Magical!!!

It looks absolutely fabulous, Japie! Just out of curiosity, how long has it been since you acquired your first bromeliad?

Stunning Japie, I real feast for the eyes! Your garden is an inspiration.

Cheers, Andrew.

What can you say? That's as good as it gets, especially the way the front scape wraps around. Wow, superlatives aren't gonna work here.

Thanks for posting your pictures! Your yard is absolutely beautiful and looks like paradise to me! I just recently became interested in broms and I just love to see other peoples pictures. What is the name of the big one in picture #9?

Thanks again,
Linda

WOW....!!!!!
What a truly amazing tropical themed garden you have. Can I ask how old this garden is?
Thx for sharing,
Matt

I am forced out of lurker-land to compliment you on your garden - it is absolutely beautiful. I love to see landscape photos which show how all the plants are combined together, as well as close-ups of individual plants. I had thought that Cape Town had too much of an arid/Mediterranean type climate to produce such a fabulous tropical looking garden? Well done!

Incredible! The yards here don't even come close to looking that beautiful. I'd love to see some closer shots of your Neo. carcharodon types. It doesn't seem like long ago that you posted pictures after you received them. They seem to be growing perfectly.

Wow. Your yard is unbelievable. I love all of the different ways that you have added vertical stuff in the garden. And I never can see enough pictures of your orlandiana collection. What's the big guy in #21 on the tallest trunk?

Thanks for the walk, nothing better than a relaxed stroll through a beautiful garden.

Thanks to you all for the nice comments!

Lisa, my very first brom was a neo meyendorffii a-m (Now I am sure it is Flandria) that I got maybe 15 years ago. And then they multiplied very slowly as a result of the availability - or shall I say non-availability - to a grand total of about 15. Then the bottom dropped from underneath the ocean in January 2007!

Linda, in #9 is Aech fendleri.

Andy, sitting in a pot (that I made out of concrete) on top of a tree trunk, is Neo pascoaliana.

Matt, I moved into this house 20 years ago when there was barren soil around it!

Japie

oops...rushing in here before it's too late.

Oh Japie, even I'M lost for words at the beauty of your paradise! I try to picture you up that huge palm, sawing off the fronds to keep it all looking ever so neat and lovely. Wonderful textures, colours and patterning throughout - you are a true artist!

Thanks so much for the misty stroll. And your Neo. pascoaliana looks fantastic up high like that.

Cheers,
Kerry

Japie,

Great tour, your garden looks great.

A lot of good bromscape tips to copy.

Thanks,

Rick

Absolutely stunning. Love the way you've done your path, the rocks, the small water feature, all the vertical elements, and well grown plants. Lots of attention to detail as well as nailing the big picture. Maybe someday when my palms get taller and I really work at it, my garden could be similar. (I even have the fog!) Very inspiring, thank you!

I have to share this with my husband so he can understand what I'm trying to do. : )

I think I need to show you another 2 pictures.

The first one was what my house and garden looked like a couple of months after I moved in, some time during 1990 - ignore the date on the picture, that was added when I took a digital picture of my old picture from a film camera.

And then a picture of the established garden with not a bromeliad in sight!

And then one specially for Kerry! Sorry Kerry, those trees are too tall now to do it again, they must go with their natural look from now on!

{{gwi:463966}}

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Japie

Bravo! a tour de force.
Japie,I have to ask a real world question-do you lose many broms to admirers?

Hi Japie,
Absolutely wonderful! Thanks for sharing your wonderful garden with us.

Oh yeah, and what stanofh asked.

All the best, Nev.

Not one, Stan!!

Extremely beautiful garden in a beautiful town. Those mountain we barely see behind must gusrt some fantastica xerofitic species of succulents. Here in Brazil, in South, we strugge to cultivate some Sout African natice plants and as we see you do the same with some Brazilian plants in your garden.
In Portuguese there is a saying( Santo de casa não faz milagres.) something like this : Domestic saints do no miracle. It seems so with us gardeners.

Inspirational.
I love picture 4. I can just imagine walking down that path.Actually I want that path running through my garden but with all my gum trees it would never be as immaculate.
As Kerry said, and she would know, you are a true artist.Thanks for brightening my day.
Fran

Hi Japie,

Thanks for the pics - that is a truly brilliant transformation and great use of beautiful plants. I am inspired.

Cheers, Paul

Wow - what a difference time and passion make to a beloved space.

LOL...Hellooooooooo up there, Japie! Now don't you fall!!!

K

Speechless! To be the one responsible for such a transformation! You must be incredibly proud. Your garden provides great inspiration and great ideas.

I didn't realize that pascoaliana got that large. Wow. And I would be quite interested in seeing a post on how you made the concrete pot. That seems like a cool way to make pots the size you want that have neat interest to them.

Japie,

a masterpiece of a small garden landscaping! I am going to save you photos and to look at them for inspiration.

And your plants look like they were living in the perfect climate for them. Not a single dry leaf on your broms!

Complimenti!

Tomas

Japie,
Just viewed all this, wow just MAGIC!! you have certainly been hard at work since the inception. Nice to see such a beautiful collection in a very natural looking setting. So where do you go from here?? are you going to buy out the neighbours??

Japie,

Congratulations on your garden make over. I reflect what others say about your place. You did pay a lot of attentention to little details around and the arrangements too. I believe half of your soul is out there with your garden and I think this is just the begining to another chapter when your garden mature.

Btw, did your garden get featured in any local/international garden or landscape magazine. You should get some recognition in transforming to such a beautiful botanical wonder.
You've set a high design standard. Good luck!

Words ...words words....they have just about all been said.
All I have left in me is.....

HOLY CLAPPIN DUCK SPLAT....*Eyes popping out*....ohhh myyyyy goodness gracious me

Japie, im in AWE...in serious Awe
I LOVE it all...I yearn for what you have. Its just absolutely fabulous
If I were living in your street I would grow used to drinking your tea and coffee just so I could come visit your broms....LOL
I would bake you scones & goodies every week just so I could come drool all over your yard of heaven ...LOL

MAGNIFICENT

thumbs up

Hee hee, I think the fees for Japie's "garden maiding" services just went up!

It really is a remarkable transformation, all the more so for being outside the tropic zone. It also goes to show that the more you add, the bigger the property appears, but only if you do it right. Do it wrong and you just have a crowded mess, which this is the exact opposite of. Well done!

Japie, this might be a good time to explain your screen name, it seems particularly fitting. ;-)

Japie, that is simply beautiful. Well done.

What name is the Vriesea in pic # 16 please?

Shane, it is Vr Sherlette Shiigi.

Thanks again to all of you for all the nice things you said! Due to this, I have a hard time getting in my front door lately as all your compliments went straight to my head nad now it's sooo big!!!

The explanation of my screen name: I came from an arid region up country - almost desert like - were the temperatures go up into the 40's (Celcius) in Summer and down below O degrees in Winter. When I moved to Cape Town, I promptly started to create a Paradise (Eden) for me. And years ago when I started this 'Garden Maid Service' of mine, it needed a name. Me being the first man living in this Eden, I thought it would be a nice touch if I call myself Adam. And so the name was born: Adam van Eden. The word 'van' is the Afrikaans translation for 'from'. Adam from (the garden of) Eden. And there's my screen name : A van E or then avane.

To this day, a some of my clients still call me Adam, as Van Eden is a recognised surname here in South Africa!

Japie
aka Adam

Never fails. No sooner do I ask-then 75% of my prized purple Opuntia was dug last night and stolen.
I envy those who feel safe enough to plant anyhting colorful or flowery in their front yard.

Well I just love your screen name too Japie...certainly well fitting...thanks heaps for sharing that with us who did not know.

Oh dear Stanofh, So mad to hear that...How dare they*CRY*

Thanks Japie; it is a smashing Vriesea. It looks very much like one we have here in Oz called Vri Gulz. Not registered or such; just a Vri bred by Gulz of Germany I believe.

Here is a link that might be useful: As referenced in this link by Michael & Kerry...

*shaking my head here with mouth open and drool pouring out uncontrollably* words escape me......UNBELIEVABLY BEAUTIFUL and more, much much more!!!!! Japie just spectular!!!

Spectacular even....LOL!

cheers Rossana

After all these years, I only found this 'out of this world' garden around the corner from were I live in the Northern suburbs. How can I contact you Japie???

Johan

Hi everyone - Now there's a blast from the past; I read this thread years ago before the new Bromeliad Forum started (http://www.bromeliadforum.za.net/forum/index.php)

I've sent Avane a message to say you were trying to contact him.

All the best, Nev.

Johan
I tried to send you a personal message but your personal page does not give me the option to do so.

Japie

Johan
If you click on avane (My Page) you will be taken to my personal information. Click on Send me an e-mail and you can send me a note through the Garden Web or just use my e-mail address to send me a regular e-mail.

Japie

Wow! That is one spectacular collection!!!

Question for you. What is the plant in photo #16? (One with red speckles) I have had one for at least 10 years who is reluctant to bloom, but very big and healthy. I don't know what it is, however, so am waiting to be surprised, but am getting impatient. Do these take forever before they bloom? It gets morning sun and a lot of light. Perhaps not enough light?

Nr 16 is Vriesea Sherlette Shiigi.