fishman0422

Here's a story. Last night I came home from work about 10:30. My wife was outside watering the front yard. She told me a little while earlier my son and his friend were swimming in the pool. We have a decorative rope lighted palm tree that was given to us by her parents. That tree was lit and so were our torches around the deck. The back gate was open and as my wife was walking from the back yard to the front when she heard an "OH MY GOD". A couple was walking along the street. The lady could see the lit palm tree, the torches, and the pool. She seemed excited to see what she was seeing. It turns out they were newlyweds and recently had gotten back from their honeymoon in the carribean. Even from the road she said it reminded her of her recent vacation. She asked my wife if it would be OK to take a look. My wife was like ........ooookaaay. She thought it was a little wierd but the lady seemed nice enough. When the couple first entered the back the lady had thought the musa basjoo were actually palm trees. My wife informed them that they were actually bananas, and that they were plants, not trees. The woman was pretty excited bombarding her husband with honey this and honey thats. She was grabbing her husbands arm, tapping her husband's arm saying that it looked like the villa they stayed in. It turns out they lived on another street in our little town and were near and knew a family that we knew as well. She said that she wanted her yard to look just like ours. My wife explained they are a bit of work and that I built chicken wire cages and cover them in the colder months. She informed them that although the bananas would come back they would have to protect them through the winter if they wanted them to keep getting larger. I think the husband liked the yard as well but was not nearly as thrilled as his wife. The special attention the bananas require did not seem to deter the wife. My wife never actually named them as Musa Basjoo, but did call them cold hardy bananas. I'm sure that that was enough. If the woman doesn't have any luck finding them at a local nursery (NOW they have been popping up here and there), she can EASILY find them on the world wide web. I wouldn't be surprised if she at some point ended up here! HA HA HA JOIN US! YOU ARE ONE OF US! IT IS YOUR DESTINY!.......oh um excuse me... but any way before she left she even took a picture of the yard with her cell phone!
-Bill

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The Reluctant Gardener

stumpy4700

Sounds like there is a husband in NJ that will be in need of lots of TIME,ENERGY,PLANTING,AND READING on the ORG.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CookieCows

What a great story!! Your yard does sound beautiful!

Deb

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mskitty38583

that is so awesome. i had almost the same experience. but it was two women and they ooed and awed all over the nanas in my yard. every sunday the elderly people drive by my yard on sundays going to church and im just worried they are gonna drive into the ditch from looking in the yard instead of the road. it makes you feel good knowing that they are not there just for our enjoyment but for eveyone elses.

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sandy0225

Should I send you a stack of my business cards? then when you do the tour, you can pass them out.....LOL.....
Sounds like here!

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Sandy Burrell



Northern Tropics Greenhouse
1501 East Fuson Road
Muncie, IN 47302
www.northerntropics.com


specializing in bananas, heirloom tomatoes and water gardening plants~
check out our new online store at our website!

mskitty38583

you have my address, send them on. i have friends who are now becoming nana nuts as well.

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austinl01

You should have directed the wife to this forum!!! Maybe we can get some business cards made for Bananas.org and pass them out to folks interested in hardy "banana palms"!

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

Bananaman88

I've heard so many people (who obviously don't know much about plants) call bananas palms. I gave my mother-in-law some SDC plants to take back to KY with here when they came to visit a couple of months ago. She told me when she was going through the airport someone commented on her "palm" trees! I don't get it...they look nothing like a palm. Oh well....

austinl01

I know! I just don't get it either. Bananas look totally different than palms. The leaves have no resemblance and the pseudostems are different than palm trunks.

It's like: Let me introduce you to a palm. His name is Washingtonia Robusta.


Then, here is a banana. His name is Orinoco.


Now, let's write a compare and contrast essay about the differences!


Your homework: When you walk your dog, look around the neighborhood and identify which are bananas and which are palms!

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

Taylor

Next thing you know a few "palm" pups will have disappeared from your yard!!!

Jarred has nice business cards that he sent to me with my Black Balbisiana.

Sandy, I would like a business card of yours.

mskitty38583

i dont think to many people pay attention to leaf or stem structure...all they see is green! and i like the essay idea!

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MediaHound

Thats a wonderful story and its always great when strangers and visitors appreciate your garden. Bravo!

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Apologies in advance if I am slow to reply to your PM. I suggest posting in the forums for support if you need something urgent.

microfarmer

I'd have to point down the block to show someone a palm. I have no room for palms. Palms have hurt me. I say good day! Pheh...

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My new hero...

fishman0422

Hey hey hey. Bananaman, you and Austin are being a little harsh. WE know the differences between bananas and palms but it's not too hard to understand why others may not. Give bananas a trunk rather than the psuedo stem and shred up the leaves a little and a banana can resemble a palm. And to be honest, a lot of palms look nothing like washingtonia Robusta. As a matter of fact the palm trees I saw in Florida had leaves closer to my bananas (if shreaded) than the Washingtonia Robusta. Let's try to go easy on the folks!

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The Reluctant Gardener

austinl01

Yeah, you're right. We're experienced gardeners. I was just making light of the situation. Not really trying to be harsh, just humorous.

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Austin
Arkansas River Valley

Average January Low: 31°F, Average August High: 92°F
Extreme Winter Lows: 5-15°F, Extreme Summer Highs: 100-112°F, Annual Precipitation: 52 inches

fishman0422

Check out what the newlyweds saw! Take a look at my photo gallery. I posted some Pics of my yard.

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The Reluctant Gardener

mskitty38583

nice pics, thanks for posting them.

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fishman0422

Thanks MsKitty!

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The Reluctant Gardener

fishman0422

Experienced gardeners? LOL speak for yourself. Hell, I don't know too much of what I'm doing. So far I've just been REALLY lucky.
Oh, and I also figured you weren't really tyring to be harsh. I was just looking for something to write.

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The Reluctant Gardener

Bananaman88

Oh yeah, I wasn't intending to be mean. It would be like if someone asked me to tell them the difference in two engine parts...I likely wouldn't know the difference either. It was all in good fun!