This photo shows the only two plants I retained in the front yard after I moved in 6 years ago. Most dominant is the poinciana, which is now flowering, and to the right, a large cycad,
Cycas revoluta. I think I have mentioned previously that, at the time, and really until just before the floods of last summer, Brisbane had been in the grip of an extended drought. Because I wanted a tropical feel to the garden, I added various members of the cycad family to the garden to capture a ferny, palmy look that was still compatible with the severe water restrictions in place at the time.
One of my first steps was to plant a row of
Zamia furfuracea or Cardboard 'palms' separated by clumps of liriope along the top terrace garden under my pool - a planting pairing I had seen around Southbank. It provides a lush green contrast to the main garden bed below. Despite their common name, the zamias are not palms, but are a kind of cycad.
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| A coronet of new growth on my cardboard palm Zamia furfuracea |
The photos below show cardboard palms incorporated into a tropical landscape at a friend's place.
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| Cardboard palms with bromeliads and golden cane palms. |
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| Cardboard palm with rhoeo and birds nest fern. |
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| This prickly specimen I think is Dioon Spinulosum. I planted it to mark the separation point between the garden along the driveway and the bromeliads planted at the side of the garage. |
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| Zamia integrifolia foreground with the Dioon spinulosum (?) behind it. |
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| Spring foliage on the Zamia integrifolia |
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| Cones on the Zamia |
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| Zamia paucijuga (note to self - need to weed this patch!) |
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| Cycas thouarsii - I planted this right at the start of the driveway for impact. |
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| Not my garden, but a local street planting, which shows the Cycas revoluta male and female plants. Despite the superficial resemblance to palms, cycads produce cones, which align them to conifers. |
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| The cone of my female plant. |
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| Public Enemy Number One - the Blue Cycad Butterfly |
The photos below show some of the damage wrought by the Blue Cycad Butterfly caterpillars. I am reluctant to spray if I can help it, but I use Confidor occasionally to minimise the damage on new fronds.
