Here is one of the pix

And below is a clickable link to the album

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: jimhardy yard

Thanks tsugajunkie.How did you get the pic to post?I have not been able to get them to post off Photobucket anymore,I used to be able to click next to html code and it said copied and then I could post but for some reason this has stopped working

I did use the HTML code. Sometimes you have to right click and hit "copy" but just clicking it copied it for me this time.

tj

Double wow!!! jh & tj as well, for the treat ... ignorance seems to be my expertise ... my Mom collected miniature cacti in tiny pots, eons ago, in the old country (thanks for triggering memories!) I prefered dealing with rose thorns, however (ended up giving up, for all the chemicals needed to maintain them, decently). Living under Iowa skies, didn't think z4b-5a would be OK for them much less all the other exotic huge foliaged goodies you grow!!! Â;)

I love dirt digging & my hubby calls me a *glut for punishment* for all the over-wintering chores, to protect my bloom-tenders. How do you protect your exotic collections? I do pass by a home, growing in one corner of their front yard (perhaps 4'x4'bed)a group of yellow blooming cacti & always wondered about this issue! Remember, I'm ignorant about arid-region plants & tropical looking beauties grown in IOWA ... I'll have to learn more about these group of garden beauties, huh?!!!

Again, thank you both, for sharing! Â;)

Another shot

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Wow! once more Jimhardy!!! ... how do you protect them in Winter ... you must be quite south of DSM huh?

I am in Fairfield about 50 miles or less from the Missouri border,southeast Iowa.Here's a few more shots and the answer(in pictures)to your question.

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you have a stunning yard!

Thank you so much for posting! ... now I can show my hubby that I'm not as *glut for punishment* as he paints me to be!!!

AMAZING!!! JimHardy I tip my hat off (so to speak)!!!

Thanks guys/gals (-:

Here's a few more pics I took 9-27-09

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More awesome pix. Thanks Jim.

tj

You have a nice tropical feel in coder climate.
Really enjoyed watching it.But hard to maintain.
Great job.

In the first pic what is the big leaf tree on the left?

bump

Anyone?

Wow, fabulous garden!

Sorry-
I don't check this particular forum to much but thought I would on a hunch(-:

"The big leaf tree on the left is a Castor bean plant.
One of the leaves grew to 42" last year and the plants topped out at around 12'before the cold finished them.
All this from seed in 5+ months!

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THE BEGINNING

LAST FALL

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Thank you Jim! So thats a caster bean? But it didn't make it through the cold then. Still, thats a huge plant in just a few short months.

I like the caster bean, but I'm going to try the tetrapanex for my area. It's suppose to be hardy to zone 6. You have an awsome garden Jim.

Thanks
Tetrapanex is an awesome plant!
The one I have is called Steroidal Giant,I brought it in this winter to keep it's size.
It has produced 3 babies.
I think for it to survive it will need to grow at least as big as the one picture and will need to be heavily mulched.
The top will most assuredly die and it will resprout from the roots,hence the mulching.

There is a seller on e-bay that sells packs of the Castor bean seeds,these are the variety with the very large leaves-here's the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Castor bean seeds(Beans:-)

I admire your hard work and gardening skills but I can't help but think you're daft. It strikes me as attention-grabbing but terribly unnatural, particularly in winter. If you can't embrace what Iowa has to offer, why not move to a warmer clime?

Attention grabbing? Aren't all gardens? Unnatural? Aren't all gardens? Once you plant a single flower, it draws attention. Once a shovel hits the turf it becomes unnatural. I look at it as diverse expression.

tj

Some of this years flowers-etc

Thanks tj

Heres a few updated pics from last summer....

Thanks for the update.
Still amazes me what you have in the ground in Iowa.

tj

I know its a bit of an old thread but those clear plastic tents you had a few years back Jim, where did you get those.. someone has a few palms under them in a yard down the street but I don't remember ever seeing them for sale. also how well did they work?

Wow...that's very impressive!! I'm sure its a LOT of work protecting them in the winter but it sure has paid off. Great job! Wouldn't think you could do grow them in Iowa, just mind blowing!

Thanks for the update and nice pictures...

Great gardens,and i'll be back later for a closer view.Have to go pick up GS in a ew minutes.BUT,i wanted to tell you all that I als was having problems with photobucket for quite awhile.I couldn't even get one picture posted.

I asked about it on some of the forums that I visit,and no one had an answer.Then sunday I posted on the computer forum her on GW.They told me the problem was with IE,i had IE 7 on my puter.They told me to upgrade to 8 or 10.So this morning while I slept dh came in and cleaned everything up and uploaded IE 10,and it's now working like a charm.I just uploaded a bunch of pictures here to the cactus/succulent forum.

So to make a long story short,for those that are having problems with Pb,try IE 10.
Kathi

That is very cool jimhardy, its nice to see someone else that grows c&s in iowa. I put mine outside in there pots in my front yard when it gets warm enough and don't take them in untill fall or when ever it gets to cold out, thanks for the pics.

That is very cool jimhardy, its nice to see someone else that grows c&s in iowa. I put mine outside in there pots in my front yard when it gets warm enough and don't take them in untill fall or when ever it gets to cold out, thanks for the pics.

Do you know the name of that last plant,the bronze colored one ??.I have one of those,but don't know what it's called.
TFS
Kathi

Thanks you guys-

The clear covers or umbrella greenhouses are tough to come by these days.
They work great but I have to use a lot of lights to heat them-so now I make my own
out of the green rubber coated fencing,bubble wrap and trash can lids/covers.

The reddish plant is Cordyline Australis,I planted it about 4 years ago,
it returned from the roots the first 2 years but the top stayed intact last
winter(one of the warmest ever),I believe it is still alive on top this
year as well-I give a little more attention to protecting it now(-: