Great pics-- love the Godzilla statue. I've been wanting to try to design a "dinosaur garden" for a couple of years, but some of the plants have toxic parts and I have younger children. Of course now I have read abotu 2 other "dino garden plans"-- one was an EPCOT workshop and another is in a gardening book I just got. SO much for originality!

I especially love the rose. Does your 'water garden container' have something to keep the water flowing? Pump, fountain, bubbler...?

--Shelbey

Betsy, the photos are great! Songbird is especially pretty, and your "pot grotto" is so much nicer than my "pot ghetto!!" ;o) Everything looks beautiful!

Marcia

Shelbey, did you see the mini dinosaur on godzilla? What are your ideas for a dino garden? I'd be interested to hear about that as I have a grandson that would like his "own" garden in my yard and like most little boys loves dinosaurs.

The water gaden does not have a pump. I followed instructions I read here. I think Manature posted them. do a search for "water gardens in containers" and you should find info. Just today I added a male and female guppy. Their names are Jack and Diane and Jack has the prettiest blue fan tail! So far they seem quite content. Wish them luck. LOL!
~Betsy

Nice rose!! Looks like the little lizard found Mama. lol

nice pictures :-) you have great coleus and that dinosaur sitting on the dinosaur is a great shot!

Evelyn

Great pictures! Coleus is beautiful, and so is everything else
Olya

Betsy, you are right that I have posted about my container water gardens. I've always had good luck with them. But I made a fatal mistake this year. I forgot to be sure that the big canna I put in my urn was pesticide free, and my guppies croaked on me. Only the second time that has happened in more than 20 years! I'm so mad! I had some very pretty and healthy guppies in there, and now I have to use mosquito dunks instead, because I don't know how long it takes for the water to be safe again.

I refill the container often, running over the old water to replace it with new, so I'm hoping in a few months it will support guppies again.

Marcia

RE: dino garden--

When I've seen dino dioramas and drawings, so many of the plants look subtropical to tropical that it seems like a natural fit. I've even seen some fossilized rock out in Colorado that had imprints of palmetto leaves in it-- from back when the Rockies were underwater (!).

For a dino garden, I'd just use things like palms and cycads with some funky dino statuettes-- I hadn't gotten too far past that, with the exception of some sort of "rock pit" or sandbox where a child can "dig for fossils." (I've seen the fossil dig at some different park/nature expos, and kids do think it's pretty fun to dig in the dirt anyway.)

I was toying with it after reading about using cardboard palm which supposedly dates way back or is related to some ancient palms (can't remember). Then I read that parts of it were poisonous. That's the downside of using some cycads in a children's garden-- though I believe some are safe. That's about as far as I got...given all the mini-dinos we have in this state, they'd certainly add to the atmosphere too! I think you have a rudimentary start with Godzilla there!

--Shelbey

A dino topiary would be cool too. I've been wanting to do a dinosaur garden as well starting with large topiaries and then large leaved plants. Here's a link for a couple of small ones. I want a life size one!!

Here is a link that might be useful: dino topiaries

Betsy, Thanks for sharing pics of your beautiful plants. I really enjoyed looking at them. I especially LOVE your Hoya, the blooms are just beautiful and I know they smell wonderful...By any chance are the leaves of your Hoya "Speckled" or "Flecks" all over. Your leaves are much bigger and so are the flowers of the Lacunosa that I've seen. Mind if I ask you where you purchased it? I would love to buy one. Thanks!

There is a house here in Palm City that has a giant dinosaur skeleton in the front yard. They have a centuary plant if I remember correctly, along with ferns. I walked past it on a walk one day and thought it was pretty cool. I'll get a photo next week to post.

Puglvr, maybe it's just the angle of the pic that makes the lacunosa appear larger than it is. Also behind it is a varigated philodendren. the leaves of the hoya are not speckled in any way. They are about an inch or so long and the flowers are very small with the largest cluster maybe 1-1/2 inches in diameter. All four of my hoyas were purchased at Washington Oaks state park monthly plant sale. I paid $5 each for them. Hope this helps.

Aroidgardener, your photos are fabulous!

~Betsy

Bestsy, thanks for the info, appreciate that!!