This is a picture of the area I am talking about.

a href="http://photobucket.com"; target="_blank">{{gwi:1302158}}

How about some Cannas, several hardy kind out there, I have some against my house but I do not know what kind they are ... they have very dark, redish leaves with yellow and orange flowers, grow about 5-7 feet tall ... come back each year with some mulch winter protection .. how about a needle palm or some larger sabal minor palm
Lots of places on line to buy ... clumping bamboo is nice, I'm trying some this year as well, problem with clumping bamboo is that they tend to not like our humid summers or exposure to full sun ... if its not to cold around here its to hot and humid for some of these plants .. go figure.

Paul,
thanks for your suggestions on the Cannas, do they tend to like the same conditions as bannanas and the needle palms and sabals? Since they are going to be in such close proxcimity, I want to be sure they like the same light and water conditions.
I did not know that about the clumbing bamboo, I will have to think carefully of where to put it, I had been considering the sunny area of which I had pictured in my photo, but will rethink it now.

If you really want to create a "bog in the bush" (sorry,Aussie & British expression) get hold of a copy of "Tropical Asian Style". The section entitled "The Open Bathroom" will give you ideas for this area that you would never have dreamed of!

kew tip,
Thankyou, I will definately go to my bookstore and order it this weekend!

I bought my bananas (musa basjoo) from a seller on Ebay. I was a little nervous about them being shipped, but she packaged them really well and they look great! The price was good too, about $6 each.

I think you have some great ideas!!

Thankyou turquoise,
I got my inspiration from a photo spread on a vacation resort in Jamica, the area being called "Goldeneye" after the James Bond author Iam Fleming (spelling?). If you type in (Goldeneye resort)on a search engine, a lot of hits will come up, many of the hits will have the picture of the outdoor shower and tub on their home page. I dont know how to put in a link, I am not sure it is even allowed on Garden Web?
But when you find the pic, you will see what I mean.

Turquoise, See posting under "Shower Garden", there is a picture, I don't know why it posted seperately. SIGH....

Ooh, that's beautiful!

One idea for the ground might be a cedar "bath mat". I don't know if you've seen these, but they are made for when you get out of the shower. They are slatted, just like the floor in your inspiration picture (not as large obviously).

Another idea for the shower itself might be this one from Target...

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1146506083/ref=sr_1_1/601-0596438-2616941?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000CBZL10

Are you going to have it actually plumbed in? If not, maybe a sun shower would work well!

For my plantings, I'm doing lasagna gardening, which is gardening right on top of the soil. If you do a Google search, you'll find more info about it (if you're not already familiar).

I can't wait to see your progress!

Oh wow, I guess Walmart has a much better price on that shower! But it's out of stock...

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4268862

Turquoise,
Actually I am going to make the shower head by using a hand held spray nozzel that is on a metal extension which screws into the end of the hose. You can find it in almost any garden store, the cool thing is that it has all the styles of water coming out, jet, shower, full, spray etc, and the "head" adjusts up and down several notches.
I will attach it either to the brick wall or sink a post in ground and attach to the post, then just use a quick release gaget on the end of the hose and the sprayer.
Yes, the water will only be cold/cool water, but since it is only for the summer, I will welcome the cold "only"
water....VA is very hot and humid!
The biggest issue is privacy, I don't have to worry about any "overhead" views from that particular spot, but I will have to do a lot with the ajoining property side.
Possibly use the roll-up bamboo style blinds, curtains of some sort etc.
I am going to build a mini deck for me to stand on, it should be pretty easy.
Since most tropicals like lots of water, the plants should suck up most of the water after I shower - 2 for the price of 1 LOL.

You might consider using evergreens against your fence.Loquatlooks tropical and is evergreen.euonymus are evergreen and have nice variegated leaves.Windmill palms,sabal minor,and needle palms are all hardy and tropical looking.Rice paper plant is not evergreen but looks very tropical.A mimosa tree over head might look good.I hope this helps.I have pictures of my tropical style garden at photobucket.My album's name is GWal

Hi Gene in lugoff
I will look for some pics of Loquat and rice paper plant, I have never seen those before. My neighbor behind me has a mimosa tree, it is quite big...I am not sure it would fit there so close to the house, and it would put out a lot of shade, so that would affect the sun loving tropicals..I think. As for the eunoymus, I have not seen a variegated one, but a person down the street has several solid green ones, unfortunately here in VA they mold terriblely unless they are a specimen plant. I guess a good subsitution would be ligustrum (japanese privit), which I have growing in other spots along the chain link to start to provide privacy.
As for your suggestion of windmill palms, sabal minor and needle palms are what I am looking for too. Do you have any suggestions on correcting the soil for planting them? In this part of VA the soil is very clayish.
I will go over to your album and take a look, thank you

Ah...gene
Just looked at your album, very beautiful tropical landscape you have there! Some of your plants are giant! It causes me to rethink, what I will be able to put in that small space and still be able to fit me in without being stabbed by the "pointy" leaves. LOL
Seriously, though I will have to keep in mind fitting in the "mature" plant size and my shower idea...

What is that heart shaped vine you have going over the yard entry on picture #265? I think I could use something like that in the design.
Thanks again for your input

Love your idea. We spend lots of time on Kaua'i, where outdoor showers are common. The trend is gaining a foothold here in California. Here's a few tips I find useful:

1. Put your houseplants out there in the summer.

2. Carefully select a few non-living accents to support the look you seek. For example, an old surfboard, exotic statues, some lava rocks, or large decorative (cut & dried) bamboo stalks.

3. Find ways to grow plants (temporarily) as epiphytes. I find that plants growing on tree trunks, rocks, walls, and other structures help evoke the tropics, where plants often grow this way. Many ferns, orchids, bromeliads, and succulents are suitable for this. My brother (on Kaua'i) is constantly taking these plants and using wire to tie them to his trees and various rocks around his yard. Looking at your photo, I think your wooden fence might be a great place to attach a few ferns and bromeliads, maybe even a blooming phaleonopsis from your local grocery store.

Alakaiswamp,
Oh, lucky you to be able to visit Kauai! As a child and later as a young teenager I lived on Okinawa, and fondly remember the tropical landscape, that is probably why I want to have a piece of it here.

Hmmm, I will have to do more research on your suggestion of "epiphytes", I am not really familiar with how to make them "grow" on the fence, but it sounds great!
I have already bought a great looking Budda statue (thank goodness for TJ Max type of stores).

I am also looking into "houseplants" since many of them have the tropical look I want, I have to be carefull though, since they have to come in the house for winter, they can't be poisionous, since my dog loves to chew on plant leaves..strange dog...

I am in Gloucester VA and also wanted a "Tropical" outdoor shower. I built a structure that has removable glass "panels", which are actually surplus shower doors from a hotel. I designed it so that the glass is held in during the winter just with silicone caulk, easily removable with a utility knife and re-caulked into place each October. The roof is a trellis that I cover with acrylic roof panels from Home depot at about 10 bucks for 2 foot by 8 foot sections. "inside" is open dirt all the way around for about 15 inches and then a treated wood deck covering about half the space and patio stones set in sand where the two shower heads are. One wall is not glass but solid, formed by the back of my tool shed. In the shed is a water heater, insulated to prevent freezing pipes, so I have use all year. The open dirt is planted with sheffelara, ficus, dwarf citrus, coffee, bougainvillea, philodendron, banana, jade and anything else I think might survive and form privacy. I have a hibiscus in there that has bloomed off and on all this winter, surprising considering how little sun it gets. It blooms constantly in summer. I love it! It's probably a lot more work than what you have planned (and maybe have build by now) But I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have or send pictures.
Cole

Oh wow, how cool, I still have not built my out door shower, sort of got pushed aways as I was trying to dig a rather large koi pond. But I have still been researching ways to do the shower (mostly privacy issues).
Cole I appreciate all the extra info you gave me especially since we actually live rather close by. It is good to know which plants you got to thrive in your area.
This is my side yard, I would be using the area to the right. You can see that I need the privacy because of the ajoining neighbor.

judithva , I love your idea and you inspired me,,, as come to think of it. I'd like to have one too. I always have a ton of kids in and out of the pool in the summer. As as for me, when I'm gardening,,, by the end of the day I look more like a creature from the black lagoon, than someone who should be allowed into the house. At least in my wife's estimation.

But as for you project, I'm not sure where you are going to put that shower, but if I was going to give that part of your yard the tropical look,,,

Seems as if the left fence-line is the privacy issue. I'd go in with a line of light green, canna 6-8 ft tall along the wire fence and plant them till you hit the door. I'd also probably continue this theme on the other side.

After that, in each corner I'd add a musu basjoo banana tree. In front of the canna, you'll need short, and in front of the bannana you're need really short plants for contrast, red or burgundy. The contrast of the red, maroons and greens, as well as the plant shapes "make" it tropical.

In front of the canna I'd group a couple rad thai plants, in front of the banana, I'd be looking at elephant ears and coladiums.

The heart of the display is the banana, the canna provide the jungle back-drop and the color and interest come from the plants in the front.

Lastly, plant wisely with taller in the back and shorter in the front. Always plant plants that will add a nice contrast to an adjacent plant. And in the end, when the plants are grown, they can't appear too cramped, as that will take away from the casual feel and hide plant that should be on display.

This may sound like a big project, but it can be done easily on a small budget. The canna can be grown from seed. Seed's not expensive and easy to grow. I'd send you a bunch for free but I already gave mine away. Get the musu basjo in the small plant form to save money. The elephant ear you can buy by the pound at the local grocery store under that name taro or malanga. Even the store bought ginger would work for you.

I'd spend some money on a couple red Thai plants, but those could be sudstituted with dwarf canna.

This garden will go into dormancy and die down to the ground every summer, but come back in the winter. the easiest way to do it is to make sure you have plants that will survive outdoor dormancy in your climate. I know the banana will and many canna.

ANyways, books can be written on this one project. It's really a lovely corner and the full sun is just what you want.

So there's a couple of ideas for you. Many other good posts, not only my own. Good luck and enjoy your project!

Happy gardening!

nightrider767, thank you for all your great info, I am printing this out. Some of the plants you mentioned are familar to me, I have bought the muso buso before (dies to the ground, and I have pretty good success with the elephant ears. I am not so familar with some of the other plants you mentioned so I will research them. Some of the tropicals are hard to find in this area :(

I am like what you mentioned by the time I have finished gardening in my yard in the heat and humidity in VA, I hate having to go into my house to shower, it would be so much more fun (and better smelling if I showered outside. LOL)

I would love to get the look of a tropical paradise, even if it is in a tiny corner of my yard.

This is my inspiration photo, sorry such a bad pic, I was using a camera to take a pic of the photo and there was alot of glare, but I think you can get the idea:

Judith I think I have a pretty good idea of what you have on your mind now. From what you've said the shower will be going against the brick wall. That will leave the other side "open". What I'd suggest to consiser is make use of that side too so you'll have double the use of that area.

If I was in your shoes, on the other side of the area, near the current metal fence, I'd have a sitting area. In Key West they'd probably have one or two andorondike chairs. This way, after you put all that work into your tropical get-away you'll be able to enjoy it even more, with a cool spot for reading or relaxing. You could literally spend the day in their if you where so inclined.

But now back to your dream picture. It really is a nice area. What really gives that area the tropical look are the plants and just as importantly, the wood work.

What I would recomend for your project is to first "pencil out" a design, then install the shower and floor/ground cover and add plants last. Once the shower is in and maybe a chair or two, you'll know exactly what you have to work with.

The shower is the most important thing, especailly the functionality. WHen you put that in, I'd assume it'll drain into the yard, you have to make sure the area has the proper grade, so water moves away from the area. So get the shower in and work around that.

Next you can look at the sides. I think the brick wall is nice. On the side with the metal fence, what would be best for the long run is to build the same wood fence you have now. Add another twelve feet or so. Or like you said, you could go with a roll of bamboo fence. Or even cheaper I think, is a roll of reed fense that's available at Home Depot or Lowes.

Last would be to get the ground done, which is really part of doing the shower and should probably be done first. Now's the time to refer to your plan and start building that in. In your picture, what really sets things off is that nice "teak?" floor.

If you have it in your budget to do that, great. But if you look at your picture between the two deck areas, you'll see a gravel path. That's what I would go with to keep thing cheap.

Under the shower I would put 4 large, square terra cotta pavers for the floor. In the areas that won't have plants I'd put white pebble gravel. The white rock really "pops" in a shaded area. Prior to laying the gravel down make sure you give it a douple or tripple layer of gardeners cloth, or what you find best, so that once the gravel is down, you won't have to worry about weeds.

And for a pathway through the area, I'd use the pavers you have, but I would double them up into squares, and stagger them to recreate the nice curved path you have now.

This again is all Key West style. I'd assume they use this because it is the cheapest way of doing things and it comes out great.

Once all that was done and working nicely, I'd add the plants. If you really want a secluded area with lots of privacy, on the backyard side entrance, I'd have the two big banana marking the backyard entrance, either near the fence and the wall, or closer to the center. Looks like you have may enough room for a banana in each corner.

Once all that's done, you can fill in the interior as you see fit with plants, pots, stones, pagoda's or whatever catches your fancy. Plenty of ways to do it cheaply. You won't have the huge teak deck that the picture has, but one thing you will have, hopefully, is some contrasting red, burgandy, in form of caladium "small elephant ear", canna or Thai plant. And that is actually the one thing that would make your picture perfect.

Anyways, that's just some ideas for doing it on your own. All the supplies can be hauled in from Home Depot, aquired fairly cheaply, or for free.

Good Luck!

nightrider767, thank you again for posting such great ideas. You are right in understanding that I want the shower to be coming from the brick wall area, I need the area to be private because...yum...well, I don't plan on having clothes on when I shower. I love the idea after doing all my gardening and being all dirty from it to NOT have to go into the house to shower, so an outdoor shower is the perfect answer for that, the privacy is another issue... I agree I will need to put up a wooden fence on the chain link (which is mine) and maybe double up with the reed fence so hopefully no peeking (although he could just look over it..the tallest fence height allowed by Codes is 6ft. LOL, the shower its self will be just a shower run from the hose with cold water, but that is fine since it is so hot here in the summer. I thought I might have to put up some kind of curtain, reeds or something where the doorway first starts from the brick wall, a bit smaller than the whole area than I had pictured, but it would still be roomy and it would hopefully provide more guarentee of privacy.
I just don't want the are to look tacky, I would prefer a natural look, but like I said my neighbor might get a bit nosy if the shower area encompassed the whole area that I pictured. I do love all your helpful ideas about the plants, rocks, walking paths and such though. I just need to work really hard on the privacy deal LOL