A Yard In Fort Pierce

It has been a while since I last posted on my Crocodile Fern ( Microsorum musifolium ). Since my last post, which you can read by clicking here, I have re-potted and hung the pot from a branch of my Star Fruit Tree ( Averrhoa Carambola ). To read about my Star Fruit Tree click here. My Crocodile Fern is very happy here and is doing great. Here are some pictures of my Fern.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. See again next time!

Today sure was a hot one. Brandan and I undertook another Boston Fern eradication project during our volunteer time at Heathcote Botanical Gardens of Fort Pierce Florida. The section we were working in contains a beautiful Bismarck Palm Tree ( Bismarckia nobilis ) and a Puerto Rican Hat Palm ( Sabal causiarum ). This area has become overgrown with Boston Ferns. Even though half of the ferns were in the shade half were in the sun. We wore our long sleeve shirts today because the mosquitoes have been unbearable lately. That added 20 degrees it felt like. The upside is that we completed our project and it looks fantastic. Here are some before and after pictures for you to look at.

After

Thank you very much for stopping by. See you again soon!

Here is another score from the Heathcote Botanical Sale that was held this past weekend here in Fort Pierce at Heathcote Botanical Gardens.

This is the Crocodyllus or Crocodile Fern ( Microsorum musifolium ). This is a very interesting fern that I have wanted for quite some time now. They just don't sell them in our local nursery's, and if they do they are very expensive. I am attracted to this fern because of the Crocodile skin look and texture of the leaves. I do not know where to put it yet but all that matters is that I have it!!

Here are some pictures of my new Crocodyllus or Crocodile Fern ( Microsorum musifolium ).

I am officially addicted. I just can't stop, no matter what there needs to be more. My little stag horn project that I started a month ago just won't stop. If you missed it you can click here to read the first post and click here to read the second post. If you've read these posts then you know that I have 3 Cabbage Palm tree's in a triangle formation. Only 1 of these Palms had a clean trunk so I hung a Stag Horn ( Platycerium bifurcatum ) on it about head high from the ground. When I stepped back to look at it I said to myself, man I should clean the other trunk and hang another Stag Horn on it.At this time my 3rd Palm Tree was hidden by a large Cherry Bush Hedge. Well I cleaned it and hung another Stag Horn on it. The 2 Stags next to each other looked really good hanging on Palm Tree's. I stepped back again, you guessed it, I was not satisfied. This time I trimmed the Cherry Hedge way down and cleaned the 3rd Palm Tree trunk. I hung the last Stag Horn and it looks fantastic!! I am very pleased the the way this turned out. I hope more people hang there Stag Horns on Palm Tree's. Here are some pictures to show you the process, enjoy!!

In my last Stag Horn ( Platycerium holtummii ) post, I mentioned that I wanted to hang another Stag Horn on the other Palm Tree. Well I was out in the yard today painting my new bird feeder that I just built when I looked over at the Stag Horn that I had laying on the ground and decided today it would be hung. I put the last coat of paint on the bird feeder and went to cleaning the Sable Palm. I was not ready for this, I had to get my snips out and cut every piece off. This took forever and put me on the ladder. I made it pretty far up the tree, at least high enough to match the height of the first Stag Horn. I strapped the Stag Horn to the palm tree with black 2 inch strap and a couple of small staples. I positioned the Stag at the same height as the first one. I am very satisfied with the way it looks and really hope it works out. There is another Palm hidden behind the cherry bush that I am now thinking about exposing so I can hang another Stag Horn on it to get it the full effect. I just can't stop!! What do you think I should do? Here is a picture.

I started a new Stag Horn ( Platycerium bifurcatum ) today. I think it will look very good when it takes off. I took a piece that I had left over from a previous project and took my stapler and 2 pieces of 2 inch strap. I held the Stag Horn in place while I stapled the straps to a Sable Palm Tree. I have another piece of Stag Horn that is almost identical and I am going to place it on the Palm Tree that is right next to this one. First I have to clean up the palm tree so there is a spot for the Stag Horn. Then I will mount it the same way as the first one. Here are a few pictures of my new Stag Horn on a Palm Tree. You can see the neighbor tree I have to clean up too. Thank you , and enjoy!!

Fresh from the mailbox, my new Tiger Fern ( Nephrolepis exaltata ) or Boston Fern. The Tiger Fern stands about 6-7 inches tall right now. The leaves of the Tiger Fern are amazing with their tiger like stripes and varegated look. This fern will be a treat if it takes. I hear that these are not the easiest ferns to grow. Here are a couple of pictures of the potted Tiger Fern or Boston Fern as it sits right now. I will keep you updated on the little guy. Enjoy!!

A really good friend of mine moved into a great house a while ago. There was a stag horn ( Platycerium bifurcatum ) that was wrapped around an entire tree trunk. The cool thing about it was that the tree was gone above the top of the Stag , so it looked like a Stag Horn Tree. Well the tree ended up falling over and they were moving out at the same time. It would have taken a serious piece of machinery to move this thing. They were just going to leave it behind. They said I could peel off some pieces if I wanted. Me and my buddy Brandan ended up going over there on our way home from the nursery expedition. There it was, this massive piece of stag horn laying on the ground. Of course the camera was left home that day. I did get some pictures when I got home though of the pieces. We pulled off about 10 pieces each ranging from very little pieces to large pieces. Well, I decided to do some utilization, I took that stump from the grapefruit tree I dug up to put in my Foxtail Palm. I cleaned the stump up with my shears and attached one of the pieces of Stag Horn to the front of it. Looks pretty good, then I mounted a metal bracket to the top to hang it from. Then I took another piece of stump and attached small pieces to it almost around the whole piece. This will be my tabletop stag horn. To top everything off, today was a very gorgeous day! Here are some of the the pictures, enjoy!!

Today I finally found where I think is the best spot for my new Sphaeropteris Cooperi (Australian Tree Fern) or (Brentwood). As they like almost full shade I planted it in the back of my yard under an Oak tree, palm tree mix. There is almost no sun there. Plus the pond is over there so I guess it was the best choice. Here are some picture's of the planted fern.

Today I picked up a beautiful fern. It is the Sphaeropteris Cooperi or the Australian Tree Fern. This particular fern grows to a height of around 20 feet. It does best in full shade and adds an exotic look to just about anything. I am still playing around with where I am going to plant the fern but I will let you know when I do. If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to explain. For now here are some pictures.