Palm Central

My obsession for plants originated about 10 years ago with an obsession for palms.  Instead of just moving to Hawaii (I didn't have any money and was still in college), I figured the next best thing was to at least make my yard look like a tropical paradise - even if it didn't always feel like one.  So my love affair with palms began.  Below are the different species of palms currently growing in my garden, ordered by easiness to grow in the Seattle area.  The last three palms are not reliable hardy, but do spend the vast majority of their time outside.

Trachycarpus fortunei (Windmill Palm)

Trachycarpus fortunei var. wagnerianus

Rhapidophyllum hystrix (Needle Palm)

Jubaea chilensis (Chilean Wine Palm)

Butia capitata (Jelly Palm)

Chamaerops humilis (Mediterranean Fan Palm)

Washingtonia robusta (Mexican Fan Palm)

Sabal mexicana

Sabal minor

Brahea armata (Mexican Blue Palm)

Rhapis excelsa (Lady Palm)

Syagrus romanzoffiana (Queen Palm)

Growing Rapidly

Tetrapanax papyrifer

With ground-soaking rains in April, summer-like sunshine in the first half of May, and now back to rain, the garden seems to be changing by the hour.

Gunnera manicata

Just when I started to panic about the ground drying out this early in the season from all the warm sunny weather, the reality of living in Seattle came to the rescue: rain is forecast for six of the next seven days.  That at least makes the gunneras happy.

Fatsia polycarpa

This is my new toy.

Strelitzia reginae

Strelitzia reginae or Bird of paradise is a really good reason to have a greenhouse.  It started blooming in March and should last into July.  I bought this one a couple years ago and is now blooming for the first time.  It doesn't have any major pests that I know of, although sometimes spider mites or aphids will feed off its leaves in the greenhouse, but a monthly spraying of neem oil solves that problem.  I keep it outside April-October.

Brugmansia

Brugmansia or Angel's Trumpet is another great subtropical plant that is unfortunately not hardy.  But that's no reason to not grow it.  The foot-long trumpet-shaped flowers are visually stunning, but even more stunning is their fragrance, which is only released in the evening.  They root easily from cuttings any time of the year.

Azalea 'White Lights'

Speaking of fragrant plants that are in bloom right now, Azalea 'White Lights' is a great one.  I've never been a huge fan of azaleas but this one has won me over.

Clematis x cartmanii 'Blaaval' growing on the trunk of Trachycarpus fortunei

The day has come when the 30 Trachycarpus fortunei (Windmill palm) specimens I planted four years ago are big enough to have vines growing on them.  I just planted this Clematis x cartmanii 'Blaaval' (aka avalanch clematis) a few months ago.

Schefflera delavayi

Now that my hardy schefflera count is up to five different species (all surviving this past winter no problem), I'll have to consider joining the hardy schefflera society...

Schefflera taiwaniana