Let's Go Bananas

I have been asking visitors: what type of plant would best screen our back porch from the afternoon heat?  One common answer: try a banana plant or two.  So I bought one at Barton Springs Nursery for $24.99 - a "red banana."  Compared to the green, the leaves are, surprise, reddish, and a little more ornamental.

They helped me stuff it into our small sedan, with my daughter sitting in her car seat, happily hiding under one of its leaves all the way home.

The red or green won't produce fruit unfortunately (I was told) unless they can make it through several winters without dying down.  But it's still a striking thing to have in the back - it's the first tropical I've actually put in the ground, so I feel I'm going a little against my original goal of having only native plants.

Keeping it well watered was a concern of mine, until I realized that it is very close to the dog's water bowl, as well as the hose.  I love how I got our dog in mid-leap over our sprinkler, in the background of the first photo.

I first tried putting it in a galvanized tin tub, but decided it would be better off in the ground, and be better protected come winter.

I figure if I can get about 5 more, we'll have that whole porch nicely screened!