Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Pine Green!

 

This holiday season we found the time to put up more holiday lights than last year, giving Pine Green a bit of a winter wonderland and gingerbread house feel. And since it was a bit chilly this Christmas Eve, Reid made a fire in the fireplace to add a little more Christmas ambience.

In 2014, Pine Green will celebrate its 80th year, and we look forward to continuing to care for it and share it with the neighborhood. But for now, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

The Garden Tour

On Sunday, April 21, 2013, hundreds of folks braved the weather and turned out to take part in the 2013 Private Gardens of Historic Orlando Featuring Lake Eola Heights Historic District Garden Tour:

Many visitors cited the recent Orlando Sentinel article by Joy Dickinson, and we are appreciative of her wonderful writeup and the attention and appreciation it drew to the event and Pine Green. It was a joy to participate and tell part of our story about the home and the work we've done so far. The tour also inspired us to get the landscape in great shape - so hopefully we won't have quite as much work to do on it in the summer!

Many thanks to everyone who attended, and those who helped make the event a success by devoting their time and talents. The tour featured plein air artists (several wonderful paintings of Pine Green were created as a result!):

Artist Terri Rickerson painting a scene in the back yard

Also featured were several antique cars generously offered for display at various homes for the day:

1936 Ford on display at Pine Green

In addition, Reid's sister Michele Pasternak installed some of her unique bottle sculptures:

Pine Green's landscape features over sixty species, a combination of Florida native, Florida-friendly, and other traditional and not-so-traditional plants to create a unique lodge in the woods oasis in downtown Orlando.  While it still features many of the original plantings specified by Burt Foster (the famous 20th century Central Florida landscape architect), Pine Green's landscape has been significantly updated with the design of landscape architect (and our friend) Frank Joseph Brooks, whose designs were actually featured in three of the homes on the tour this year.

New bench (foreground) that Reid pieced together from a dead pine tree (it was Joe's idea).

Below is Joe's contact information, as well as a listing of local suppliers we've used and some of the plants at Pine Green.

Landscape design by: Frank Joseph Brooks (407.341.0022, fjbla@cfl.rr.com)

Bottle Sculpture by: Bottlesmith Michele Pasternak (mpasternak.artist@gmail.com)

Exterior/interior design updates, color selection/restoration, and art by: Reid Pasternack (www.reidpasternack.com)

Some of the nearby plant suppliers we’ve used for this landscape update:

Alfonso’s Tree Farm (for Weeping Yaupon Holly Tree)

Apenberry’s (for various flowers, shrubs, and pine straw)

Blodgett Gardens (for Coontail, some succulents, and flowers/shrubs)

Bolling Forest Products (for pine straw in bulk delivery)

Florico Foliage (for Algerian Ivy)

Green Images, Florida Native Landscape Plants (for Saw Palmetto)

Home Depot (for various shrubs, flowers, and succulents)

Landscape Resources (for River Birch)

Lowe’s (for various shrubs and flowers)

Lukas Nursery (for various shrubs, flowers, grasses, and groundcovers)

Medallion Nurseries (for Giant Apostle Iris)

Palmer’s Garden & Goods (for various flowers, shrubs, pine straw, and groundcovers, including Kangaroo Paw and Sunshine Mimosa plants)

S & K Sod (for JaMur Zoysia)

Some of the over sixty species featured at Pine Green (be sure to Google images of these, as many bloom at different times of the year, and some are just getting established at Pine Green so are not yet mature. For more information on specific Florida-friendly plants, visit www.floridayards.org):

Algerian Ivy (Canary Ivy) Hedera canariensis :

Amaryllis Amaryllis spp. (not currently blooming) :

Azalea Rhododendron cvs. (Florida-friendly) :

Azalea in bloom this past February

Beautyberry Callicarpa Americana (Florida native) (grows small purple berry clusters in the fall) :

Blazing Star Liatris spp. (Florida friendly/ some Florida native) (definitely one to Google to see the bloom!) :

Bleeding Glory-Bower (Bleeding-heart Vine) Clerodendrum thomsoniae (not currently blooming) :

Blue Daze Evolvulus glomeratus ‘Blue Daze’ (Florida-friendly) :

      

Bromeliads Bromeliaceae (various genera, species) (Florida-friendly/ some Florida native):

Bulbine Bulbine sp. :

Caladium Caladium x hortulanum (Florida-friendly) :

    

Camellia Camellia japonica (Florida-friendly) :

Candle Bush (aka Popcorn Senna) Senna alata (only the seed pods were on display but this plant makes marvelous yellow fall flowers) :

Cape Honeysuckle Tecomaria capensis (not currently blooming; flowers shown are from nearby Tabebuia) :

Cast iron plant Aspidistra elatior (Florida-friendly) :

Cattley Guava Psidium cattleianum Sabine :

Christmas cactus Schlumbergera sp. (blooms in winter):

Coontail Ceratophyllum demersum (Florida native submersed plant):

             

Coontie Zamia floridana (Florida native):

Crinum Lily Crinum sp. (Florida friendly/ some Florida native) (not currently blooming):

Dahlberg Daisy Thymophylla tenuiloba  :

Donkey Ear Kalanchoe gastonis bonnieri  (produces bloom spikes in the fall) :

Firebush (Scarletbush) Hamelia patens (Florida native) (not currently blooming) :

Flag Iris Iris sp. :

Foxtail Fern Asparagus densiflorus 'Myers' :

Giant Apostle Iris Neomarica caerulea 'Regina' :

Ginger (various genera, species) (blooms in the fall) :

Impatiens Impatiens spp. (Florida-friendly):

JaMur Zoysiagrass Zoysia japonica steud 'JaMur' :

Japanese Yew (Podocarpus) Podocarpus macrophyllus and cvs. (Florida-friendly):

      

Kangaroo Paw Anigozanthos ‘Gold Velvet’:

Lady Palm Rhapis spp. (Florida-friendly) :

Lantana Lantana cvs. (some varieties can be invasive) :

Laurel Oak Quercus laurifolia (Florida native) :

Ligustrum (Japanese Privet) Ligustrum japonicum and cvs. (Florida-friendly) :

Lily of the Nile (African lily) Agapanthus africanus (Florida-friendly):

               

Live Oak Quercus virginiana (Florida native) :

Ming Fern Asparagus macowanii :

Muhly Grass Muhlenbergia capillaris (Florida native) (produces pink wispy plumage in the fall):

Nagi Podocarpus Podocarpus nagi :

Nandina (heavenly bamboo) Nandina domestica (some varieties can be invasive) :

Norfolk Island Pine Araucaria heterophylla :

Perennial Peanut Arachis glabrata (Florida-friendly) (this groundcover is just getting started; produces small yellow flowers) :

Philodendron Philodendron cvs. (Florida-friendly) :

Pink Perfection Camellia Camellia japonica 'Pink Perfection' (Florida-friendly) :    

Pink Perfection Camellia in bloom this past February

Plumbago Plumbago auriculata cvs. (Florida-friendly) :

Purple Queen Setcreasea pallida (note: easily confused with invasive oyster plant):

Purslane Portulaca oleracea and cvs. :

River Birch Betula nigra (Florida native) :

   

Saw Palmetto Serenoa repens (Florida native) :

     

Senegal Date Palm Phoenix reclinata :

Snake Plant (Mother-In-Law's Tongue) Sansevieria trifasciata :

Stonecrop Sedum rupestre ‘Florida Friendly Gold’ :

Sunshine Mimosa (Sensitive Plant, Powderpuff) Mimosa strigillosa (Florida native) (no blooms shown but produces pink "powderpuff" blooms frequently):

Sweet Virburnum Viburnum odoratissimum :

Swiss Cheese Plant Monstera deliciosa:

  

Tabebuia Tabebuia sp. :

Tiger Eye Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta ‘Tiger Eye’ (special cultivar of Florida native) :

Weeping Yaupon Holly Ilex vomitoria 'Pendula' (Florida-native) (produces red berries) :

Weeping Yew (Weeping Podocarpus) Podocarpus gracilior (Florida-friendly) :

Wildflowers  (various genera, species) (some Florida-friendly/ some Florida native - this year we used the "Save the Bees" seed mix purchased at Palmer's; we're expecting peak bloom in a couple of months) :