Walk through zone 11 garden?

[Stingrayness]

hi guys, I'm new to this site and gardening, I wanted to start a 12' by 25' by 12' by 25' garden in zone 11. Any suggestions? I already got some plants picked out but I want to hear from the experts. Thanks! And I want to be able to walk through it.

[Weebl]

It truly depends on lighting, height, scenery and what you want. Bright colors or fragrance, year round flowering in mass or plan around seasonal bloomers. Is it a bare area you're working with or is there a tree you can use as a central focal point in the garden.

As far as orchids which will do well in that climate, most orchids will. Dendrobiums, Phalaenopsis, Cattleya, Vandas, some Stanhopeas, Schomburgkias, Angraecums.

[epiphyte78]

To help you with ideas...here are over 500 photos of orchids growing on trees and rocks. Most of those orchids should be suitable for zone 11.

If you find any photo of an orchid that you would be interested in growing in your garden...copy and paste the page address of the orchid photo. Somebody should be able to give you a general idea of the light and water requirements of the orchids you selected.

[Stingrayness]

Thanks for the help!

[Stingrayness]

I really want a seasonal fragrance garden. Are there any good ones you would advise?

[Weebl]

The link epiphyte78 posted, which has photos of naturalized orchids in gardens, is a great resource.n Fragrant orchids which I would suggest would be
Oncidium Sharry Baby
Phalaenopsis bellina
Maxillaria tenuifolia
Stanhopea nigroviolacea
Dendrobium speciosum (many varieties to chose from)
Dendrobium anosmum
Vanda tricolor
Cattleya jenmanii
Cattleya aclandiae
Encyclia Orchid Jungle
Rhynchostylis gigantea


For nocturnally fragrant orchids, look for ones with (usually) spurred white flowers such as:
Brassavola nodosa
Angraecum (practically any species)
Aerangis
Epidendrum nocturnum

[Stingrayness]

Thank you for the help and info. Are the flowers common or do I have to order them online?

[epiphyte78]

Where are you located?

[Stingrayness]

Lancaster California

[epiphyte78]

Oh. I thought you were using the USDA zones instead of the Sunset zones.

In that case, your list of potential outdoor growers will probably be entirely limited to terrestrials. Not sure if any epiphytic orchids will survive an average lowest temperature of 28F and an average highest temperature of 95F. Quite a few epiphytic orchids would survive that temperature range...if it wasn't average temperatures. If there are any that could take it, you'd probably have to water them every day during summer...which isn't unreasonable if you set up an overhead misting/sprinkler system.

If you don't mind experimenting you could try a Laelia anceps.

There aren't any orchid nurseries in Lancaster that I know of. The closest orchid nurseries are in Santa Barbara and San Diego. However, there are numerous online orchid nurseries to select from.

I'm not familiar with terrestrials so hopefully some other folks will be able to chime in.