Tropical Front

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013

TreesTropicals

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As I sit here and write this it is February. It is cold, grey, and dirty outside and the winter seems utterly endless. Yes, I know you are reading this in May and those freezing, rotten days seem like they were a lifetime ago. You see, February is usually when I head down to the tropics, but this year I did not go. Woe is me. Instead, I am getting my tropic fix sitting at my desk looking through supply lists from our producers. I am bringing the tropics here in the form of palm trees. We brought in 8 different varieties that are up to 8 feet tall. One of them is ‘Bismark Silver Palm’ which reminds me of Jurassic Park and dinosaurs. This variety as well as another, ‘King Sago’, has been around for the past 200 million years. What a history?!

In addition to the palm trees, we have ‘Siam Ruby’ banana trees, ‘Birds of Paradise’, Mandevilla Vines which are 5 feet tall in a teepee form, ground orchids, and that is just the tip of the iceberg (winter joke). Using combinations of these plants in containers and planted in beds will give a look that I would have loved to see this winter. Since a little tropical vacation was not in the cards this year then I have brought the tropics to Indiana. Now, what did I do with my margarita and by golly turn up the Jimmy Buffett!

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