Hi all, we did some landscaping last year and expanded an existing natural pond and created an island on the center of it. See attached picture. There is a year round stream that almost dries up in the summer that flows in to it coming from an underground spring in the neighbors property behind us. The island is about 15-20 feet long and about 7 feet wide at it's widest and about 3-4 feet above the water level at the top, kind of tear drop shaped. We are planting some very short bamboos on the far side of the pond behind the island. In the picture you can see we tried planting a cold hardy bananna on it but I have my doubts as to whether it survived as we mulched it incorrectly and I think it rotted. So I'm looking for suggestions. We live in the Pacific Northwest zone 7 (7a-7b) and I'd like to make the island look "tropical" or unique in some way, perhaps something tall in the center and other progressively lower plants down to the water line but any ideas would be great. We've been thinking of a palm of some kind but had bad luck with Windmill palms in the past that are supposed to be ok in this area so I'm a bit wary of them. It gets direct sun from about 11:30am to about 2 or 3 pm , maybe a bit less. Any plant or plants that you could suggest would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!
Try Gunnera. Will want moist rich soil and some winter protection, the latter can be done by simply bending its own leaves over the rootstocks to form a hatlike arrangement.
Thank you Ron for the suggestion, we had considered it but it's not very moist soil on top of that island, I don't know if it's wet enough and we have Gunnera growing in a lot of other places already.
Ohhh...sorry Ed I should have mentioned; that's basically the only other choice that's not really an option because our entire property is going to be covered with dozens of varieties of Bamboo as we're turning our property into basically a predominently bamboo jungle with trails throughout the back. We considered it but we have a truckload of bamboos coming in a week and they have other places to go so we really want something different there.
The hardy banana also needs moist rich soil, and small specimens may not overwinter even though larger ones are pretty cold tolerant. If you're going to have a wetland theme you may have to shave some of the soil off so the island is damper, mulch liberally with organic matter to make it more conducive to lush growth. The low-lying site and lush backdrop would suggest this - or a related tropicalesque theme, which the banana or gunnera would fit because they have outsize leaves. If you want the latter effect you can use other plants with large leaves that do not require wetland conditions, New Zealand flax for instance. Otherwise the shape of the pond and the domed island with the rock on one end might point to an alpine lake effect, although it doesn't seem that usual for these to have islands you might want to go in that direction anyway. Conifers and dwarf shrubs would be the easiest plants to maintain.
Interesting, thanks Ron B. Maybe I should re-investigate the cold hardy banana, perhaps I was too hasty to write it off. I didn't realize banana's liked it as moist as that, I'll have to do some more research into them and the NZ Flax as well. Cheers!
As with bamboo each stem grows to full size within the length of a single summer, site has to provide conditions that support this kind of growth. Unlike bamboo the banana is not woody and the tops are not uncommonly damaged by hard frost, regrow each year. Exposure, moisture and fertility must be suitable for a huge perennial to renew itself annually. I was thinking a blue China fir might be interesting. I was also thinking if you are going to have a bamboo collection that you walk through and then encounter this pond that resembles the part of the Van Dusen Botanical Display Garden where you walk through the bamboo collection into redwoods and relations and then a pond surrounded by gunnera, redtwig dogwood etc. So I went to their web site and found this: "The China fir, Cunninghamia lanceolata, belongs in this family of plants, and can be found in the bamboo thickets nearby."
It looks like your island is large enough to support several plants. New Zealand flax was mentioned as a possibility, and a few years ago my wife put a small one in near a nandina domestica. The flax is now about 5 1/2' tall and spreads about 8'. The n. d. is shorter, but sports a good batch of bright red tiny berries. Looks kind of nice. Neither plant seems to require much water as they have both thrived quite well on benign neglect.
I agree with the cordyline idea- there's so much available in terms of colour and size. You may want to give a windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) a try there if it's raised up that much. It should be hardy in your zone- it looks very wind sheltered there in your chosen spot. I might even take an oak barrel and cut out the bottom to raise it up higher so it's certain to be not frozen wet in winter. Fatsias are great part shade and moist-ish soil lovers. They look very tropical and can take a summer drought. Large when full grown, suitable for the centre.
