TRANSPLANTING ANTHURIUMS AND ALOCASIAS

As my small garden collection of plants has grown in leaps and bounds, I've been bring more plants indoors to fill every sunny nook and cranny (I have a very tolerant wife). Many of these plants have outgrown their pots so I'm upgrading little by little. Pots tend to be expensive, especially the ones that are any color other than brown or green but I've creatively worked around this. I bought several cheap clay pots and black paint and now have some nice looking pots without breaking the bank.

The smaller eight-inch clay pots were a steal at the 99 Cent Store and I got the ten-inch

pots at OSH for about $5, still a decent price. The cheap acrylic black paint and gloss

were from Michaels. A couple coats of paint and gloss and these look quite nice.

The plants in the background are eagerly awaiting their new, lesser-cramped quarters.

Here's my two Alocasia Boas in their new homes. These are about three feet tall

and should reach at least five feet or more when fully grown so they'll definitely

need bigger pots at some point.

Here are my three Anthuriums. These gorgeous plants are native to Central and South

America. I'm not sure how big these will get but the big leaf on the middle plant is

nearly two feet long and this plant is probably only a teenager. I bought the two

on the left at the bi-annual plant sale at Huntington Library Botanical Gardens.

The one on the right was a birthday present. (Thanks Detlef!)

FRANCE PART 2: WORSHIPPING THE TIKI GODS AT LE TIKI LOUNGE

I recently heard about a new, and allegedly only, tiki bar in Paris, Le Tiki Lounge.  Unfortunately, I didn't know about it when I was in France a few months ago so I didn't have the privilege of going there myself. But I've heard nice things about it and it looks fantastic.

LE TIKI LOUNGE

+33 1.55.28.57.72

26 bis, rue de la Fontaine au Roi

75011 Paris, France

FRANCE PART 1: JUNGLE SIGHTINGS

I was in France last November, visiting my wife's family and while there, I did a bit of tropical plant sightings. Auchan Drive supermarket had a stunning plant wall covering the entire sides of the building, Carre Senart Mall had lush tropical interior landscaping (including another plant wall), and Truffaut Garden Center had one of the most impressive tropical plant selection I've ever seen.

Plant wall at Auchan Drive supermarket.

Plant wall in storefront in Carre Senart mall.

Interior landscaping in Carre Senart mall.

Alocasia plants at Truffaut garden center.

Check out the gorgeous veins on the brown leaf.

Nice plant wall display in Truffaut garden center.

Huge pothos plants at Truffaut garden center. These aren't even the biggest leaves on the plant.

Very large Monstera Deliciosa plant at Truffaut garden center. A bit of trivia: I was partially inspired

to start this blog when I was in France a few years ago and first spotted this plant. The photo below

is from that first visit. My blog was originally called Garden Monsters in honor of this plant.

Small palms at Truffaut garden center.

Gunnera plants at Truffaut garden center. These plants are also known as Giant Rubarb

or Dinosaur Food, because of their humongous size when fully grown. I'd have one

of these in my garden if they didn't grow to the size of small houses.

WINTER IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MEANS BUY MORE PLANTS

While most of North America is waist-deep in snow at the moment, it is uncharacteristically hot in Southern California. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. My tropical plants are OK with it too. But I decided to take advantage of the summer-like weather and recently bought some starter plants. Although my small apartment garden has a limited amount of space and already has way too many plants, I've managed to clear out one section and now have room for more plants. And I'll need every inch of space since most of the new plants will grow into monsters. Here are photos of the plants I got, as well as some "after" photos, provided courtesy of Brian's Botanicals.

Back row, left to right: Staghorn Fern, Sunset Glow Bamboo, Coffee Plant, Alocasia Borneo Giant

Front row, left to right:  Alocasia Calidora, Colocasia Bikini-tinia, Alocasia Macrorrhiza

Back row, left to right: Rosemary, Coffee Plant, Barbados Cherry

Front row, left to right: Basjoo Banana, Abyssinian Banana, Basjoo Banana

Here's what the abyssinian banana looks like when it's only about a half a year old.

I've already got one of these in my garden to prove it.

Here's a bunch of basjoo bananas plants. These guys are the most cold-tolerant of all bananas

and can survive sub-zero temperatures and have been grown in pretty much every climate.

Here's the curiously-named colocasia Bikini-tini. It grows to around 6 feet tall and is fun to watch

during a rainstorm. The leaf 'cups' fill with water and tip over and over and over again.

Here's Brian from Brian's Botanicals (thanks for the photos!) posing in front of, and dwarfed by, mature Alocasia Borneo Giants. I really don't have room for one of these but I'm a sucker

for monster plants so I couldn't resist. Please don't tell my wife.

TRADER SAM'S ENCHANTED TIKI BAR

To celebrate my birthday, I went to Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel. I'd heard good things about it and even popped my head in the front door once but had never come in for proper sitting with cocktails. I was not let down. Trader Sam's has Disney's signature. It's a cross between the Enchanted Tiki Room and Jungle Cruise. The bartenders are jovial and the cocktails are excellent. they use quality booze so hangover potential is at a minimum. And in Disney style, strange and unusual happenings take place when you order certain drinks. For instance, order an Uh Oa and a ship behind the counter sinks. Order a Krakatoa Punch and lightning and thunder rumble the entire bar and Krakatoa volcano, seen outside the "window" erupts. Truly a magical tiki experience.

These are the coolest beer taps I've ever seen. Yes, the eyes are glowing!

Krakatoa, can be seen outside the window. If you're lucky,

you may get to experience a fiery eruption while you here.

Here's yours truly enjoying a birthday cocktail. And $13 was a damn good deal

for a very good (and strong) Krakatoa Punch in a keepsake custom Tiki Farm mug.

At Trader Sam's, it's all in the details. My Krakatoa Punch

even came with a glowing red ice cube.

TRADER SAM'S ENCHANTED TIKI BAR

Disneyland Hotel - Disneyland Resort
1150 Magic Way, Anaheim, CA 92802