Our proud centerpiece, the coco plumoso palm, Syagrus romanzoffiana, is named after Imperial Chancellor Nikolay Petrovich Rumyantsev, who was an enthusiastic supporter & financier of Russian exploration. The grateful naturalists reciprocated by naming all sorts of plants & animals after him. During an especially gusty storm last week, poor little plumoso fell over, so we had to secure it with temporary guy wires until it’s anchored properly with stronger and deeper roots. 

The next pictures illustrate some of the details of Marian’s design. She selected the plants and arranged their placement to result in a densely layered green jungle, incorporating a wide variety of shades, shapes, and textures, with a little splash of color here and there. Naturally, it will take a few rainy seasons to achieve the full effect!

*I dare you to say Red Ginger in Spanish! The ‘J’ is pronounced like a German ‘H’, a short ha. In Facebook comments, you sometimes see this: jajajajajajajaja. In my mind, as a German, I think of it as yesyesyes, but it’s actually laughter: hahahahahahahaha 🙂

The background greenery of grasses and bushes growing up the hillside ‘wall’ behind the flower bed, looking so lush now, will die and turn brown during the dry season. In order to maintain our jungle year round, we had to put a sprinkler system in. Even when we’re not there, the automated sprinklers allow us to mist the thirsty greenery during the four to five months, when Mother Nature turns off her faucets.