By Victoria Torley
This morning, I planted azaleas in the palm
garden. Why? Because I am an eclectic
gardener. Eclectic is good, and we have a
great climate for eclectic gardeners.
What is an eclectic gardener? Most people
might classify their garden as “eclectic”,
or containing a combination of styles and
types of plants. A formal clipped hedge may
enclose a cottage-style garden filled with
rambling roses and climbing Clematis. A
shady woodland garden could border a patio
filled with combination containers.
Why, it’s someone who plants azaleas from up
north with palm trees from the tropics. It’s
someone who puts hydrangeas next to the
ornamental ginger and roses next to the
hibiscus.
And why not?
We may love our tropical location but we
also love the plants we grew up with. Yes,
I still miss violets, daffodils, and
lily of the valley even though I love
my orchids, spider lilies, and
butterfly white ginger, but we grow what
will grow and I like to mix it up.
We gardeners mix it up for a lot of
reasons. Color, of course, is the
first. Sometimes you can’t find the right
combinations for the garden. If you want a
rainbow of colors, you have to search long
and hard for the right tropical plants so
becoming eclectic is a good choice. Scent is
another issue.
Most of the highly scented flowers I have
been growing come in a short range of
colors. I would love to grow more roses in a
range of colors, but the leaf cutters have
finally defeated me and I am going to pull
them out of their bed and just scatter them
around to take care of themselves. After
all, why should I provide a concentrated
buffet for leaf cutters by placing my roses
all in one spot? Let them work for the food!
Height is an issue. My favorite edging plant
is the dual-use Tradescantia pallida,
wandering jew, temperate and tropical but
some of my tropical edgers have suffered
from failure to spread. Sometimes I have
been told that a plant will grow only 3 feet
tall, then it suddenly takes off and exceeds
the space allotted. This happened to me with
my Brazilian Plume (Jaccobinia) so if
you have a plant name, check the web before
putting it in the ground.
My Jacobinia
plants are now about 6 feet tall and need
to be relocated.
Then there are issues of bugs not limited
to leaf cutters and fungi that, if they
start in one plant, will continue to be a
new species. Sometimes you can fool them
by putting temperate plants next to
tropical ones.
So go ahead and mix it up. After all, it
is your garden!
Plant for the week. Wisteria
frutescens (American
wisteria), is a flowering vine known
for its stunning, cascading clusters of
fragrant flowers that typically bloom in
shades of purple, violet, blue, pink, or
white. It's part of the legume family (Fabaceae)
and is native to parts of Asia (especially
China and Japan) as well as the
southeastern U.S.
American wisteria is a bit more
tropical-friendly than its Asian
relatives, so yes, Costa Rica’s climate
can generally support it, with a few
considerations.
American wisteria is native where humidity
and warmth are common to many parts of
Costa Rica. Humidity-tolerant: It
adapts better to humid, subtropical, and
tropical conditions. Less invasive:
Compared to Asian varieties, American
wisteria is tamer and easier to manage,
which is great in lush environments.
Things to keep in mind: Sunlight: Needs
full sun (at least 6 hours daily) to bloom
well. Soil: Prefers well-drained but moist
soil—good drainage is key in Costa Rica’s
rainy seasons. Patience: It can take 2–3
years (sometimes more) to bloom after
planting. Cooler zones do better: If
you're in a cooler, higher-elevation area
(like San José, Heredia hills, or parts of
Cartago), it may thrive better than in
lowland coastal heat.
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Find more interesting
stories about gardening in
Costa Rica on the AM Costa Rica
Garden page.
Questions on this
article, Ms. Victoria Torley,
gardener columnist, can be
reached by emailing victoriatorley1@gmail.com
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