OTHER TROPICAL GARDENS: A VISIT TO GALVESTON ISLAND, TEXAS

I'm spoiled. Just one hour from my tropical garden one can find an entire ISLAND of tropical plants

and historic tropical garden homes.

Galveston Island is one of only a handful of zone 10 regions in Texas.

Only Brownsville (the Rio Grande Valley), Corpus Christi, and Port Aransas 

are warmer.

But I like the tropical style of Galveston since it gets almost twice the rainfall as these other locations.

So here's a gardener's eye view of Galveston Island, sans sand. 

If you only have time to visit one spot, go to Moody Gardens.

The parking is free and the outdoor gardens are free.

The gardens are constantly changing. Plumeria, bromeliads, and palms are there in abundance.

Hibiscus and dozens of types of Oleander round out the collection. There are three pyramids to explore. I like the rainforest pyramid the most, but would rather not pay the $24.00 entry fee.

A view of the palms at the front entrance.

Here's a secret...walk up the handicapped ramp to get to the main foyer. You'll see this nice tropical shade garden on the way up.

The newest parts of the garden are still recovering from Hurricane Ike. These schefflera will become the size of small trees. With the warmer winters here in Texas, I am eager to see if they will bloom.

I've only seen this in Miami, Florida. It's a sure sign that this part of  Galveston is a solid zone 10b. 

This Norfolk Island Pine is probably the largest in Texas.

This looks like a Southern Magnolia when in fact it is a Banyan tree. It is the largest one on the island. I visit this tree every time I go to the island. I hope someday that it will be as large as the ones in Fort Myers and Coral Gables, Florida. 

Here's a close up of the leaves. It's called Ficus macrophylla and they're originally from Australia.

Right next to it is this tree size rubber plant (Ficus elastica). It seems very happy and it should be a large tree in a few more years.

If you have more time and you want to see other gardens, take a drive down Post Office Street near the Strand. This home is in the East End Historic district and one of my favorite bungalows.

courtesy Curb Appeal Marketing

This is a two part post. Part II will show you some more historic homes from the East End Historic District and a glimpse of two historic hotels as well as a number of tropical garden settings. Stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by!

David/:0)

HELLO OCTOBER, GOOD-BYE SEPTEMBER ~ WHAT SOUTH TEXANS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR

Is October a good gardening month for you? Here's why it's a good one for me.
Let's see, swarms of mosquitoes, dripping humidity levels, scorching temperatures, weeks and weeks without rain, and the isolation that comes with being the only gardener dedicated  (crazy) enough to garden all summer long in your neighborhood.  Hmmm...wonder if I'm going to miss September?  This year, September was the new August, which is just plain sad.  Yet, not all was high heat and humidity. That long awaited cool front swept in with all its glory and transported us to places like Canada and Colorado...so nice.
October is even better with highs in the low 80s & 70s and lows in the 60s & 50s. Most Houstonians open their windows, turn off the A/C and actually sit outside in the evenings. It's probably my 3rd favorite month behind March and April.  Tomorrow we go down to Galveston Island with our son who's home from college. All the summer crowds are gone and the water is still in the 80 degree range. The shopkeepers give people like us their undivided attention since there's usually only a few people in the historical part of the city this time of year. This is also my number one transplanting month since it has been too hot up until now to move plants around. Right now I'm also cleaning out the compost pile and putting compost out in the beds since I need to start a new compost pile from all the summer "weed pullin' " and "stick cuttin' ". 
Happy Gardening!

Neoregelia 'Happy Thoughts' in early morning light. One of my favorites that can actually stand some frost and recover nicely. :-)

SEPTEMBER FOLIAGE FOLLOW-UP

First of all, thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting this monthly event. I skipped GBBD this month since I've posted a lot of flowers already.  The southern sun has shifted to the backyard and so you'll get to see a few reasons why I call my garden Tropical Texana.

                                             A peek through our native palmetto

Monstera deliciosa is root hardy in zone 9 :-)

Air Potato vines scramble up the swing set

Variegated Mexican Fire Spike

Red reullia grown from a stem cutting. I love these leaves.

Agaves march along the sidewalk to the backyard.

THE BACKYARD FILLED WITH HEAT LOVING TROPICALS

                                Thanks for visiting on Foliage Followup. To see the entire collection, go to
                                    Digging. It's on my sidebar favorites. :-)