Oh my, what a beautiful garden, perfect surrounding for adeniums!

Do you have Koi?

no fish right now. The pond is above ground because of my drain field. The negative aspect of this is that the water gets too hot in summer for the goldfish. I learned this the hard way........ ;-(

Beautiful. If you ever try the fish again two things you can do. Set up an air pump -inside- of your house with an airline that runs to your pond if it's close by. It'll send AC cooled air into your water to help cool it and you can run it through an old garden hose or PVC so it doesn't heat up much in route. Also making sure the pond is shaded and has good water circulation will be key. I used to set these up for a living years ago.

My last fish actually lasted about two years (by luck)... I also tried to keep the surface of the water shaded with waterlilies. The last two I never found..... there is a chance that a heron or egret had them for lunch........ ;-(

this thing is blooming & budding like crazy but I wonder if it's bad for the plant? After all it was just shipped from California two weeks before budding. All of the blooms are weak & droop.

My plants from dino I just soaked them in water for 5 minutes or so potted them kept them in a shady spot for a couple days. Couple days with more sun then into full sun. They had a new set of leaves in a week.

The yard, deck and patio area is really nice by the way. It all looks well made with nice materials. Reminds me of mr. Miyagis backyard in karate kid. Start growing some shimpaku juniper and Japanese black pines in containers, couple of years you can add some nice bonsai to those benches ;)

I have always "puttered" around the house. Even when I was but 21 with my first lil house... ;-) The deck has been built bit by bit & finally topped with composite boards as the first surface warped & rotted. The real reason all of this happens is that I hate to mow the yard!! No yard, no mowing.......

I hear you there, John. About mowing the lawn. As much as I love the look of a green lawn. The watering and upkeep is not worth it to my, atleast not anymore. The cost of maintaining it is money much better spent, like on plants, deck, etc.

Rick

In Florida, we have to start worrying about our water quality. The runoff from big ag & all of the manicured lawns is poisoning our rivers. So now my laziness is eco-responsible!!! ;-)

Grass is over rated. Right now since we haven't had rain in a month my grass is all dead and brown. I really don't care. I would love to have a yard full of moss or clover with little tiny flowers. That would be cool. And you are right John our rivers are getting poisoned. such a shame for grass!!

You don't want to mention your coastal water either. How many beaches did they shut down a couple of weeks ago

Unfortunately, you being responsible environmentally is a small drop in the bucket so to speak but everyone needs to do their part so good for you. I live on top of our aquifer recharge so I try to limit using chemicals. But then I go to the hardware store and see my neighbor buying 150 pounds of bonus s 'weed and feed' lol.

I know this is way OT. But at our local beach which is at a refuge. when the wind is coming from the east there is all kinda trash from the cruise ships.. I couldn't believe it the first time I saw it.. Shampoo bottles, water bottles, balloons, etc. It's just awful. Why is it legal for cruise ships to dump their waste. It is just disgusting.

Your two little dino plants, the same ones I got a few weeks ago look very similar which is to say awesome. Mine decided to make a few flower bud with the new flush of leaves. Some leaves were are misshapen probably micronutrient / ph related in the fresh mix.

Todd, mine are just leaving customs....... ;-) Some more shots because I can't help myself.......

and my potting bench...... which I built years ago to hold up the fence against the weight of the bougainvillea........

very cool john. very cool, indeed.

My favorite plant as to form...... leafing out nicely and taking full sun now.

This sure is a special form, John. It looks so well placed in this pot and good balance to it.

I can see why you enjoy it so much.

Rick

This is a beautiful arabicum. Lovely balance and symmetry. Can't wait to see her bloom.

Tracy

I know that I should be trimming those upper roots....... but I don't want to hurt her.... ;-)

Bench #1 now has been retrofitted to having two tiers....... ;-)

and the yellow bloom is still working on opening........

and a new arrival is wired to spread the branches after shipping.

John,

Those benches are so nice. Really do like the look of the different direction of lathing and levels.

That bloom looks very promising.

Rick

When the yellow one does open should be gorgeous.

The last pic the tree needs something for balance. IMHO Don't know what. Maybe after the wiring Is done. Did the roots need that wide of a pot? or where you going by how wide the top is for the wide pot? Sorry if I sound to critical. This one just stuck me.

yea, Merica I know what you mean. I had that pot or another fabric one. With the length of the branches I just figured that I would let it root in and grow. Next spring I may cut the branches way back depending on the caudex growth... It might also be because I shot it with a wide angle lens...... ;-)

In reference to controlling those nasty aphid critters, I have been using Liquid Sevin in a spray bottle and it works and I don't see any harmful effects on newly emerging seedlings nor on my older plants. I do catch them very early and I spritz both sides of the leaves lightly. Ed V. (W/C Fl.)

John; I really like your "new" bench. Would you tell me some dimensions of what you built? Like distance between slats and slat size? I'd like to make one like it -only longer. Thanks, Ed V.

The slats are pressure treated lathe wood and the spacing is designated by a short piece of lathe as a spacer. Since I live so close to the ocean all screws are stainless steel. One was 6' and the other 5'. They are rather heavy as I used 4X4 corner posts and 2X4's on the bottom. The other supports are pressure treated 1X4.

Thanks, John. I never build anything without stainless screws. If I trip coming out my back door and happen to miss my boat I'll land in Tampa Bay over the seawall. One of the reasons I like your bench is that it IS heavy. Right now we have 30 to 40mph winds and things (plants) have a tendency to move and fall over. Like everyone else, I started with ONE plant- - now I have lost count and I'm waiting for my new seeds from Mr. Ko. I guess it's better than smoking, drinking and - - well, you know!! Thanks, I'm going to start on it in the AM. Ed.

Ed V, a few more detail shots of the bench....

Merica, another shot of that adenium..... the pot IS LARGE....... ;-)

this shot with a more "normal" lens & I trimmed off some of the leaves.

Well, my yellow bloom never did open all the way. I think that I need to water more often or fertilize more often due to the gritty mix I have adopted. Anyone useing a mineral mix have recommendations?

It seems several of us had triples blooms that did not open all the way. I wonder what could be done. Is this because it is the first blooms on a young tree?

In my case there was the issue of just being shipped. Both of my new arrivals that I planted in a soil mix bloomed (even after being shipped) This is the first one that failed, then again, the others were singles.

The yellows are trying to bloom......

john: how far b/w the 4x4s? 18 inches? and then what, 24 inches b/w shelves? looks simpler than my plan with that composite decking turned on end (narrow instead of wide) with a dowel through the boards. looks to be less costly too … ^_^

Superb & picture perfect garden /yard space John, and really gorgeous adeniums all of them.Loved the lotus pics too. Thanks for taking such lovely pics...look good enough for a magazine...!

Many adenium, multipetalled especially, dont open fully even by the second/third day. I have a similar yellow and pink in which only the outer petals are open but inner ones stay kind of closed. Also, the droopy pink flowers in the first/second pic of the thread...I think it is a plant charachteristic and not much we can do about it.

and the yellow doth bloom!!!

as dusk fell the pin ks became more apparent......

I want it I want it I want it

Such a sweet yellow with the barest hint of pink. I'm curious to know if it turns out to be stable or color shifts as the flower ages, to more pink for example. I adore color changers.

Unless it gets drowned out by the rains I will report!! ;-)

John; Thanks for the pic! That is a beautiful specimen. It looks like we are going to get drenching rains here on the West coast of Fl. I have already begun to bring all my plants under cover. I'll be satisfied if it gets no worse than that. Ed V. Fl. (mid W/C).

Ed V, sure glad that this storm stayed disorganized!! Stay dry my friend....

shot in the predawn glow this morning.....