The lawn browns out during the winter. Usually covered with a deep snow pack for 3 months or so. Is your lawn green yet?

wxman: Looks excellent! The large trachy and washy in front of your house are stunning... I wish mine looked that good.. maybe in a few years:) You asked about companion plants for the new beds, and I would go for bananas. In my opinion, bananas are almost more of an "eye-catcher" than palms, since the huge leaves just jump out at you. Elephant ears are also an option, and I'm personally trying those this year for the first time. And don't rule out flower bulbs... I think canna lillys are almost essential to a themed bed such as this. BTW, are you planning to use any type of edging on those new beds where the mulch meets the yard? In my opinion, it looks a bit off without anything to separate flower bed from yard... All in all, looking great.. I envy your large trachy and washy:)

That is a real nic eyard WX!. AS for fillers, elephant ears are great ( colocasia, you can grab some "taro" at the grocery store), some small bamboo ( ground cover species, or even some fargesia bamboo). Im not sure where your located, but mabey some musella? Belive it or not, common ginger ( zingibar officinal????) its a great filler plant, and cheap to get from the grocery store as well. Nothing wrong with some ferns in the shadier parts as well..

Im trying to go or that look, without the palms (climate), but i have some elephant ears, some musa, and tons ofperennials to make up for the lack of large tropical plants i can plant here....

Mabey try some passiflora? And a eucalyptus tree mabey?

My lawn down here is getting green, which I good as I use 7 acres of it to feed horses (+ the weeds for the goats). I'd like to know what you have up there that greens so well, so early.
As for filler plants, all the suggestions are good. However, I'm going to suggest basic annual bedding plants--coleus, impatiens, etc. They have great color but won't get so big as to hide the palms. Colocassia, Canna etc. always get tall enough by July to hide my gems....

Looking good Tim!
Sorry to hear about your washy and the wind damage you put a lot of time into it. It will be fine as you know, one month of good growth and you'll forget all about it.

Bill

By the way have you heard about the truly tiny or tiny tiny bananas? They might look nice in the front without over powering your new palms.
Also super dwarf Cav's stay pretty small around 3-4 feet in one year, they do really well inside.

Just a few more idea's

Bill

The lawn browns out during the winter. Usually covered with a deep snow pack for 3 months or so. Is your lawn green yet?

In the PNW we have exactly the opposite situation ... green (as grass) in winter and dead brown in the drought of summer.

Cheers, Barrie.

When I lived up in the PNW we had that, too, with the fescue. Green all winter, brown in Summer 'heat."
I grow bermuda grass down here, but at the northern extreme of the range (is there a "bermudagrassnorth.com forum?" 😆
so I have to buy tons (literally) of hay for months each year. Hence my asking.
--Erik

Thanks for the comments guys. I can't wait until the sylvestris is 10 feet tall. That will be a sight. My street doesn't have much traffic, so I don't get a lot of people stopping and unfortunately no one else is growing palms in the neighborhood.

Maybe not the neighborhood, but same region! 😆

wxman
I'm a fan of your palms now! Those p. sylvestris look awesome!

Looks awesome!!! The stone in the front of the house really makes the palms natural beauty stand out...

Thanks for the comments guys. The washy in front is toast. Spear hasn't moved since early May. Thinking the roots got hit this winter and it has been sent into shock. Digging it this week and replacing with a huge trachy.

Damn,that sucks!
Does it look healthy other than the spear not moving?

My Butia is doing the same thing although it has moved a measly 5" since being uncovered.

I think it will start moving in the next month or so.

Damn,that sucks!
Does it look healthy other than the spear not moving?

My Butia is doing the same thing although it has moved a measly 5" since being uncovered.

I think it will start moving in the next month or so.

Yeah, it's green, firm and not pulling. But it's acting like a new palm that doesn't grow because of a small rootball. Roots must have froze off maybe the roots are rotten from moisture? It just won't move! Last year it put out 4 fronds by this time. This year, 0! My trachy which was covered the same way is pushing fast. Just don't think robustas can tolerate a little frost in the soil, but trachys can tolerate some. Don't have time or patience to wait all summer for 1 fan. 15 gallon trachy is on its way from collectorpalms and is getting planted Thursday.

Oh well-it's a shame though when we invest the time...and you do get attached to these dang palms
when they do so well.
The combination of already cold gound and added moisture from rain/snow melt is what did it in.

I think keeping them dry coming out of winter until they wake up is more important with Washys.

Take it as a warning though Tim,your protection is excellent over winter without a doubt but
you may want to consider putting down a moisture barrier (some plastic)and maybe using leaves or something to
insulate the soil during winter(warm roots are happy roots),that way you can just pull it off the rocks in spring
and your palms are open for business again!

BTW-are you going to pot up that Washy?-I bet it will be growing vigorously by the end of summer
in a pot.

Good luck with your new Trachy!