Banana lovin' ... march of the bananas

Well I had to continue with my series on lovin.  After all, its summer and the lovin' is strong these days... especially the banana tree lovin.   I'm often told I kind of look like a monkey.  Though I don't think it's meant as a compliment, I don't really mind.  I do eat enough bananas to keep a small farm afloat in ecuador.  So maybe my banana lovin' comes naturally. Actually, I'm sure of it.

Here's how my bananas started back in early spring..... These trunks were protected with some fall leaves and a small cage made out of chicken wire.

And here they are in May .... Each year I can't wait to watch the march of the bananas.  Usually starting sometime in late March conveniently.  It never ceases to amaze me how fast they start to fill out.

For anyone who questions whether bananas "belong here?" Look at this one growing in the most conservative part of my garden.  I think it looks pretty cool at least.

And now to the real big ones.... remember the patch at the beginning of the post.

Well they are now over 10 feet tall! These things grow fast.

If the warmth continues I could have my best banana year yet!

And it's not just the super tropical banana leaves that are amazing.  Check out the amazing pseudo stem.

And as for the leaves.... Watching them unfurl before your very eyes (sometimes in the course of a single day) is a truly remarkable experience.

There you have it.  Banana lovin' in the PNW. Who'd of thunk it?!

"go bananas, go go bananas ... eat bananas, eat eat bananas ..."

Opuntia alert!!!

Well I keep talking about loving opuntia, seeing unlabelled opuntia, asking for the opuntia fairy to help me choose the right ones etc.  And I found myself meandering through a nursery that I all but gave up on when I came across spikes!  I didn't have my camera - regret - because like I said, I had all but given up.  But I did not let the opportunity to pick up a labelled opuntia pas me by.  Better yet, it was sitting outside with the sempervivums which in my books meant it was the one.

These darn right nasty spikes are what first got my attention....

I have to find the right place for this and I have several ideas.  One of which being right out at the roadside.  It would get mega heat, full sun, and could serve as a warning to all who enter - spiky plants present at this home.  But then again I think of the children who like to play outside on the road.  A bad crash into opuntia would certainly do some damage .... hmmm.

Another part of me thought about breaking off two paddles and making it three!!  But I don't quite have the heart for that.

I was most impressed by this tag action going on.  Only when I got home and googled opuntia petra there were few results.  But one of them directed me to a link that I couldn't for the life of me get to open of opuntia petra growing on Vancouver Island ... good sign.

I'm thinking the best place for this thing is to the left of the yucca gloriosa variegata and behind and in between this yucca 'bright star' and sedum.  It gets full sun, relatively protected, it would be on the hillside with water draining away from the plant and surrounded by yuccas, sedums, agave and an aloe.  That's the plan for now at least.

foliage follow-up!

This foliage follow-up is brought to you by the glow of summers evening.  There is no better time of the year, and no better time of the day.  This is what I wait all year for.  I wait for that magical time of day when the world is all aglow.  The suns warmth still lingers in the air, and for that moment in time you breathe it all in.

One of my greatest joys this summer has been watching the way my young Leccino Olive glows.  It has brought me out to a part of the yard that I don't usually visit in the evening - obviously not enough.  I think that is important.  To have things that draw you deeper into the yard that is.  To feel compelled to journey through your space.

As I have journeyed through the last through months I have waited for my mimosa silk tree to fill in.  With the cold June I thought it might never come when I'd see this tree alive and growing.

But with all the warmth we have experienced over the last weeks it appears everything has caught up.

This palm has not just exploded ... it has gone gang busters!!!

I don't really know what this is.  It appears wild, it has beautiful foliage and does not appear to be all that invasive so I have let it do its thing.

The musa basjoo clump is really starting to put on some size.  It never ceases to amaze me just how fast these things can grow come this time of year.

Like I said, I wait all year for this.

And schefflera (Hoi?) seems to be growing nicely.

This little sedum palmeri is a new addition as well and an instant favourite in my books.

And lets not forget fatsia.  I think I feature this guy in almost every single foliage follow-up.  And why not!?  These are seriously under appreciate in my books.

Here's to savouring the sights, the sounds, the warmth and of course beautiful foliage under the summer sun!! Happy July foliage follow-up everybody!  Visit Pam's blog Digging for more of the fantabulous July foliage follow-up!

July bloom day

Well its bloom day again! really?! It's so hard for me to even accept that.  We are already mid point of the best month of the year?! And it's no lie, blooms are not that prominent in my yard.  I really do like flowers.  I feel like I may have misrepresented myself.  Maybe I should work on the bloom day lovin in the years to come.  But for now, here are some of the blooms in my yard...

Double hibiscus

Echeveria just started blooming.  I love the way the way these seem to come out in every which way direction.

Sempervivum hens and chicks are bloomin' all over the place.  This one is in more shade and I love the way it seems to be reaching out towards the sunshine.

most of the sedums are actually past their prime already. The hot weather over the last few weeks seems to have been the end of their blooms.

But thankfully the yuccas are just starting to do their thing! This one bloom stalk is actually so heavy its pulling the plant over.

I can only imagine that this is a schefflera bloom?! I was pretty excited to see this.  I still have not decided what this schefflera actually is. Maybe S. Hoi?

Happy July Bloom Day!!!!!

summer nights

Summer nights, there's not really anything quite like it. I love that feeling that comes when you just kick back on summer nights.  I can't help but think of how the entire year builds to these moments.  The moments when the works day is done, the sun is setting and all you have left to do is enjoy.  Take a deep breath and savour the feeling of summer.  I really most sincerely wish everyday was summer. But alas, we must must celebrate the season as best we can while it is here.  I was out in the garden this evening, candles lit, tea in hand and snapped a couple of photos.

I found a home for my new agave parryi truncata just to the right of the yucca gloriosa recurvifolia 'bright star.'  Recently I decided I need more 'bright star' yuccas in my life.  Seeing them in the sunshine really changes everything.  It just glows - even at night in the candle light.

I feel like this speaks so much of the garden itself.  Yucca, agave, palm, and succulent loving is a huge "theme" if you will in the garden.  This picture pretty much sums it all up for me.  Shortly thereafter a group of raccoons decided to throw cherries down at me from the trees above and I felt anything but love.  But for a moment it was rather blissful.  So in the miss quoted words of Paula Dean, "I wish you love and great plantings from my garden to yerrrrs."