Enamored with the Ginger

Alpinia zerumbet
Common Names: variegated shell ginger, pink porcelain lily

Large leafy plants are needed at Hoe & Shovel to fill in the big spaces. There are other requirements as well. We are always on the lookout for great performers that look good all year long. It's been a work in progress but gradually we are seeing this idea come to fruition around here.

I'm a big fan of layers upon layers of plantings using varying heights, foliage, texture, color, vertical movement, pathways and other stationary materials (seating, hardscape, potted plants) all within the same space. Being that we are working towards a tropicalesque feeling in most of my garden, layers of lots of lush plantings fit right into the plan.
Front garden looking from driveway to the south. The shell ginger is the elongated stripy leafed plant. Also visible in the above photo is oodles of liriope- giant and variegated (a staple around here- it doesn't need any attention- we like that), xanadu, azalea, red sister dracaena, caladium, impatiens (planted and volunteers), asian jasmine and of course the stand of oak trees.

Happy was the day when we added the variegated shell ginger to the front planting bed. It curves along the full length of that bed to the South of the driveway dipping in and out of the St. Augustine grass line and situated right in front of the giant liriope. The liriope borders the azaleas that weave through a circling stand of oak trees. A natural pathway leads from the front walkway/driveway to the back garden-- it is lined with giant liriope on either side... this behind the ginger if you're looking toward the house. As with all plantings at Hoe & Shovel this massive bed has evolved over time.

I just love the contrast the extra large, strikingly variegated leaves of the ginger make with the deeper greens of the slender giant liriope and ruffled leaves of the xanadu under the shade of the oak trees. This plant performs beautifully all year long right through the winter months. So even when my seasonal annuals in front of the row of ginger might not be looking great, I can count on the ginger to make a statement from the street and from the driveway.

This closer shot displays the arching, dangling blooms a little better.

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When placement is being determined for layers you might want to consider ...
1) how tall each plant will get
2) will it require trimming or will it naturally grow to a desired height/width
3) which direction/angle will your eye be viewing the plantings
4) color and texture of foliage- how well will it mix with other plants in the grouping
5) you probably don't want to block any other views such as to/from interior windows or for instance if a planting bed is in the middle of the garden consider whether you want to be able to see past it.
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You might notice and question why the liriope behind the ginger is shorter than the ginger in front of it. I don't mind in this case because this is one of those places where your eye sees the entire planting no matter which direction you are coming from... walking up to the house or walking from the house. So in this case that design works.
Shell Ginger blooms a wonderfully pink tipped, white bulby cluster, arching forward and drooping downward from the top leaves. Typically you can count on these profuse blooms every May-- but only on mature plants.

There are many wonderful varieties of ginger. In Florida you can find any number of them growing with abandon in the garden. I have some other varieties I'll feature in another post.

Something I've noticed about shell ginger (it became all the rage a few years back) is the unfortunate placement many home/business owners have chosen for it in their landscaping. More often than not these wonderful perennials are in the wrong place and/or are not cared for properly. Sadly I often see them located in full sun where strong winds and/or our hot sunny days ravel or bleach out the deep green and yellow striped leaves causing their appearance to be less than desirable.

Good Housekeeping Tips

At least twice a year, using hand pruners I cut out the tops of my shell ginger as they can get up to 6 feet tall. For our purposes here they need to be kept at around 4 feet in height. It's okay with me for them to get as wide as they will. The last time I pruned them was in the beginning of March. The next time will most likely be around October or November, possibly once in the summer if needed.

I also make sure to cut to the ground any browning or fading stalks. One might not be too inspired to do this at first as it can thin out the individual shrub quite a bit. Keep in mind sometimes it is just a faded or scraggly leaf that needs to be cut off at the stalk. Like all good pruning habits these methods will encourage new stalks/growth and keep your perennial plant happy for many seasons/years to come.

After the bloom hangs from the stem for a few days each little pod further opens and reveals this more fluffy, colorful leafy burst of bloom that resembles something like a hibiscus flower.

A view of a portion of the back ginger planting looking SE from the back to the front of it .

Once the ginger proved itself a sure winner for our front garden, I decided I liked its care-free habits enough to plant it elsewhere. It wasn't long before I created another more densely layered planting in one of the back beds at the rear of the property.

A view of a portion of the back planting looking from the front of it to the west. Also visible in this photo: variegated liriope, penta, red sister dracaena, croton, plumbago, split leaf philodendron, mexican petunia.

In this grouping some of the ginger was purchased yet many of the plants were moved/transplanted by digging out a stalk or two from an existing clump. This is easy to do and now I don't purchase any new plants. I am continually stretching/enlarging this back planting by adding more dug up ginger and propogated dracaena.

What about you? Has anyone else discovered the beauties of this wonderfully performing ginger and with very little attention? Or maybe you have another plant/plants that looks good all year long like the ginger. Would love to hear about it and maybe I'll get some more ideas for taking up space at Hoe & Shovel.

Some helpful information:
Light: Prefers light shade or filtered sun.
Moisture: Needs moist, well drained soil.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 8 - 12.
Variegated shell ginger is root-hardy in Zone 8, but it won't flower if its gets frost.
Propagation: Pieces of the rhizome, division of clumps or seed.

When Ordinary House Plants Move Outside

Spathiphyllum floribundum or better known as peace lily is sold everywhere as the perfect house or office plant. There's something about the way it purifies the air or some such.

When I think about how many of the plants at Hoe & Shovel actually started out indoors it's kind of comical really. When once they tire of air conditioning and poor watering/lighting habits we take a little trip outside to see where they might be happier and live a longer life. This scenario has been the case with schefflera, ficus, bromeliads, palms, ferns, anthurium, and spathiphyllum.

Such is the story of the Spathiphyllum pictured above that cheerily greets visitors up the walkway to my front door. Back in the early part of spring I thinned out this grouping to transplant several of the rhizomes in the very back garden. Those are also blooming surprisingly but not so much foliage yet as I cut it all off when I moved them. By this time next year they should be nice and full.

I kid you not --- this bloom (above) measures 14" long and 7" wide. Reminds me of something out of the amazon. This grouping of spathiphyllum is closer to the front door hugging the wall to the left of the walkway. Its stands at 4 feet tall... which means the blooms and some of the equally ginormous leaves can be seen from inside the living room window. I like that.

A view of the same bloom straight on.

So when you get tired of the care of an indoor plant or in this case the plants get tired of being inside... give them new life ... outside. Not only will they be happier but these plantings are much easier to care for in their natural habitat rather than in messy situations indoors.

Last of the Last Projects

Wellllll... every week something else comes up that needs doing. Can I help that? Lord knows I’m trying to wrap it up here at Hoe & Shovel and be done with it for the summer. It’s getting too hot and there is already plenty to keep up with around here. That new veggie garden alone keeps me hopping. It’s time to stop with the new projects and move into maintenance mode until fall.

My wonderfully smart and loving children gave me gift cards to the garden center for Mother's Day. (Thanks again, guys- you know just how to make me happy). So there. You see. It isn’t my fault. It was just necessary to make a few more trips to the garden center last week to pick up a few (more) additions.

An Australian Tree Fern Sphaeropteris cooperi was added where I dug up a couple of holly ferns to place in some new container plantings (more on that in a minute). I’ve kind of had my eye on this very exotic and tropical looking fern for a while now.

How does one 'kind of have any eye' on a plant? It goes like this for me. Every time I wander by them in the garden center I find myself standing still and staring at them for long moments of time. In this transfixed state (sounds serious) I am first of all picturing exactly where I could plant one or two or…

Then I realize I am debating with myself about whether I really need to add this now, have I spent too much money already or can I wait until another season and what kind of attention will it need in unfavorable winter weather. Okay, so I've passed up the opportunity to purchase after a few of these episodes. Oh, if only there were points given for this kind of restraint.

Then ... there were so many of them at Cypress Gardens in the botanical gardens area looking so magnificent at 5-6 feet tall (with just as wide a frond-span) and their ginormous fiddles poking up through the center … just the sight of them there gave me even more inspiration. They prefer protected, shady, moist conditions but can be grown in sunny areas. There are so many places they would fit right in here at Hoe & Shovel. I chose one about 2.5' tall (and it was on sale) for starters (I'm so tempted to go back and get a couple more). This one settled in quite nicely to its new surroundings already looking like it was always part of the scenery.

Chartreuse is a Good Color
It’s been mentioned many times on this blog how we purposely use as much colored and varied textured foliage as we can among the plantings. It works really well in the tropicalesque design we lean toward here as most every planting bed is under planted beneath large mature stands of oak trees. This creates an almost perfect environment affording dappled shade or you could say filtered sunlight. In the summertime especially, we are most grateful for the natural canopy covering and the mostly tropical plantings appreciate the reprieve from the intense heat as well.
Here I’ve added some of my (newly decided) favorite dracaena … it’s called Lemon Lime. Yummy. Why I haven't had any of these before now I'm not certain. Chartreuse color-blends work really well in the shady areas against some of the darker greens of the xanadu, holly fern and the split leafed philodendron I couldn’t live without. Speaking of lemon lime dracaena... why don't we pop some into some containers while we are at it? Yes, that is an excellent way to add interest and variety to these containers located at the back of the property. They will be mixed with those holly ferns we dug up earlier to make room for the tree fern. We'll also pop in a coleus with pinks and wine colors and an unknown/un-named pass along pale green trailing vine from an existing container. By adding foliage and not blooms the demand for watering will be lessened somewhat.

Two new containers were purchased to replace the three containers holding red new guinea impatiens that used to occupy this location. The impatiens were moved to the front walkway where they won't need as much water as often and when they do ... the water is source is much closer which solves a couple of problems.

I'll post later about more container gardens I've put together recently. As a matter of fact, I should do a whole posting on just containers we have so many never featured on the blog.

Well this should hold us for a while. Other than the caladium bulbs I'm expecting delivery of in a couple of weeks. We should be finished with new projects until the end of the hot and humid season which is fastly approaching. Don't hold your breath though... I've been saying "this is the last new project" for weeks now.

Magnolia Grandiflora

Isolated showers were in the weather prediction for today. We really need some rain since we haven’t had a drop in all of five weeks. Turns out they were so isolated we received only a moment’s drizzle early this morning that at best left the foliage with a dewy appearance. However, the overcast skies offered some fairly good conditions for photos on an early morning walk about the garden.

I couldn’t help but snap a few photos of the one magnolia blossom that opened on a lower branch of the tall tree this morning. Standing on my tippy toes I was able to capture the center of the south’s magnificently scented bloom. The intoxicating fragrance of these flowers had me standing close by and taking deep breaths of fresh lemony air.

Light: Full sun to partial shade.

Moisture: Southern magnolia is extremely drought tolerant. It does best, however, in rich, well-drained, acidic soils.

Hardiness: USDA Zones 7-9. Newer cultivars have extended the range in which the southern magnolia can be grown northward into Zone 5!

Propagation: Southern magnolia grows rapidly from seed. Cultivars are grafted onto seedlings of the species or started from cuttings.

May Arrivals: GBBD

May is a fabulous month with each day announcing its own surprises in the garden. It is a month filled with buds and blooms, bulbs bursting forth adding oodles of color, scents, and lush foliage on which to feast the eyes.

For this month's garden blogger's bloom day hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens, Hoe & Shovel has decided to feature only the blooms that have come alive and made their first showing in the month of May. There are many others gracing the planting beds at Hoe & Shovel ... some can be viewed in the side bar or in other posts. For now its all about May arrivals.

The gardenias (above) are right on schedule blooming in May each year. Truth be told if I had had the manpower available back in March these plants would have been uprooted. They are very old (= scraggly and not as productive as they should be) and in an awkward location now that I've rearranged so many beds over the recent years. I really don't think it would be worth it to move them so it was my thought to say good bye to them. They seem to have defied my thinking and are for the moment reminding me how fond I am of the fluffy white, fragrant blooms for a short time each year.

Over the last week, many of the unmistakably perfumed blooms have made their way into a vase in my kitchen... their wondrous lemony scent wafting through the house. So for another season I'm glad to have these simple but heady flowers blooming.

Mona Lavender has proven to be a winner as a first time attempt to grow these delicate appearing blooms. I adore the foliage with deep purple undersides and shiny green topsides as much as the intricate flower . At Hoe & Shovel our container plants are like mini planting growing all year round just like the rest of our gardens. Depending on our mood we switch out the fillers, the thrillers or the spiller portion of the pot with the change of season. I'm happy to report the Mona Lavender has not only re-bloomed since its first planting back in February but it has grown twice its size.

Shown below in its combination with giant liriope, vinca, and english ivy.

The mona lavender container combination has a twin on the other side of the seating area on the back lanai.

Society Garlic Tulbaghia violacea

Here its blooming from plants I divided at the end of the winter to use as a border plant in an expanded bed. One of the attributes I love about this easy perennial is the fact it will bloom from now through the summer months.

Southern Magnolia Magnolia grandiflora

The showy white flowers that are 8-12 in (20-30 cm) in diameter high up in the 35' tree have a strong lemony fragrance and appear throughout the spring and summer. The magnolia tree has to be one of the showiest blooming trees in the south.

This month with the magnolias, the gardenias, and the confederate jasmine continuing to bloom there are heavenly scents breezing through the air from all angles of the garden.
Butterfly bush buddleia
This purple butterfly magnet is loaded with blooms and butterflies are indeed drawn to its vibrant color and long cone shaped blooms. It is planted in a sunny corner along with indigo spires, fountain grasses, red lantana as ground cover, and plumbago draping over itself also attracting butterflies. It has a carefree sprawling sort of habit, is drought tolerant, and holds up well in our extreme heat throughout the summer.