Doggie is fine Vicky, American pitbull. We have many many snakes she has it in for them all, and wasps and anything buzzing.
Jonna the Lilies are amaryllis they grow like weeds, but this white one is nice, it's a nice small flower and not too tall so doesn't topple in a typhoon. Bougainvillaea grows very well here flowers all year but especially in winter, the white one not so. You're right it loves poor soil. The palms are Dypsis lastelliana from Madagascar.
The white Bamboo is clumping, variegated pastille yellow lime and blue covered in a mist of white, a Southern Chinese species. I haven't been able to positively identify it yet, so it could be a new one. None I have seen have the same dense persistant bloom as this one. It's very tall you know, about a three story building.
I have many bamboo, Thyrsostachys siamensis (temple bamboo) from Thailand, Schizostachyum brachycladum from Bali, the golden "sacred bamboo", black and green bamboo, many many, I collected them all on my travels. All are clumping except one lovely local species found growing wild in the forest in our area.
Its very thin like a pencil, jet black, tall and with a few dainty bright green leaves at the top. It runs around but very discreetly, in a charming way. The gap between culms is about a meter so it gives a lovely effect and loves deep deep shade, quite unusual for a bamboo but very useful. I have it beneath a dense canopy of palms. It's a shy grower and must absolutely love the conditions to succeed. High altitude high humidity thick leaf mould and plenty of rain and good drainage, seems to prefer steep valley's and ravines along streams.
