MelbourneBeachGardens.com is now ExoticaTropicals.com

July 2012 NEWS FLASH:

We have moved our blog to http://www.ExoticaTropicals.com

Please click the link above to continue on at the new site.

We are opening a new tropical plant nursery in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida – just off the A1A  on Pinetree.

As a result, the new location for plant sales is in Indian Harbour Beach rather than in Melbourne Beach, so a name change was necessary.. the new name is EXOTICA TROPICALS and will cover the live tropical plants nursery, the imported cut flowers service and our website.

GARDEN TOURS will still be held on occasion at the garden in Melbourne Beach. Please check the new site at http://www.ExoticaTropicals.com for dates and times.

 

 

Here Comes The Jungle..

Finally the Spring/Summer rainy season has arrived and we’ve been getting afternoon showers nearly everyday. This is when the garden really starts to wake up. I’ve already seen Heliconia Rostrata pushing out its blooms, the Sausage Tree has dropped all its old leaves and already has a new flush of leaves covering it, as well as new flower stalks hanging down everywhere. The orchids are pushing out bloom stalks, the Tahitian Gardenia has begun its regular flower making, and even the Red Feather Palm has announced the wet & humid season with a huge new red frond. See pics below:

Heliconia Rostata Bloom Beginning:

Heliconia Rostata for sale brevard county

 

Unusual Hibiscus : “Fiji Island” one of our favorites, that has been blooming in the garden for years.

Hibiscus Fiji Island

 

Huge Red Feather Palm frond that just opened

Red Feather Palm Flamethrower

 

New leaf flush on the Sausage Tree

Sausage Tree New Leaf flush

All the old leaves and flowers..

Dropped leaves and flowers from Sausage Tree

 

New flower stalks on Sausage Tree

New flower stalks on Sausage Tree

 

The Sunshine Tree is putting out new growth quickly after its early seasonal trim.

The shade will be back soon.

Sunshine Tree Erythrina

 

Various Heliconia speeding towards their blooms with all the rain..

Heliconia Pendula Frosty Collinsiana Kawauchi

 

A potted Heliconia Rostrata (for sale) peeking out its new bloom

Heliconia Rostrata lobster claw

 

Another new Rostrata bloom

Heliconia Rostrata lobster claw

 

Costus Barbatus blooms getting taller..

Costus Barbatus Red Tower Ginger

 

Tahitian Gardenia  pumping out the best smelling flowers

(Heliconia Collinsiana in the background)

tahitian gardenia heliconia collinsiana

tahitian gardenia

 

Alocasia Portdora getting bigger..

Alocasia Portdora

 

Alocasia Calidora pushing new leaves:

Alocasia Calidora

 

A cool new Cordyline (Ti) Variety:

cordyline ti

 

All the rain has swelled the trunk of the Rainbow Eucalyptus, and its bark is peeling fast

Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree

 

New flower stalks on the orchids:

orchids on trees

orchids on trees

 

That’s all the photos for now- the garden is getting into full swing.  If you would like to stop by and check out the changes, or are interested in any plants,

 

Contact me directly at:

MelbourneBeachGardens@gmail.com

or call 321-960-8928

 

My neighbors blew a gasket about the recent plant sales, so I am in the process of securing a new retail location- but its too early to post any more info. However, I should have a good place to sell unusual tropical plants soon :)   I will still hold Garden Tours however.   If you are in need of any plants, just contact me and we can arrange a meeting.

Vendor: Melbourne Beach Founder’s Day – Saturday May 5th

I will have a tent set up at the Melbourne Beach Founder’s Day event this coming Saturday May 5th.

I will have live tropical plants and exotic cut flowers imported from Central America for sale.

If you are looking for tropical plants, I suggest getting there early for the best selection. (see below for list of plants I will bring)

I will have my garden cart with me, and you can use it to wheel plants back to your vehicle, since they block off the road. (Just bring it back, heh)

I WILL ALSO HAVE A FRESH SHIPMENT OF EXOTIC CUT TROPICAL FLOWERS AVAILABLE ON SATURDAY.. These come directly from the jungles of Central America.

They are available as prebundled bouquets that include Red Ginger, Large Upright Heliconia, Smaller Accent Heliconia, Tropical Foliage and Cordyline and Dracaena Tips (you can plant these later and they will grow!)

Bouquets are $20 each and will last approx. a week and a half in a vase (or make your own arrangement)

- If you contact me ahead of time, I can also make an arrangement for you (slightly more, but worth it)

Tropical Flower Arrangement Florist Brevard County Melbourne Florida

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE PAST TROPICAL ARRANGEMENTS


Plants I should have with me:

Heliconia Tagami
(all the plants that were blooming have sold, but this is what the bloom looks like)

Alocasia Calidora (gets HUGE)

Red Tower Ginger (costus barbatus) at blooming height

 

Bilbergia “Windii”

A tough bromeliad that can take sun and has a pink heliconia-like hanging bloom

Good for tying in the crooks of trees, etc.

 

Heliconia Latispatha “Distans”

A very reliable bloomer for our area- stays low around 3-4′ and will fill beds nicely.

 

ALSO:

Heliconia Stricta “Iris Banochie”

Heliconia Stricta “Firebird”

Heliconia Rostrata

Costus Barbatus (Red Tower Ginger)

Black Alocasia “Nigra”

Philodendron Speciousum

Philodendron Gloriosum

Variegated Crinum Lily (Crinum Asiaticum) (white stripes on leaves & white flowers)

Purple “Queen Emma” Crinum Lily (Dark Purple leaves with purple flowers)

Sun Bromeliads such as Aechmeas and Neoregalias as well as

Potted, Rooted and Blooming Plumeria

 

Have any questions, or inquiries? Contact me directly at:

MelbourneBeachGardens@gmail.com

or call 321-960-8928

 

Open Garden Tour & Plant Sale – This Saturday April 28, 2012 9am – 2pm

Our first tour of the year was a great success, and I have been contacted by many that were sorry to have missed it- so another garden tour & sale is scheduled for this coming Saturday, 4/28/12 from 9am to 2pm.

I plan on having some NEW tropical plants available at this tour that were not there last time.

Browse through the garden at your leisure, or follow along as a tour is given, discussing the plants and their care.

Of equal interest is the pool enclosure garden, which houses plants such as blooming Heliconia, Blue Ice Calathea, Anthurium, Costus Barbatus and Xanthosoma. Come see what does well under a screen enclosure and get some ideas for your own.

At the same time we will also be holding a casual plant sale- we have lots of Heliconia sprouting up now, and we also plan on having some beautiful full-sun bromeliads for sale.

I have alot of fully rooted (and currently blooming) Plumeria for sale. Some are 3-4 feet tall. Varieties include the very easy to grow/cold hardy very fragrant Aztec Gold, as well as the always awesome “Duke”

 

ALL PLANTS WILL BE 10% OFF MARKED PRICE ! (10% off usual plant sale prices)

Live plants will include:

Heliconia Stricta “Iris Banochie”

Heliconia Stricta “Firebird”

Heliconia Latispatha “Distans”

Heliconia Rostrata

Costus Barbatus (Red Tower Ginger)

Alocasia “Borneo Giant”

Alocasia “Calidora”  (huge leaves)

Alocasia “Portdora”  (huge leaves)

Black Alocasia “Nigra”

Philodendron Speciousum

Philodendron Gloriosum

Variegated Crinum Lily (Crinum Asiaticum) (white stripes on leaves & white flowers)

Purple “Queen Emma” Crinum Lily (Dark Purple leaves with purple flowers)

Sun Bromeliads such as Aechmeas and Neoregalias

Potted, Rooted and Blooming Plumeria

and some more NEW stuff (will post the names this week)

 

The garden is located in South Melbourne Beach, not far from Sebastian Inlet and Long Point Cafe- so you can make a surf & turf beach day out of it :)

Hope to see you there on Saturday!

 

Have any questions, or inquiries? Contact me directly at:

MelbourneBeachGardens@gmail.com

or call 321-960-8928

 

UPDATE:

Here are some photos of new plants that will be available at the open garden + sale:

(taken 4/25)

Heliconia Tagami

Monstera Deliciosa (Swiss Cheese Plant)

Alocasia Calidora (gets HUGE)

New Hybrid Alocasia – Also gets BIG and has purple underside of leaves

Red Tower Ginger (costus barbatus) at blooming height

Red Anthurium with Red Emergent Leaves

Alocasia “Stingray”

I’m located not far from Sebastian Inlet, so you can make a beach day of it.. Long Point Cafe, located about 8 minutes to the south, is a great place for lunch or brekafast.

So What’s The Deal With Melbourne Beach Gardens?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Hey there- my name is Brian and I run Melbourne Beach Gardens.  You may be wondering what we do here..

Well, here’s the rundown-

1) We grow and sell live plants that can give your Florida yard the exotic tropical jungle look.

This is our area of expertise- plants that we work with specifically to create a lush rainforest look.

You can obtain our live plants either by setting up an appointment with me (see contact info below) or by attending one of the open garden tours, where we have the live plants available. (Check the “tours” link at the top for the date and time of our next open garden date.)

 

2) We import and sell colorful and unusual fresh cut tropical flowers for decorative use in the home, office or workplace.

These are available as pre-bundled bouquets and we also make beautiful tropical flower arrangements for events, parties, home decor or businesses.   We offer these flowers at very competitive rates compared to your common florist.

Want fresh flowers in your home every week? We can do that.   Need a few knockout tropical arrangements for an event you are planning?  No problem- your guests won’t believe their eyes.

Our flowers are exactly what you would see on a tropical vacation to Tahiti, Hawaii or Costa Rica, or perhaps decorating your cruise ship to the Caribbean.

We import our flowers directly from the jungles of Central America, which is why you just can’t find what we offer anywhere else!

Contact us directly for your tropical floral needs – see information below.

 

3) We also host open garden tours!   Melbourne Beach Gardens has been growing into a lush jungle for 10 years now, and we have great examples of  plants we sell growing on the grounds.  (See the photo at the top of our site)  Check the “tours” link at the top for the date and time of our next open garden tour & sale.   ..and yup, you guessed it, the garden is located in Melbourne Beach :)

 

Have any questions, or inquiries?  Contact me directly at:

MelbourneBeachGardens@gmail.com

or call 321-960-8928

 

And since you read this far, here is a picture of something you just don’t see everyday- a bathtub full of tropical flowers!        ..getting ready for a sale the next day :)

Tropical cut flowers floral arrangement heliconia ginger ti

 

A Couple Tropical Flower Arrangements ;)

arrange

I just got in a new shipment of tropical cut flowers and made a couple arrangments- they looked so good, I took some photos :)

Need a tropical flower arrangment for home or business?  We can do that!

Email:  MelbourneBeachGardens@gmail.com  or call 321-960-8928

tropical cut flower arrangement

Heliconia Latispatha ‘Distans’

distans3

A very dependable and beautiful heliconia that grows and blooms well in Central Florida.

“Distans” grows to approx 2-3 feet tall and then puts out bright yellow and red blooms that show themselves off above the leaves.

It spreads well, filling in open areas of bare soil, making it a good groundcover for tropical gardens.

Likes sun and rich organic soil with plenty of water during the warm season, keep drier during the cold season.

Grows well around pools and inside pool enclosures.

This heliconia is very easy to grow and will spread/fill in beds from a small clump, yet is easy to control. Blooms throughout the warm months.

Can also be grown in a pot. MAKES GREAT CUT FLOWERS!

Alocasia x Calidora

calidora

Big TOUGH leaves that get HUGE!  Gives your yard the ULTIMATE JUNGLE LOOK.

Easy to grow, this special hybrid alocasia has one of the biggest leaves in the world.  In the tropics they use big alocasia leaves as an umbrella!

Hybridized from particularly strong growing parents by Lari Ann Garner of Aroidia Research.

Loves Sun to Part Sun, moist rich organic soil and humidity.

I have grown these to MASSIVE sizes in Melbourne Beach.  Keep on the dry side over winter to avoid any fungus/rot problems if the weather gets real cold.

  

 

 

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