With its large, paddle-shaped leaves and bird of paradise flowers, this is one of the most beautiful of garden plants.

If you can grow Strelitzias you will have a real feature for your garden. They take a bit of establishing and don’t be fooled into thinking of this as a plant for full sunlight (which is what my gardening guide specifies). Recently, I saw it described more correctly as a plant for semi-shade, as can be seen from this photograph.

The photograph was taken in the botanical gardens of Harare, Zimbabwe.  Having just arrived there from Scotland as a teenager,  I found the impact of the warm climate and beautiful plant-life overwhelming, and this picture certainly brings across that flavor.

Enjoy!

Patricia

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Thank you Leo!

Well, I live in the Far North of New Zealand, and our climate is probably similar to yours, except that we get more rain, I think, and it’s not quite so warm.

We can grow many subtropcals up here though, and one of my favorits is Hibiscus.  I have to say it took me a while to discover the secret of growing them, and I had a few failures first.  Then one day I read an article that gave me a real lightbulb moment about these lovely plants, and this  is what I found out:

Given the right temperatures, their two main requirements are good drainage and an undisturbed root system, because they are very shallow-rooted. For this reason they also need protection from the wind.

I think mine might have been getting wet feet, so now I make sure to plant them on a bit of a mound so the water drains away well - and I usually put plenty of mulch or stones around them to make sure the roots don’t get disturbed - especially by my chickens!

Patricia

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I want to introduce you to my friend Patricia from New Zealand.  Patricia looks after this site for me and she is a fan of gardening and organics.

She’s going to add some articles here, which I hope you’ll enjoy.

Have a great day!

Leo

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Welcome to  LEO’S   LANDSCAPING !

My name is Leo and I live in Costa Mesa, Orange County, CA.

If your lawns and gardens are getting out of control, I’m the man you need.
You can get my landscaping services anywhere in Orange County.  I will
come to you and bring my equipment for -

• Lawnmowing
• Edge Trimming
• Tree Pruning and Mainteance
• Tidying Shrubberies
• Irrigation and Sprinklers
• Wooden Fence Construction
  
• Drains and more …
  

I speak English and Spanish, and I am committed to providing you with a
first class service that will take all the worry out of garden maintenance for you.

My Phone Numbers are:

cellphone:   1 949 973 6094

home phone:   1 714 825 0879 ask for Leo

I hope to meet you soon!

Thank You,

Leo, LEO’S   LANDSCAPING

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