More Inspiration From Kanapaha

Earlier I focused on the Kanapaha fall plant sale, but today I'll focus on the gardens themselves.  Here are some of my favorite areas, such as the entrance garden, ginger garden, rock garden, fern cobble, and a few mini gardens throughout.  I know many of you will never visit, but I've learned a lot just by which plants make it through their winters.
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Entrance Garden
You're blown away before you even enter the doors to Kanapaha, and its a great place too see some of the tougher cold tolerant bromeliads like this large neoregelia, and even some treats such as the painted feather calathea!  Some plants didn't make it through the record breaking winter, and I noticed a few broms and a red mangrove were missing this visit.

I'm almost positive that the plants to the right are aechmea distichantha, and they look pretty well established!  I have this one at the base of my oak tree as well and its nice to get an idea of how large they'll get in due time... meaning that I'll have to give them some room!  They have a variety of other cold hardy bromeliads planted, including the nidularium pictured below.

I've limited myself to only one nidularium so far since I've already started collecting other types, but their freeze hardiness definitely makes them worthwhile in zone 8.  They're also very shade tolerant and have unique bloom spikes that can best be described as a cross between guzmania and neoregelia.

The Ginger Garden

There are so many varieties and species of ginger to observe, and the garden has the effect of a lush rainforest when all the deciduous gingers have leafed out.  Early fall is a great time to visit since they're all in their prime and haven't begun to go dormant.  To the left is a Southern classic, pinecone ginger!  If you live up north and want a tropical looking summer bulb, this one should be your first.

Peacock gingers are exquisite groundcovers with a large variety of leaf shapes and patterns, with some having calathea like foliage with herringbone patterns.  The flowers aren't inconspicuous, just not too extravagant.  I think "cute" is a good word to describe the violet like flowers that nestle in the leaves, and the foliage usually steals the show anyway.

This "blue ginger" Isn't really a ginger at all, but rather a huge member of the spiderwort family from Mexico.  I would love to see this planted in a bed of the related "purple heart" and maybe some other plants with cool hues for a vivid display!

There are plenty of hedychiums too, though this one was found in the hummingbird garden.  I don't even know why I bothered with the related and comparably boring white butterfly ginger, when I could have enjoyed other varieties with orange, red and peach blooms!  The fragrance is every bit as yummy as the white butterfly too, so keep the other colors in mind!

The Fern Cobble

This is one of my favorite places to take a break from the long paths, and I often sit beside the gurgling water feature and admire the Japanese birds nest ferns, or asplenium nidus.  These are the hardy kind from Japan, and the fronds have a "V" shaped cross section and a narrower shape.  I grow one in my garden too, and if you follow the link you'll also see how they looked in spring after temps in the teens, though I think the bleaching is from the extra sun in winter.

The Rock Garden

Above is another birds nest fern, but growing as a lithophyte in the dry rock garden!  I have seen photos of Balinese spas with the tropical version growing like this, and I would love to emulate that look.  Maybe hypertufa is the way to go...
To the left is a dyckia brevifolia growing similarly, between two boulders.  I love seeing the bromeliad's dramatic form against the lichen encrusted rocks!

More dyckias!  The one on the left is another brevifolia, though a diminutive one with a much tighter form.  The one on the right looks just like my "red planet", though it wasn't labeled so its just speculation. 
Below is a shot of their huge ponytail palm, which was unfortunately unlabeled. 

Herb Garden

While the variety in knot garden of medicinal, aromatic and edible herbs is extensive, I always run straight towards the few tropical fruits, such as this pink velvet banana!  All but one of my seedlings died from drought, so it was nice to see their huge specimens for a little motivation.  The fruit's pulp is technically edible, though maneuvering through the seeds is tricky.

Would you believe that the big tree in the photo above is an avocado... in ZONE 8B?  Its looking pretty great considering the temps in the mid teens this winter, and I actually found a way to buy its progeny.  "Southeast Mushroom and Edible Plants" in High Springs sells them, and while my garden doesn't have room for one, hopefully someone can try it and let me know how it does!  Their email is art@southeastmushroom.com and you can also visit them at Kanapaha's spring festival or at other plant sales in the area.


Unfortunately the huge multitrunked papaya plant didn't last this winter, though it was impressive enough for it to survive last year's cold!  I wonder if its a special variety.

Anyways, Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on how to make the "Gack O' Lantern"!  Here are some more pics from throughout the gardens, in case you haven't had enough by now...