many photos of 'Gene Joyner's Unbelievable Acres'
About a dozen years ago, Gene Joyner presented to The Tropical Fruit Club, Orlando, an interesting slideshow of pictures he took creating his gardens. The pictures were so amazing that I never forgot them. We then had a group field trip that I didn't attend and always wished that I did. Well, with the recent posts about his failing health, I decided that I had better get there. So, last weekend my husband and I made the three hour trip to West Palm Beach for a tour.
We got there early so we spent time with the lady across the street who has about three dozen chickens --- all named. She was trying to get them to do some tricks for us.
When we entered Gene's property the first thing that you see is his huge sausage tree.
Then, to the right, you see a tiki hut where you register and pay the tour fee.
More sausage tree.
Gene said that he has one mile of winding pathways in his 2 1/2 acre gardens. Since the canopy was so dense most of the plants in his "rainforest" are shade loving plants.
He even made a picnic area under a large bamboo clump.
Shingle vines. They grow as flat as a pancake!
There are some fruit trees mixed in the foliage plants. This is a carambola (starfruit).
Some of the bananas included monkeyfingers.
Thousand fingers.
Praying hands.
This was an interesting palm to because I had never seen one. A triangle palm. Sure enough, the trunk is in a triangle shape.
Jackfruit tree.
Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cacao fruit. It is a very cold sensitive plant and there are very few of them in the whole state. Gene says that he has a mircoclimate that is 10-15 degrees warmer than the neighbors. He also is taking advantage of the heat produced from his house. He has a few cacao trees with some fruits nestled in the dense foliage.
He has a couple of acres at the back of the gardens where he has plants for sale. They appeared to be rooted cuttings from the gardens.
Since he has a lot more sun in this area he has some other fruiting trees. Cashew.
Mango.
This is the exiting pathway which brings us back to the sausage tree.
In front of his house, at the entrance/exit he had some passion fruit vines with some fruits.
Well, if you want to see more you may want to take a visit. He opens the gardens up to the public on the second Saturday afternoon of each month---by appointment only. 561-2421686
Hope you enjoyed the tour!
Christine
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