Wandering Time ... A Tuesday Tropical Garden Tour.

Autumn through to early Spring is the best time of the gardening year for this north Aussie gardener.  That's the time when many of the garden areas are looking pretty darn good. This year, however, is slightly different.  The prolonged 'wet' season and the unwelcome arrival of a cyclone means things have not gone exactly to plan.

My favourite spot ... the Courtyard Garden ... is usually full of terrific potted annuals by now, providing splashes of colour in almost every corner.  Potting up my annuals seedlings has been delayed this year ... thanks to the prolonged 'wet'.  Many of the existing plants have been craving sunshine which was rather rare in the early part of the year.  As a result, many of the year-round flowering plants are not exactly looking their best right now.

Out in the Shadehouse Garden, despite the recent clean-up and trim back, the ferns have starting taking over once again with the relentless rain that continued last month.  Some of the hanging plants really need a trim back once again as well.  It's not exactly as neat and tidy as I'd like.

Regardless, I've taken a quick wander around these garden spots, avoiding all the other areas that were stripped and damaged by the destructive winds, to record just how things are this mid-Autumn.

This is amateur video making, warts and all stuff.  It's just me wandering around making observations about what's happening ... there's no script ... there are noisy birds in the background and you'll probably hear the corrugated iron roof popping as it expands and contracts as the sun becomes more intense.  The zoom on my camera is also rather noisy, but that's just how it is.  This is more for my own record keeping than anything else, as I use these recordings to really sit down and pay close attention to what needs to be done.

So, starting with a front garden bed and wandering through the shadehouse ...



... then moving out onto the courtyard.



I've already made a couple of decisions immediately following these wanders ...
... the beautiful perfume emanating from that white Ginger needs to be part of my shadehouse environment
... there needs to be a drift of that hardy purple Salvia farinacea in the tiered garden bed
... the hanging plants in wire baskets out in the shadehouse all need to have the coir lining replaced and potted up with new compost and water saving crystals
... it's definitely time to pot up the annuals for the courtyard
... the Blechnum gibbums need to be moved to a more shaded spot in the courtyard
... and I need to move more of my Cordylines out next to those Golden Cane Palms in the courtyard.


Are there any other gardeners out there who've got videos to share?  I'd love to take a guided tour of others' gardens ... listening to the gardener's observations and thoughts.