Mid-Spring Notes ... My Dry Tropics Garden Journal ... Mid-Spring, Week 44, October 2025

Garden Journal Entry - Week 44

This week's weather:

Seasons:  Mid-Spring / Dry Season / Bushfire Season
Daytime Temps:  31°C - 34°C            
Night Time Temps:  24°C - 26°C
Humidity Levels: 55% - 92%  over 24 hours    
Hours of daylight:  12 hours
Rainfall:  4 mm (less than 1 inch)

Weather & Mood

Our mid-spring month is about to end, and already the air carries summer's weight.  The surrounding bushland has slipped into the brittle, beige palette of the dry season.  It's exceedingly unattractive at the moment, typical for this time of the year.

In the open outdoor garden beds, even the hardy, heat- and dry-tolerant stalwarts are showing signs of stress - leaves flagging and textures dulled.  Heat builds early; humidity surges through the day.  The soil pulls tight.  It's the time when the tough mature plants earn their keep out there.

A tiny mercy arrived this past week:  4mm of rain.  It barely kissed the outdoor beds, but the potted plants under shade or in sheltered spaces drank it like a blessing. 

Where The Colour Lives

At this time of year, I step back from those larger outdoor garden spaces (apart from occasional deep watering) and lean into the smaller spaces where I can actually make a difference.  The contrast is stark.  Out there it's survival.  In here - close to the house, in the shade house and courtyard spaces - it's small pockets of cheer that lift the mood when everything beyond looks tired and thirsty.  

Hanging baskets and pots become the canvas for colour, and because I can fine-tune light, airflow, and watering, these sheltered spaces keep the garden's spirit alive.

Water Is The Work

Most dry season maintenance happens in the early hours.  I set the sprinklers before the sun climbs, or as the sun is setting, then spend time hand-watering the courtyard and shade house garden spaces.  After a long, dry season, watering the most important job - not glamorous, just essential.

Signs of Mid-Spring

• Surrounding Bushland:  Fresh, bright green leaf-flush on the Eucalyptus platyphylla (Poplar Gums).  

Their flowering is done now, and the Rainbow Lorikeets, Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Figbirds, and bees have been making the most of the last nectar and seed run.

• Close to the House:  New leaves unfurling on the Sterculia quadrifida (Peanut Tree), the deciduous Plumerias (Frangipanis), the Tabebuia heterophylla, and the Lagerstroemia speciosa (Queen's Crepe Myrtle).  Their flowering cycles are over for now as well.

• Open, Outdoor Garden Beds:  Colour (other than green) is thin on the ground, held mostly by Nerium (Oleander) blooms) - top & bottom right, the old Hibiscus rosa-sinensis - bottom left, and the Hibiscus schizopetalus shrubs - middle & top left. 

 

Sporadically, blooms can be spotted on the various Adenium obesums (Desert Roses),

the Gerberas, the Alpinia zerumbet (Shell Ginger) and the Neomarica gracillis (Walking Iris)).

A Job I'd Been Avoiding

At the start of this month - before the heat and humidity spiked - I finally tackled a messy corner of an outdoor bed near the shade house.  

A Duranta had gone from "vigorous" to "tyrannical", crowding a Mussaenda and a couple of Lagerstroemias indica (Crepe Myrtles), and generally making the whole bed look unkempt.  Everything needed a hard reset.  After two days of cutting back and clearing, I could step back and actually breathe.  I'm fairly sure the shrubs did too.  

The Mussaenda and the Lagerstroemias have all sprouted new growth after their severe haircuts.

What's Working Right Now?

As I've mentioned the shade house and courtyard spaces are a sanctuary of colour and interest right now.  They are the saving grace of this mid-spring month.  Years of trial and error have taught me exactly what will perform right now without fighting a losing battle with the dry season conditions.

Plant Roster (Courtyard & Shade House Performers)

Below are the plants that consistently carry the courtyard and shade house at this time of year. These aren't strict cultivation notes - just how I use them to keep the smaller spaces lively when the big beds are struggling.

• Neomarica longifolia (Walking Iris)
  Architectural fans and occasional elegant blooms; anchors the shade corners and gives structure when blooms are scarce.

• Evolvulus
  A soft, low accent in hanging containers; useful for lightening compositions and bridging between foliage‑heavy plantings.

• Begonia semperflorens (Wax Begonias)
  Reliable dots of colour; neat habit that behaves well at eye level in baskets and along the benching.

• Petunias
  Cheerful fillers for quick impact; I rotate them through sunny edges of the courtyard for a seasonal pop.

• Salvias
  Slender spires that lift the eye above low plantings; I use them as vertical punctuation between broader leaves.

• Alyssum
  A fine, edging froth in pots; helpful for softening container lines and drawing the eye along pathways.

• Impatiens
  Shade‑friendly colour blocks; I cluster them in large pots where their steady show offsets the dryness outside.

• Pentas
  Sturdy, long‑view flowers; I use them as reliable mid‑height anchors that keep the courtyard feeling animated.

• Spathoglottis (Ground Orchids)
  Jewel‑like accents; they reward the shaded positions with a composed, tidy presence.

• Plectranthus
  Generous foliage and texture; excellent for filling gaps and cooling down hot colour combinations.

Years of trial and error taught me where to find momentum in a dry spring:  shelter, containment, and control.  Pots and baskets let me tune conditions without fighting the broader climate.  When the open garden feels parched and stubborn, these rooms of colour keep me gardening - eyes on small miracles.  The rest can wait for rain.