Completing The Herb & Orchid Garden

The completion of the bamboo fence to conceal the kitchen area and trash disposal provided a unique opportunity to create a hanging orchid garden which offers beauty and fulfills the resort owners desire for orchids. One of the few requests he made when hiring me. As previously stated I intended to install a herb garden in this area close to the kitchen. Some of the herbs we saved from our tear out did not survive transplant or had "accidents". Herbs are difficult to obtain here and our best bet is for Ray, The Gardener to gather them slowly from local farmers. In the meantime I have potted some of our containers to enhance the garden, as herbs become available Ray will replace some of the potted material with new herbs. Additionally I used a broken barrell pot and saucer to create a birdbath which was nearly immediately occupied by blackbirds. The mulch used under the transplanted plumbago are wood shavings from our woodshop. The addition of crotons to hide the entrance to the employee canteen also provides cover for birds and much needed color for this garden. Smooth small stones gathered from a local beach define the space from the road and illude to a sense of motion and water. The tranformation of this area has been positive for both staff and guests.

Bamboo Fence Completed, Installing Birdbath



Installing Steps To Birdbath



Orchid & Herb Garden Near Completion



Another prominent area we worked was the entrance to the restaurant. It was over run with infrequent blooming, leggy plumbago. There were several pipes underground which required frequent service so I chose to use potted plants and easy to replace ground cover which we transplanted from another area. Additionally the stone wall hollow concrete blocks were filled with plumbago which I replaced with a miniature cactus/succulent garden. These plants were more appropriate based on space and water requirements. The cactus/succulents add a charm of there own to the space. Already we have caught the interest of our guest with these prickly, colorful, draught resistant beauties.

Restaurant Entrance Before Photo



Restaurant Entrance After Photo & Block Wall










The entrance to the new units from the restaurant was an additional smaller project that we completed this week. We used bamboo to create retention for a small landscape bed. New precast stepping stones were installed for a fresh walkway with ground cover borders to stabilize walk and soil. An obsticle course of pvc which is barely below the surface often requires creative solutions, a hollowed out bamboo cover sleeves a water line. The wood shop will produce a 2x3' carving on the exterior wall that will complete this area.









A Picture of Me & The Crew