The inspiration first came a couple of months ago
when 2 red (false) banana plants, Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' were purchased. On a whim I should add. They were 'end of summer' leftovers at my favorite local nursery and cost a mere $5 each. My resolve to stick with only Florida-friendly and native plants melted away under the pressure of hot, steamy weather conditions.
It's kind of hard for me to believe there weren't already some of these magenta veined beauties around here. But since there wasn't, some contemplation ensued deciding where they would be planted.
Considering the partial sun exposure they prefer one of them was placed in a curvy nook at the feet of some
Schefflera arboricola '
Variegata' shrubs. So close in fact that the red banana appears to be growing out of the clump of them from certain angles. This gives the appearance that it is well established and has been there longer than it really has.
To finish off that vignette some lotus begonias were split up and layered in front of the banana and then the variegated
liriope was dug up and a new boundary was established curving around all of it after the bird bath was moved there also.
The second red banana was placed just down the way and at the edge of the farthest back planting bed. Both can be seen from almost every angle in the back garden.
One draws the eye to the other.
The swirl of continuous new leaves shooting up from the center of them convinces me they are happy where sited.
When the
ginormous gift of Giant Spider Lily Crinum augustum 'Queen Emma' was offered
my design inspiration shifted into high gear for an entirely new transformation of
another grassy area begging to be renovated.
Between the new red banana and the newly planted
crinum was a wide grassy pathway that swerved in and out along the edges of some large planting beds.
A (before) photo from May 2009 gives you a good idea of how the grassy swath made its way to the back of the property where the compost piles are hidden to the right or to the left a flagstone path that winds through more planting beds.
Let's Back Up and Have a Look at the How-to's
~The first thing to do to create the pathway is to determine the shape and lines of the new path.
~In this case the left edge was my starting point. Measure out from the edge of the existing planting bed to mark off the width desired. For my path the considerations included leaving safe passage for the width of my wheelbarrow which makes many trips to that back corner on any gardening day. And then the passage width of the riding mower which is driven to the back to dump grass clippings onto the compost pile.
~ Using PVC pipe I hammered in some stakes along the edge in a design shape that made a nicely curved pathway. I never like to copy the exact line of the curve from the opposite side. Creating curves a little shorter or longer on the new side keeps the pathway from being too predictable.
~I started this project digging the grass up. At some point it dawned on me to try the lasagna method of smothering the existing grass with newspapers. This made the project go much faster.
You can see here
the crinum has not been transplanted from my neighbor's yet. But, all the while my pathway is being formed, I'm scheming about the best place for it.
~As I don't ever use cypress mulch, it was decided to use pine needles layered over the newspaper. Pine needles (purchased by the bundle) have a nice warm, peaceful appearance to me reminding me of nature's woodsy pathways seen so often in parks and conservation areas.
Changing the grassy path into a more
narrow and cozy path meant that plants were dug up from other places and added along the length of it to
close in the borders of the pathway. The next previously-grassy inlet beyond the curve from the red banana was filled out with plants like the one above. My neighbor passed this wonderful, deeply colored foliage plant along to me last year. I have no idea the name of it but it likes lots of shade. It blooms a spiking red bloom in the winter. How fun is that!
Edit: Name of plant is Stromanthe
The back side of the leaves are very deep magenta. With several of them already planted behind the variegated
liriope border
bringing one out in front of the border gives a sense of continuity and yet
doesn't exactly mimic any other niche on the pathway.
Looking toward the center of the above photo is a view of how
buddha-belly plant,
Jatropha podagrica and Hardy star begonia,
heracleifolia and holly ferns were brought out even further still working to slenderize the new pathway.
What says tropical more than
bromeliads! Walking around my garden I picked out the lighter colored foliage to transplant in scalloped curves inward continuing to taper the width of the new trail. The
chartreuse hues of this foliage picks up the sunlight that sneaks in between the oak tree branches towering high above.
Even though most of the plants were dug up and divided from existing places at Hoe and Shovel there was a need for a few purchases. The Black Taro
Alocasia plumbea I adore and use in another place in the front garden was found at a nursery in north Florida and packed in the car with traveling luggage one weekend.
Lots of Flax Lily
Dianella tasmanica '
Variegata' divided, that will fill out over time, fashions the new inside boundary and wraps around the
crinum lily. You may remember it
was sited about 4 feet out in front of an existing retaining wall that serves as the edge for trailing purple queen and chartreuse potato vine.
Here's another view to compare with almost the same angle below for a pretty good idea of the
"before" and "after" changes.
There are more ideas swirling around in my head for removal of the remaining grass visible in this photo. We'll see. Maybe in the spring.
The concrete sitting bench at the left center marks the end of the trail. It was brought forward about 3 feet along with the two container plants sitting not exactly symmetrical on either side. They are each home to lemon-lime
dracaena, holly ferns,
caladiums, and coleus.
A view from the side angle reveals how this path now melds right into the flagstone path that makes its way winding through the center planting bed.
