Happy Veterans Day from the Southern Delaware Beaches! A few photos here after the 2011 growing season. Prior to this year, I only had five windmills growing around my back porch, plus a few sabal minor seedlings that wintered over from seeds scattered last summer.

In the spring I found great deals on hardy palms at Home Depot, Lowes and even WalMart--more selection and variety I've ever seen here. I added a few more windmills (but two succumbed to the drought) and a nice mix of sabal minor (7), needles (7), Med Fans (3) and a Pindo. I've never winter protected the windmills before in our relatively mild winters, but I will give the Med Fans and Pindos protection to give them a fighting chance because I like them so much. I've already started piling dried leaves around their trunks. The bananas are still green and growing a bit, but are starting to get beat up by winds and falling temps, so I'll cut them down this weekend and mulch them in next week for the winter. I always enjoy seeing everyone else's gardens. Mind is kind of humble compared so some of yours!

The bananas grow like weeds, virtually obscuring the wrap-around back porch this time of year--I have to selectively reduce the number of pups every spring and sometimes into the summer to keep them from spreading too far from where I want them. I swear they'd become invasive if I didn't! The castor beans come up from seeds every year so I don't even have to do anything, other than relocate them to where I want them--also borderline invasive in my garden.

This is my oldest windmill, in the ground for about six seasons. It nearly doubled in height this growing season, pushing out about 12 fronds (one has opened since this pic was taken a week ago), adding about 8" of clear trunk and now it is taller than me. I wanted the palms up against the porch for a Key West kind of feel without having to have potted palms to haul inside each year.

Same windmill:

Its companion windmill on other side of steps gets beat up a lot in the winter if we have snow. The metal porch roof heats up and snow slides off in sheets and crashes down onto this poor palm. I need to set up some way to divert the snow. Otherwise, it's really rebounded this summer.

Same windmill showing very nice fronds in the sun.

This windmill does surprisingly well since it gets less sun in the back of the porch--early morning and late afternoon only in summer. Still, it has topped the porch railing and is taller than I am.

A nice sized needle palm I got for half price at the end of the season from Lowes. It went in the garden late in September, so I am piling up dried leaves around its base and will protect it from any snow we may get. It complements two windmills on either side of it.

I had this little windmill planted in a tree island adjacent to my driveway out front. It was NOT happy on the street and out in the open. I thought it was a goner so for grins, I moved it to the back garden in the spring. It is recovering nicely, but the fronds appear stunted, almost like it is a dwarf compared to the older fronds. (Two sabal minors are now in the tree island and they should do much better than the windmill).

I found two little Med Fans at a Home Depot up in Dover, Delaware late in the Spring. Central Delaware is a half zone colder up there and I figured no one up there would realize they are hardy or give them the TLC they needed, so I HAD to "rescue" them. Glad I did! Both grew very well and nearly doubled in size since I planted them. One even has a silverish cast to its fronds.

This Med Fan has become my favorite new purchase this year. It was knee high when I got it and now, it is easily is up to my belly button. It had several pups when I planted it and they all grew well too. I tucked the palm in between two large camellias so it would get wind protection in the winter. I normally prune the camellias back by 1/3 after they are done flowering in the Spring, but I wanted the added winter cover, so only tipped a few wild-looking shoots. Out in front of the front porch, there is a nice south-facing micro-climate. The camellias often flower as early as January (though it's better if they hold off until later in February) and crocuses are blooming by Valentines day in this bed.

The Med Fan really looks dwarfed by the 8 foot tall camellias, but they will really protect it this winter. I can always prune the shrubs if the palm needs more growing room. I really love this palm. Note the spring buds all over the shrubs.

A new windmill planted this spring at the corner of the front porch--trying to bring that Key West Look out front. Again, spring camellia bud adjacent.

One of the two dozen or so sabal palmetto seedlings popping up all around the garden beds. After a collecting trip in the March, I scattered hands full of sabal seeds. I will be very interested to see how these seedlings fair during the winter.

Parting shot of the Pindo, that I placed in the center of my back bed. I've been very leery of this type of palm after all I've read about how fussy they are in the winter with precip. We don't see temps below 20F very often (Avg January Day 42F/ Night 28F), but we do get cold rain. Historically not much snow either (Other than winter 2010). So I will break my vow not to winterize any plant because this palm has done so well, nearly doubling in height this year. It was crotch high when I planted it. Now it is well over 6 feet--taller than I am. It'll probably slower growing next summer after a winter in 8a. Also in the photo are two small needles framing the pindo to its front. And the little white garden marker indicates a sabal seedling's location. There are also some Med Fan Seedlings I sprouted and am experimenting with here and in another spot in another bed not photographed.

Hope everyone is enjoying fall and tucking in their plants for the winter.