Terrace gardening

Finished up the day yesterday giving everyone a good soaking. Mixed up some guano/fish tea and fed a few of the pots. I add SuperThrive in this brew as well. It is hot and humid out this morning. Though the garden has a rather disheveled look to it, it is lush and the plants care about me I know.

Here are some things one might want to do if they are thinking about planting their terrace. I'm assuming this is being done in zone10b.
1. Get your trellises or guide wires up first. Get the masonry covered. Plan your climbers and buy planters with more space than you think they'll need. (if you're going to grow directly on masonry Creeping fig is a good candidate as is night blooming cereus, though it will only bloom if the trunk hangs down-- which doesn't happen if it's directly on the stone, but it makes for a very interesting wall).

2.If you have a trellis up, pandora vine is a very pretty choice.

Pandorea jasminoides Variegata

It has delicate leaves, beautiful pinkish white flowers and is not afraid to cover anything that will support it's weight. Parrot's beak is a pretty, though thorny climber. In season it is covered with hanging bracts of yellow flowers. The branches are thicker and thorny. They will have to be disciplined with some twist ties to stay upright, otherwise, they tend to lean and spray out branches like a bougie.  I haven't tried roses in Florida, but some heirloom roses bred for this clime would love the sun and would be "very classy".  I have grown roses in NY. Roses are some major royalty in the world of flowers if you ask me.

3. Pull out your wallet for some large beautiful pots. Do not scrimp here.

4. On an exposed terrace in South Florida, you MUST create some shade. I started with a large pot full of buddha belly bamboo on one side of the terrace. A blood orange and a bougainvillea splayed across the east  wall on the other. Know what can take the sun and what cannot. Plumeria loves the sun, bougainvillea will only bloom fully with 4-5 hours or more of sun, etc. Some croton can handle direct light, others have darker, richer greens in the shade.

Bambusa Ventricosa-- shelter from the searing sun

5. Realize now that though you'll want to grow everything pretty, it ain't going to happen. Fabulous rhizomatous begonias are natives to the under-story of the rain forest not southern exposure in zone10b. However, when you have created your own rain forest, there might be a place for them.


 more later