Tropical gardens thrive on heat and humidity.
Heat we have in abundance – too much of it, sometimes. Humidity, on the other hand is created when said heat mixes with water, usually in the form of rain. And therein lies the problem. Rainfall has been scarce. Very scarce. So I have been watering my arm off to keep my poor little garden alive.
Add to that all the madness that comes with the season to be jolly and I think you’ll know where I’m coming from.
Even though
I am flat out with the hose and the rumballs, in between times I am making a
little progress.
This is the view from the master bedroom window. Notice
the desert theme and try not to notice the pile of crusher dust and the biocycle
septic tank.
Not the most
impressive view to wake up to.
It was actually the site for the tequila bar at
my daughter’s Mexican themed birthday party a while ago.
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| Recognise the pool? |
Not only did
the spiky yuccas give a South American backdrop to the Mariachi band, they also
created a formidable fortress around the alcoholic supplies.
However, Mexican
desert is not the look I am after and you know how I feel about spiteful
plants. Stab me once more fool me, stab me twice and out you go.
This time of
year it’s difficult to get good help around the garden but in the end Ian
submits to my nagging and together we clear out the offenders and fill the
trailer with a lethal collection. All done under a blazing sun and a temperature that reaches 33
degrees. Mad dogs and Englishmen! He must love me a lot.
It’s a little
while before we can bring ourselves to finish it off. Too much heat and too
many festive distractions. But after that it’s the usual drill – paper, fertilizer
and sugar cane mulch
It’s way too hot to cart mulch from the pile out front, we’ll leave that for a kind weather day.
We try to
use plants of a decent size, Rhapis, Foxtails, Cascades and a Chinese Windmill
palm. And then cordylines and crotons. I
especially like the cordyline ‘Tartan’ which looks so luscious against the
palms.
Another of
my favourites is the Bangkok rose, (mussaendas). I love both the creamy white
and the pink so I plant both in this garden bed.
As this area
is partly shaded, I can get away with some ferns, Silver Lady, which I haven’t
used before but I just love them for the softness they impart.
We finish planting
and treat ourselves to a festive eggnog as we survey our handiwork.
And then it
starts raining.
And raining.
Hallelujah!
No apologies needed. It's a busy time of the year and the garden tends to take second place. It's getting really hot up here in the north again. 36 - 40 deg C this week. We've got the humidity but not the rain. Apparently we had some rain while we were away over the Christmas / New Year festive season, and it was after that the humidity levels shot sky high, as they do up here.
ReplyDeleteYou've made some fabulous changes in that section of your garden outside your main bedroom. I love your planting choices. Mussaendas are one of my favourite plants! I just adore the colourful bracts and tiny flowers on these plants.
Well done. You've done a great job in some trying summery conditions.
Thanks so much for your kind, encouraging words Bernie. The bedroom garden extends around the side and is quite sloped. It's murderous trying to mulch it but that's what I'm attempting between heat breaks.
ReplyDeleteBut I have no business complaining when you're dealing with 36 - 40 deg. and with the added humidity it's probably like a sauna.
I'm glad you finally got some rain up there, you work so hard and your garden is always is so beautiful. You are an inspiration, my friend.
Thanks for commenting on my blog Sylvia, you are doing a massive overhaul of a huge garden, and it is looking lovely. I am not a huge fan of working in the garden in the heat and humidity, but some things just have to be done.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I agree with you on the heat being a pain but reading your blog and seeing the glorious photos of your garden inspires me to keep going with mine.
DeleteThere are so many wonderful gardens out there (and wonderful gardeners). I'm loving the journey!