Monthly Archives: December 2013

Christmas Palm – Veitchia merrillii

The Christmas Palm on Christmas Day.  This particular Palm I learned as the Adonidia. I think Christmas is a much better name; especially with the red mass of berries resembling ornaments during the holiday season.  These are also called Manila Palms as they are from the Philippines. Not an exceptionally cold tolerant plant they will grow in South Florida in coastal areas south of the magical State Highway 60 line. Many of these palms were lost during the unusually cold winter of 2010.

Christmas Palms can be used as single or multi trunk trees and grow to about 20 feet tall, this makes them excellent for residential use near buildings in the one to two story range. These are not a self cleaning Palm so fronds past their prime must be trimmed. They also add a tropical flair to pools and near spas, I have planted a multi trunk near my lanai to provide shade in the summer. And I am just waiting for some Christmas berries.href=”https://theshrubqueen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/cam00183.jpg”>Image

The Before photo

A reminder of what we are starting with..

theshrubqueen's avatarThe Shrub Queen

The Before photo

House as we bought it. This is the beginning of my Landscape Renovation story. This photo is what we bought, I look at it and wonder “what were we thinking?” Then, I know, in my heart I can fix this and make it work. I have redone many horrendous yards, this one, mine, may take the cake. Thus far.

What I do not recall is, who the SUV belongs to. Maybe a rental? Maybe the realtor, maybe it will come back to me or I will ask Larry.

So, yes, we actually did buy this in exactly this state. My favorite landscaper in Atlanta said “Amelia, the landscape there looks Venutian, as in the planet.” Really, Venus with intractable weeds. Believe it or not, at some point, through archaeological digging we discovered there was a pea gravel turnaround in front of the house, I will post another picture of the…

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The Plan

The Plan for Driveway and Landscape

The Plan for Driveway and Landscape

At last, the plan has been nailed down and the contractor hired. Soon we will see a passable driveway. As in a surface dedicated to the movement and parking of motor vehicles. Life is good.

I am very happy with the contractor we finally hired. I actually went through 7 interviews/pricing exercises. It got pretty boring and repetitive. No, no, no and more no. I shouldn’t be surprised at what I found in the way of contractors but I am. A good one is a rare find. It is a difficult call for me if I am really picky and uncooperative or if other people are just clueless. Probably a little of both. A great deal of stuff these guys were asking me to tolerate I just wouldn’t. People are too nice sometimes.

So, here is the Final Plan. The area of stepping stones ended up so big I used half seashell stones and half salt finish plain stones. The reality is that is how many we had on hand and I think I will like it. The idea behind this area is that we have a place to park all the trash cans and recycling bins and the mailbox will be moved over to the edge of the stones for a path to the mail as well.

Please comment on the design before it is too late!!