Bill, I know exactly what you mean. I am striving for that look also, but my garden is still rather new and I think it must take a few years for plants to meld and find their spots and ideal heights, no? I wish I had more instruction on how to accomplish the look. In the couple of areas where this is starting to happen (where there were already some mature trees and bushes, I really like the look too. Maybe someone has some good ideas and some photos for us.

At Selby, it seems like the more layered areas are tropical also, which I love. However, there's a guy on the perennial forum, who achieves gorgeous layered looks. He is in Michigan I think. His username has David in it. Try to look him up. I don't go there often, but a while back he had lots of photos of his new garden and it was out of this world.

Anna

Hi
Last March I started a seep wall in my shadehouse in an attempt to create moisture layers everything from submerged to dry. Mostly for epiphytes but also for lithophytes and terrests. Have had several setbacks ,such as the roof was ripped off and recently had my first "Mudslide "lol. I'm trying to limit the size to 12x21x10 feet high. I suspect it will take years to arrive at somewhat of a balance between too much and too little.
Actually what it is ,is an overgrown terrarium. Some of the techniques and material choices were along those lines .
It is already WAAAy overgrown so selective removing various plants or limiting growth. I made some bad choices on the waterfall area as well as the marsh area . Plants are way out of scale. Most of it is very encouraging and it;'s a heck of a lot of fun to experiment.
I have some pix but am way to lazy to learn to post lol. If interested I could send some directly to you as they are on discs. Would be wonderful to have a fellow crazy person to exchange ideas with lol gary

I love this look too and that's what I am trying for. I started with an empty lot and some of the trees I grew from seed. But it is finally starting to come together in spots. It took a lot of time because most plants were small, either seedlings or cuttings, the big ones were just too expensive for me. I also had to learn how big most of them get and that involved moving plants around a lot. Then too I kept expanding the garden so the smaller ones needed to be moved from the back of the bed.

I don't think it has a cluttered look at all. But that all depends on your taste. Some people don't like purple and yellow together or red and orange. I think if Mother Nature does it in the wild, then I can too. Though I have thought about an all white moon garden section. But that's the thing about gardening, you do what pleases you. ;o)

Our first garden grew into a canopy by virtue of a large Ficus tree at the center. When the 2004 hurricanes took it out, we lost that canopy. Since that time, we've been rebuilding and regrowing and just recently several of the taller trees have begun to touch. Our canopy is returning, by slowly.

It takes years of steady growth to create the effect you are looking for, be patient or plant fully grown trees to start. But the effect is worth the time and money.

bill,
have you read about forest gardening?

Here is a link that might be useful: forest gardening

Leu is also in zone 9, why can't you use the same plants they do?

Yes, I'm, very much trying for that look in some places. It's very jungle-y and full. Overgrown, even. But that's what I like.

Thanks for the comments and information. I'm still thinking about this.

Anna, I checked out the perennials forum and looked up some pictures by David--I guess it's the same person. He has a gorgeous garden, and I enjoyed looking at it. It looks HUGE. My garden is much, much smaller, and if I do this it's going to be much more packed--maybe too packed, which is why I'm a little worried and posting. It would be nice to have space like that.

Amber, I'm not sure, but I think part of it is that Leu, being in an a more urban area, by a nice sized lake, and also a little south of me, has a nice micro climate.

Thanks for the link, Ill. I've read a little about this idea over on permaculture, but I'd never seen the wikipedia entry or the Hart garden. The photos of the Hart garden are especially useful because the way I'm imagining it my planting would be about that dense--and I don't see many pictures of plantings that dense. It would be wonderful if I could find a model in Central Florida to copy.

Thanks again to you all.

Bill

I love this look too and always linger longest at Leu in those areas. I think you have to be not only patient but willing to make periodic changes to your garden. As I've let some of my trees grow and fill out, for example, I've had to plant less sun-loving plants and more that do well with some shade. As the shrubs get larger, I've added shade plants around their bases.
I'm not very good at keeping things pruned, so it all gets overgrown fairly often. I leave it as long as I can stand it, then dig a few things out for sharing at swaps!
Eventually, I want to have to move branches out of the way as I walk through my jungle-like garden! I'm a long ways from that but it's nice to have a goal.

Gary - I would like to hear more about your seep wall. How did you do it and what would you change to avoid the problems you had.

Kate

Kate
The "seep wall " is an attempt to make a multiple layered environment for tropical forest plants. Originally i was going to make an indoor walkin terrarium so I could have complete control over the climate This can be done but in 10 florida probably not necessary and way too complicated. Light is so hard to duplicate not to mention heat buildup and humidity and circulation.
Anyway went with the shadehouse location and started the seep wall .Made it of expanding foam attached to styrofoam panels. To keep the weight and width as low as possible.
Since a waterfall requires a reservoir I went with a 150 gallon aquarium rather than a hidden tank. Works well as it not only provides the water it 's useful to grow submerged plants .Wasn't sure an aquarium could be kept outdoors exposed to the elements but that has worked extremely well.
The wall is being made in sections depending on light and water in given areas. It is now 7x10 feet in length and maybe 70 percent planted. As you can imagine the water running down the wall sets up all kinds of micro climates.
Since the entire shadehouse is only 12x21x9 feet high there are a lot of space restrictions. I had to replace the roof this spring after the project was already underway which made it VERY difficult. Went back to the original plan of open lattice as the main shade source and right now the plan is to use vines for a supplement. A "dry" garden on the roof ia another idea I'm kicking around. The goal is a four layered canopy in an incredibly small space lol.
I connected the lily pool to the aquarium as well as the marsh area to hopefully produce a stable "blackwater environment for a irrigation source as well as provide heat during the winter. Keeping the water warm has been easy
but air temps dropped drasticly even with the mild winter.
I still believe wide open is the best year around solution.
Anyway the whole idea is to turn the shadehouse into a lowland tropical rainforest not jungle lol.
At this time I'm thinking of doubling the size of the shadehouse and remove a lot of the outdoor plantings.
Funds are low so that idea is still in the planning stage.. Have found almost no info on this type of garden so I'm training myself.lol I do find it the most interesting project I've tried.The toughest part has been the choice of materials !!! Things that will handle the humidity and yet within the budget. I thought from the beginning that combining such a multi layered garden could not be contained in such a small area. What to plant where and how much is daunting.lol gary

Layering has been a process and still a work in progress for us as well. We have large oak trees and underneath I have planted Brugmansias, large Alocasias to smaller Alocasias, Colocasias, Xanthosomas, large 6-7 ft crinums, ground covering gingers. We have Aristolochias running through the canopy of orange trees also underneath the oak trees. Other vines include passion flowers and black eyed susan vine. I use morning glories for annual vines. Hanging from the trees I have anthuriums, a nepenthes, flowering plants, philodendrons in baskets and growing up trees, etc.....you get the idea.

I am thinking we need to add some palms to add to the taller layer under the oaks. I love using calatheas as a ground cover under my Alocasias and around Tacca as well. In between it all, I have impatiens that have self seeded throughout and have created some hybrids and they are great fillers in the shade.

I have to say that I have been truly amazed in growing Aroids.....and the same probably could be true for any plants grown from bulbs or tubers. Plants that I thought I lost (one over 5 years ago), make a come back and just truly amaze me.....or a baby will show up in a pot or another place I never planted it...

Anyway, enough rambling.

Good idea for a thread Bill. I'm attempting this on the edges of my property with natives in moist/wet areas. The edges being maples, oaks, loblolly bay, sweet bay, red bay. Inside of that various shrubs which like it wet, like fringe tree, virginia willow, red chokeberry, climbing aster, swamp dogwood. Inside of that I'm trying Mallows, scarlet hibiscus, etc, don't have many of them in yet.

Gary

Hi,
I too love the way this looks so complex-- a feast for all the senses! I had bought an oakleaf hydrangea I was just going to tuck into a corner. It would get afternoon sun, and I am not sure if it would take a beating. So now I am toying with putting it under a Florida oak, maybe with 2 others.

What I wonder, though-- the oak is big, probably 25-30yrs old, and some of its roots are at the surface. Would it be a complementary planting, or would the hydrangea or the tree suffer damage? So I am still uncertain.

Since forests grow in multiple layers-- azaleas, etc being in an understory-- I am thinking the 'forest gardening' mentioned & pictured above is something to consider.

Love the ideas in this thread!
--Shelbey

The tropical layered look is what I have been working on these last 6 years. I will try to post some photos.

Now that's what I'm talking about! Bodiggly, that is lovely. A very inviting stroll. The mature trees- perfectly spaced, must have given you a nice start. You have planted a wonderful mix of things that have layered beautifully, yet don't look cluttered, still distinct. I think I see a fatsia japonica, some arecas, saw palmettos, beautyberry, jacaranda, an assortment of bromeliads, and is that a glory bower clerodendrum? What is that lovely variegated small bush I see? Beautifully done, and it creates a very nice part-shade situation. Thanks for posting.

Anna

Hi
That does look very nice !!! What is the apce limits of it?? Will it take up all the garden are?? gary

We removed 80% of the grass from our front yard and added layers of plant material to give it a semi-manicured look. All of the grass from the back has been removed. We salvaged brick and added the walkways and began to over plant and layer the back. It's not perfect, but we have a 21-month baby girl as an excuse. Here are some pictures.


Front

WOW both of your gardens are beautiful!

Bodiggly is that your driveway? It is a show stopper. It reminds me of a garden in the keys.

Sunshinestate your front yard is so inviting. I would want to stop and take a look if I drove by. I love your little brick paths, they add such charm.

I also love the layered tropical lush look.
Here are some pictures that I took in my garden this morning:

Veronika

Anna, the variegated bush was a variegated hydrangea. Sadly, it did not survive the one season. I have replaced it with white caladiums. Lady, yes, that is part of my driveway. We have a circle drive. Funny you should mention it looks like the Keys as I lived there for about 10 years.
I now live in Melbourne on about 3/4acre and most of it landscape similarly.

Thanks to you all for the beautiful pictures and ideas. You're giving me lots of ideas, and I'm seeing that I've been way too conservative with plant height/size/variety.

Sunshinestate, you're giving me ideas for my front yard too. I'm going to do some sketches in imitation of yours and see how it looks. I've been struggling with ideas for the front garden for a while now.

I'm learning a lot here. Thanks again!

Bill

Not to bore anyone, these are a few shots of my back garden. It is a sunnier location.

Bill, Here's a trick you may want to consider. We planted the hedge (in the front of the house) about four feet from the house. In between the hedges and the house, we planted lots of milkweed for the monarchs. It's a great trick to hide the milkweed (as it's not pretty after being stripped by catepillars). An added bonus is that it brings the monarchs next to the porch. I did our landscape plan about five years ago. I'll see if I can find a copy of it. If so, I'll let you know.

Hey bodiggly,

Your right near me. Do you shop at Landscape Depot by any chance, I think I regonize a few things.

Beautiful gardens!!

It would be interesting and helpful to know how each of you started your gardens. Plant tall trees first then the other plants? An area at a time? BTW all of your gardens are very beautiful.

I keep coming back to look at these pictures again and again. I love the beauty in all of them. I am trying for this look myself. Some areas are getting close --- some day.

This thread with beautiful photos of real Florida yards is better than any magazine because it's:
1)interactive. questions get answered
2)specific to Florida
3)realistic and achievable
4)enthusiastic and done with love
5)plants used are available and will survive

Thanks for all the photos and inspiration.

Bodiggly, your garden is gorgeous. I second Gardenbrat's question: how did you do it?

Sunshinestate, I've been sketching out possible front yard plans (again) using yours now as a model. But when I try it on my house it doesn't look as good as it does with yours--I think because my house is long and low "ranch style." Every time I try to draw in a fence, or even a low line of shubs, it has a tendency to make an the already low-slung looking house look even lower, "sunken." I run into this problem every time I try to design a front yard garden. You have inspired me to extend one of the shrub beds though. It will round things out, make mowing a bit easier, and give me a little less lawn. Thanks. Oh, I just let milkweed spring up wherever--between ornamental grasses or shrubs, up against the house. I've even left it in the veggie garden before. I'm a messy gardener.

Oh how beautiful! Our property used to be covered with a high canopy of Pines and 3 huge Ficus trees shaded out the entire back third. Now they are all gone, and we have zero shade. When we had our forest, I bought all dwarf fruit trees to tuck into the few sunny spots. Now I'm regretting choosing small trees.

I don't like the wide-open, brilliantly sunny, HOT yard I now have. It will take big $$$ and many years to rebuild the cool, shady "woods" we once took for granted.

I love the photos of your gardens. Makes me want to stroll around, looking at all the treasures planted around the next bend.

Lisa

I love it all!!!
The 'Layered' look is what we plan on creating this fall.
We moved into this house two years ago but because my hubby is STILL up in SE PA, our yard looks the same as it did the day I moved in...heavy sigh!

Here's one shot of our side yard.

Where would you suggest we even begin???
It's truly mind-boggling...and I admit, I just don't have the imagination, I guess, to plan it out.
What would I remove? What should stay?
...and how can I create shade?!?!?

Mebbe if I cut & paste some of these gorgeous shots into my album, MY YARD could be magically transformed! LOLAM!

Gardenbrat, hello neighbor. I haven't shopped Landscape Depot in a long time.

To answer the question of how -- We were lucky enough to have some mature trees. Also, have taken out a lot of pines(pine borers). I began with the back garden as that is what we looked at most. I planted foundation plants first, citrus, etc. It has evolved and is still evolving as I am a plantaholic.

I have gotten away from most annuals and perrenials as they are too time consuming. I plant more foliage plants, some that bloom, some with leaf coloration.

Plant the trees and largest (maturity) first. Then insert the plants you MUST have--such as a type of flowering srhub or a cycad. Then, in those gaps in the layers, you can add in various plants to contrast the leaves and colors of your "foundation" plants and fill it in to be lush and interesting. Beacuse you planted the plants that will eventually get the tallest or largest, you can surmise how much spacing is needed (and $$$) to create the lush setting in a growing season.

Never underestimate the value of the occasional splash of foliar color of a croton, copperleaf, etc. nestled among the green leaves of shrubs and groundcovers. blah blah, you know.

Lovely! I so appreciate the long garden views, and these are gardens after my own heart.
Bodiggity, there is no way we would find this boring...more more more!

Hi
I hope you don't mind me resurrecting this thread...I'd hate for all these great photos to "go missing" and there's probably one or two new folks who haven't seen 'em yet.

There's a wealth of gardening knowledge here that I happened to stumble upon while researching other topics. I can't believe I missed it back in July.