work just fine. Just never, ever, use plastic. • Put the frost cloth on after it gets dark, and off at sunrise. Keep an eye on the forecast. If it's gonna get to freezing or below, go drape the frost cloth over your plants. You don't need to be neat. Then when the sun comes up, take off the frost cloth right away. Your plants need the warmth of the sun, and as much sunlight as they can get! I only have tender tropicals in my backyard, which means tha...