Our Tropical Wintertime Draws To A Close ... My Dry Tropics Journal ... End-of-Winter, Week 33, August 2025

Garden Journal Entry - Week 33

This week's weather:

Seasons:  end-of-Winter & Dry Season
Daytime Temps:  20°C - 29°C            
Night Time Temps:  8°C - 19°C
Humidity Levels: around 70%     
Hours of daylight:  11 1/2 hours
Rainfall:  0 mm (0 inches)

🌿 August in the Tropics

As we approach the close of winter, August has delivered the gentle rhythm of tropical late-winter weather that we've come to expect.  Nights have mostly hovered around the average for the month, with an occasional cooler evening reminding us that winter still lingers.  Daytime temperatures have been steady, mostly typical for August, though a refreshing cool day of 20°C and a few warmer touches of 28°C have provided some variety.

☀️ Weather Watch

The past weeks have been a dance between bright, sunny days and the occasional overcast spell.  Some days shift from cheerful sunshine to dreary clouds in a matter of hours.

Unfortunately, these grey spells have brought no rain, leaving the garden to contend with the drying effects of blustery winds and extended hours of sun.  Consistent deep watering has therefore become an essential part of weekly gardening routines. 

Even so, the occasional overcast day offers a quiet reprieve - a perfect opportunity to spend hours outdoors, tending to the garden and giving the new plantings a healthy start.

🌱 New Garden Projects Settling In

Both of the new garden spaces are now fully planted, mulched, and beginning to flourish.  (See the last post to discover why I began creating these new spaces: New Gardening Projects ) Adjustments to the dry season watering schedule have been necessary to ensure the newcomers thrive until the wet season arrives at the end of the year.

The new garden space at the end of the driveway

The new rock garden space near the old chook pen

🌱 Old Garden Project Progressing Nicely

Pergola Rock Garden - Phase Two

The back section of the rock garden space under the pergola has entered its second phase.  Some original Coleus, that were planted in the ground, struggled with frequent mealy bug infestations and were ultimately removed.  The area now features the addition of potted Coleus and potted Begonias adding renewed colour and vibrancy.  Having these plants potted, instead of planted in the ground, means possible future treatment and/or removal will be a whole lot easier for me.

I'm finding the transformation far more pleasing, with the pergola garden now looking lush and lively.

🌼 Shade House Blossoms

Recently I've been very busy revamping the hanging baskets in my shade house garden - adding fresh coir linings, replenishing the potting mix and planting new flowering plants - in preparation for a springtime show.

• Fifteen new hanging baskets have been planted up with new babies and will soon brighten the shade house garden space.
• Most baskets are filled with Impatiens hawkeri  (New Guinea Impatiens).  

Newly planted hanging baskets in the shade house garden

These vibrant plants are a perfect match for Townsville's warm, humid climate.  Thriving in partial shade, they bring a splash of colour among the greenery of the ferns, and their moderate water needs make them ideal for our dry tropics conditions.  I can't wait to see them mature and fill out the baskets.

🐝 Life in the Garden

Even in these drier winter days, the garden buzzes with life.  Native bees, butterflies and other insects flit from flower to flower, keeping the ecosystem balanced and healthy.  Their presence is a beautiful reminder of how interconnected garden life really is.

😟 Ecological Threat

Meanwhile, on-going efforts to manage Anoplolepis gracilipes (Yellow Crazy Ants) here in the southern suburbs continue to be a critical biosecurity priority for our Townsville City Council.  Treatment programs, running since October last year, use helicopters, drones and ground crews to distribute bait, designed to be taken back to the colony by worker ants in order to target the queen, and ultimately the entire colony.

According to the flyer distributed to all households last year:  "Yellow Crazy Ants form super-colonies consisting of multiple queens supporting multiple nests and millions of workers.  

They out-compete other ants and spray formic acid on other prey, decimating biodiversity."  

Our City Council considers that multiple treatments will be needed over several years to control each of the infestations, so we will be getting very used to the sound of helicopters and drones in our area every month for the foreseeable future.

Over the past two weeks, our area has witnessed yet more aerial and ground treatments, reminding us that vigilance is needed to preserve local biodiversity.

There was a helicopter buzzing around last week, dropping baits, 

and then this week a drone carried on with more targeted bait dropping.  Members of the Yellow Crazy Ant program ground crew also visited our place yesterday to further continue the treatment.  

🌸 Highlights Around The Garden:

• Agave Bloom:  I've been delighted to see one of the large Agaves blooming this year.  It was the first in the group to bloom and right now there are loads of little pups (bulbils) forming along the flower spike.  The mother plant is dying and throwing out lots of new little babies to take her place.  I'm just letting them fall to the ground to see if any of them will survive the dry season and grow roots before our harsh summer rolls around at the end of the year.  Given that this section of the garden only survives on rain from Mother Nature, it will be interesting to see if any of the pups will take off.

• Splashes of Colour:  There's a bit of pink splashed here and there in various garden spaces - Adenium obesum (Desert Rose), Calliandra surinamensis (Powderpuff), Ixora and Kalanchoe.

• Birdwatcing:  One of the things I love most about my place in the world is the variety of birdlife I'm privileged to see almost on a daily basis.  This past week I've noticed a few beautiful visitors during my wanderings around the place - 

Top row L - R:  A Coracina papuensis (White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike), and a Lichenostomus flavus (Yellow Honeyeater)
Bottom row L - R:  a female Sphecotheres viridis (Australasian Figbird) and Dacelo novaeguineae (Laughing Kookaburra).

🌿 Looking Ahead

This end-of-winter period is a time of quiet growth and preparation.  The garden continues to show resilience, and the new plantings promise vibrant colour and life as we move closer to spring.  

Until next time,
🌸 Happy gardening from the dry tropics!

My Garden Starts To Dry Out ... My Dry Tropics Garden Journal ... Beginning of Winter, Week 26, June 2025

Garden Journal Entry - Week 26

This week's weather:

Seasons:  Beginning of Winter & Dry Season  (also Bushfire Season)
Daytime Temps:  24°C - 27°C            
Night Time Temps:  15°C - 19°C
Humidity Levels: around 70%     
Hours of daylight:  11 hours
Rainfall:   2 mm (0.07 inches)

June In The Northern Tropics

Here in the northern tropics of Australia, June heralds the official start of our rather mild wintertime - and what a beautiful time of year it is. Our winter months are typically dominated by glorious weather: crisp, dry air, mostly fine days, and daytime temperatures rarely falling below 21°C or climbing much above 27°C.  It's a welcome relief after the intense heat and humidity of summer.

The Shift To The Dry Season

We're also firmly stepping into the dry season, which in Townsville usually stretches from May through to October. It's been quite a year so far weather-wise. The wet season at the start of the year was record-breaking, leaving our region with an astonishing 2,532 mm (about 100 inches) of rain by the end of June - already smashing past the average annual rainfall of just 901 mm.

There is now a noticeable browning off happening in the front yard

But this month has brought a clear transition: only 25 mm of rain has fallen in June, slightly above the monthly average but a sure sign we've moved into the drier months. Around the garden and in the surrounding bushland, things are drying out fast. Grass cover is browning off, and native trees are starting to drop their leaves in preparation for the leaner months ahead.

Bushfire Season Preparations

With the dry comes another reality of life in the tropics: bushfire season. Our City Council began hazard reduction burns late in May, carefully managing fuel loads to reduce bushfire risk. At home, we've started work on creating a fire break along our bushland fence line - a yearly ritual that's essential for safety.

Garden Watering Routines Begin

While the couple of very light showers this month were welcome, it's clear that moisture has disappeared quickly from the soil. I've already resumed my dry season watering routine, especially for the younger plants that have started to look a little stressed.

Fortunately, the cooler daytime temperatures - sitting comfortably between 24 and 27°C - mean that a good hour of watering every week is enough to revive the garden beds.

The potted plants, however, are another story!  The courtyard and shade house garden areas will now demand a more intensive watering schedule as the dry season progresses.

Garden Jobs Completed

Once the driveway had dried out completely, we started filling up some holes with road base

The gardening workload has eased significantly over the past six weeks, which has been a nice change of pace. One of the biggest tasks we tackled was repairing parts of our entrance driveway. The wet season had left it riddled with erosion, so we spread fresh road base to even out some of the lumpy, bumpy surface leading into our property.

My shade house garden

The shade house garden also got some much-needed attention. The pathways and tiled area had become slippery and overgrown thanks to rampant algae and weeds. Everything was whipper-snipped and then power washed, transforming the area into a safe and inviting space once again. It's wonderful to be able to stroll through the shade house without fear of losing your footing!

Signs Of Winter In The Garden

Along with the change to milder weather, winter reveals itself subtly around the garden. On my wander today, I spotted:

- Lagerstroemia speciosa, commonly known as the Queen Crepe Myrtle: Leaves changing colour

- Lagerstroemia indica, commonly known as Crepe Myrtle: Branches covered in seed pods

- Koelreuteria elegans subsp. formosana, commonly known as the Golden Rain Tree: The three-sided papery capsules are browning off

- Euphorbia leucocephala, commonly known as the Snowflake Bush: In delicate bloom

- Iris domestica / Belamcanda chinensis, commonly known as the Leopard Lily or Blackberry Lily: Seed pods dotting the ends of the stems

Highlights Around The Garden:

• My Aloe vera plants have surprised me by blooming for the very first time - a lovely splash of soft orange among the greens.

• The Jasmine that rambles over one end of our pergola is still flowering, infusing the courtyard garden with its gentle, sweet fragrance both day and night.

Top left and centre:  Pentas
Top right:  Justicia carnea and Tabernaemontana corymbosa
Bottom Row:  Plectranthus and Gerbera

• I'm also thoroughly loving all the splashes of crisp white blooms scattered here and there, adding a fresh brightness to the garden's winter palette.

Potted Impatiens in the courtyard garden

• All of the potted Impatiens have recovered beautifully from their wet season drowning and are now looking healthy and vibrant once more.

Looking Ahead

Oriental Lily bulbs pushing through and sweet Viola faces on show

One of the reasons I love this time of the year so much is that it's the perfect time to start adding little pots of flowering annuals and to plant out bulbs and perennial seedlings. As winter progresses, there will be more fabulous colour appearing in both the courtyard and shade house garden spaces as a result. I'm looking forward to the bursts of blooms that will brighten these cooler months and carry a touch of springtime joy into the tropics.

A tropical wintertime sunrise

Until next time,

🌸 Happy gardening from the northern dry tropics!

Rain, Blooms & Seasonal Shifts ... My Dry Tropics Garden Journal ... Beginning of Autumn, Week 12, March 2025

Garden Journal Entry - Week 12

This week's weather:

Seasons:  early Autumn & Wet Season
Daytime Temps:  26°C - 30°C            
Night Time Temps: 22°C - 24°C
Humidity Levels: 70 to 100%     
Hours of daylight:  12 hours 5 mins
Rainfall:   mm  ( inches) 

It's been another week of relentless rain here in the foothills, with a whooping 261 mm (10 inches) falling over the past seven days.  The inner city has been hit harder, recording 563 mm (22 inches) in the same period - adding to an already record-breaking month!  With near-constant grey skies and rain, day and night, gardening has taken a back seat.

I did manage to spot a sliver of blue sky this morning, but it was a fleeting vision!  Despite the dreary weather, the temperatures have been rather lovely, hovering between 26 to 28°C most days.  With the March equinox arriving yesterday, we've officially entered the season of shorter, cooler days.  

Rainy Days and Minimal Garden Work

With all this rain, my garden tasks have been minimal.  The only work I've managed this week, during the brief dry spells, has been some light weeding and monitoring plant health out in the shade house garden where there is little ventilation during these rather still days.  

But even with the lack of sunshine, Mother Nature is still putting on a show.

Signs Of Autumn:  Acacias In Bloom

A sure sign that autumn has arrived in the dry tropics is the blooming of our native Acacias (Wattles).  I've spotted them in full display out in the surrounding bushland and in our neighbour's yard during quick strolls between showers.  

There are two varieties around here - 

one with golden yellow flowers 

and another with a softer, pale lemon hue.  

Unlike their southern counterparts, which bloom in September (our spring), the Acacias here in the north flower from March through to May, bringing golden highlights to the landscape.

The Golden Rain Tree and Peanut Tree Put On A Show

The Koelreuteria paniculata, or Golden Rain Tree, is another autumn star.  The tree near my fence line is covered in golden flower clusters, and striking red papery seed capsules.  It's a spectacular sight against the otherwise grey backdrop of rainy days.

Another native beauty, the Sterculia quadrifida, or Peanut Tree, is also making the most of the season.  Right now, it's bursting with clusters of small, fragrant cream-white blossoms, a classic feature of autumn in our region. 

The Peanut Tree is a feature planting in the courtyard garden and is providing a carpet of little blossoms for the brick pavers at the moment.  The area does require a bit of a clean-up after a few days.

A Last Splash Of Summer:  Cassia fistula

The Cassia fistula (the Golden Shower Tree) has also been holding onto the last bit of summer, with a few bright yellow, pendulous flower sprays still clinging to its branches.  This tree typically blooms in the heat of summer, but it's been a pleasant surprise to see it hanging on a little longer this year, adding a pop of colour at the back of the courtyard garden.

This Week's Garden Highlights:

While out and about this week, I noticed lots of lovely butterflies fluttering through the garden, taking advantage of whatever brief sunshine they could find.  I also came across quite a number of very large brown stick insects hanging around in the garden beds.  Their clever camouflage always amazes me - if I hadn't been looking closely, I might have missed them entirely!  

Looking Ahead

With more rain in the forecast, I suspect garden wok will remain light for a little while longer.  As we move further into autumn though, I'm looking forward to watching more seasonal changes unfold.

How is your garden faring in this wet season?  Are you spotting any autumn bloomers or interesting garden visitors?

Until next time,

🌸 Happy gardening from the northern dry tropics!

Challenges Continue ... My Dry Tropics Garden Journal, Mid-Summer, Week 4, January 2025

Garden Journal Entry - Week 4

This week's weather:

Seasons:  Mid-Summer & Wet Season

Daytime Temps:  32°C - 35°C

Night Time Temps: 24°C - 26°C

Humidity Levels: between 70% & 90%

Hours of daylight:  13 hours

Rainfall:  3.4 mm

Surviving The Heatwave - Trials In The Garden

The garden has been a place of triumphs and challenges this week as we endure some of the hottest, most humid days of the season. With temperatures hovering between 32 and 35°C and the humidity making it feel closer to 41 or 42°C, gardening has been less of a joy and more of an endurance test. Even the early mornings provide little respite, with the sun blazing fiercely from the moment it rises and the UV index climbing from moderate to extreme before midday.

After a week away visiting family down south—where, ironically, it was even hotter—we were eager to return to the comforts of home.  We had left the garden in what we thought were capable hands and arrangements had been made to water the potted and hanging plants, as well as the newly planted garden beds under the pergola. What could possibly go wrong during a single week?

A Dramatic Homecoming

Returning from our brief getaway, we were greeted not by tranquility, but by unexpected chaos. The anticipation of a relaxing cuppa quickly gave way to shock.

Two enormous trees—each over 30 feet tall—had toppled, crushing the old chook pen and shed beneath them. This corner of our property, admittedly a bit neglected, has now become an unplanned project of Herculean proportions. The Eucalyptus platyphylla and Tabebuia heterophylla giants are too large for us to tackle alone, leaving us pondering the next steps while their uprooted trunks serve as an unmissable reminder of nature’s unpredictability.

The top photo in the collage above shows the uprooted trees lying gracefully over the chook pen fence and shed. The bottom photo gives you an idea of just how tall these trees are / were - that black box indicates the top of the Eucalyptus platyphylla (the tree with the white trunk).

These are immense trees, both of which have wood that is dense and heavy. It will take such a lot of hard work to cut up these trees and remove all the debris. My dear hubby would have tackled that job in days gone by, but now it's beyond him, so we're not sure what we're going to do. The trees will likely remain in place for some time!

A Garden In Distress

Unfortunately, the surprises didn’t end there. Wandering through the garden revealed the extent of the damage caused by the heat and missed waterings.

Under the pergola, my newly established, thriving garden bed was a heartbreaking sight. Plants that had been vibrant before we left were now sunburnt and shrivelled. My beloved Tree Fern, a standout in its pot, appears beyond saving, whilst the lovely Blechnum 'Silver Lady' Fern shows signs of distress and heat damage. Months of work undone in a mere seven days.

The photo above shows the difference between what it looked like before we left, and what it now looks like after I had to cut back all the obviously parched and burnt plants. I had mentioned in my last post that this area was one of my latest garden projects and it's disheartening to see the progress of months undone in a matter of days, with this space now requiring intensive rescue efforts.

Worse still, my shadehouse garden had become a battleground against an army of mealy bugs. Nearly all of my hanging baskets of Calibrachoa were infested, requiring drastic pruning.

But the real devastation lay with my beloved Coleus plants—all 15 of them, both potted and in the ground.

Every leaf and stem was weighed down by the sheer number of these tiny, white, hairy pests.

Despite my efforts before our trip—hosing them off, dabbing with methylated spirits, and squashing them—the infestation absolutely exploded in our absence.

I've never seen an infestation like it!

Plans For Recovery

Now begins the hard work of reclaiming the garden. The Coleus have been cut back to their barest stalks, and I’m preparing to hit them hard with a combination of neem oil and metho treatments frequently in the coming weeks. It’s a daunting task, but one I’m determined to tackle. We're almost two-thirds through our horrid summer, so let's see how it all goes through the continuing heat, humidity and rainfall that's predicted!

A Reminder Of Resilience

Gardening, as always, is a lesson in patience and perseverance. This week’s setbacks have been frustrating, but they also highlight the resilience of plants—and gardeners. I’ll rebuild what’s been lost, and perhaps next week will bring better news. After all, what’s a garden without a few challenges to keep us growing alongside it?

This Week's Garden Highlights: What's Blooming?

Let me end this week's journal with a cheerier note. Here's a few of the gorgeous blooms on show right now, mostly in outdoor garden beds.

Until next time,

🌸 Happy gardening from the northern dry tropics!

Clean-Up Time ... My Dry Tropics Garden Journal, Week 4, 2012.

Date:  January 28, 2012.



Season:  mid-Summer and 'wet' season.




Decent rain has finally arrived, but it hasn't been the usual all-day-long wet season torrential downpours.  We've had around  230 mm or 9 inches fall in the last two weeks but most of the rain has fallen in the late afternoons or overnight, so we only really get to see the dark gloomy skies towards the end of the day, when the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos are heading home to settle in for the night.  It's lovely listening to the rain falling as we're all drifting off to sleep.

What's not lovely is the humidity level in between the showers of rain!!!  Some days it gets up to 90% or more, and it's hard work doing any sort of gardening job when it's that bad.  You feel like you've been swimming for an hour just doing a little bit of weeding ... wet all over and completely exhausted!

This poor chap got himself into difficulties trying to cool off on a very hot day.  The Kookaburras often have a dip in the pond and obviously relish the experience.  Lately however, I've been slowly cleaning up the pond, draining off the water and digging out loads of muck and goo.  This youngster decided to have a dip and unfortunately got so drenched in the little bit of mucky water left at the bottom of the pool that he couldn't fly out again.

I had to rescue the poor thing with a broom and sweep him out of the pond and onto some nearby rocks to dry off.  The little one was shaking with fright and sat there in the sunshine for quite a long time.  I'd go and check on him every ten minutes or so, but eventually he'd flown off and I was left talking to myself!

Anyway, in between working at my day job and rescuing drenched birdlife, I've been pottering around the place doing a few little jobs that really needed to be done.  We don't worry about the big jobs, like mowing the grass, because that sort of work is just downright painful in this heat and humidity!  Thankfully our mowing crew does help out a little!

The trick to surviving gardening in the summertime here is to do a little bit of this and a little bit of that over several early mornings and late afternoons.  You have to make sure you wear a hat though, as the sun is fierce even at these times, and you absolutely must cover yourself in insect repellent, otherwise you'll be carried away by the mosquitoes and flies!!!  Ah, the pleasure of gardening in the tropics during Summer!

So I've been out there indulging in these pleasures over the last two weeks and trying to get things like the weeding done!  When the summertime rains come, of course the weeds appear magically in every nook and cranny.  I know they'll all die off once the dry season arrives, but in the meantime I have to at least make the place look a little less like an overgrown mess!  It's mainly the driveway beds that need weeding though, so it's not a job that takes forever.

I've slowly been making inroads on the rocky side of the driveway, and it's almost finished.  I should have it all done next weekend.  As well as tidying up this side of the driveway, I've been adding a few more plants in the bald spots left behind after the post-cyclone clean-up last year.  It's been a slow process too as I've been trying to improve the soil in these spots just a little, and then buying just a few plants here and there as I can afford them.

The Crotons, Pentas, Brunfelsia, Plumbago and Honeysuckle I added a few weeks ago have settled in well, and I'm pleased with the new additions during this round of planting.

I've now added a Kalanchoe pumila, a Polygala, a Rhoeo 'Stripe Me Pink' and Ixora 'Twilight Glow' in with the Crotons I had struck.  As you can see, the ground dries out very quickly here during a hot sunny summer's day, so the next job will be some mulching.

I'm just so pleased to see the Cosmos sulphureus taking off on the opposite side of the driveway.

This little patch is the result of a few seeds sent to me from a fellow Queensland gardener, Africanaussie.  They seem to have happily made this spot their home and are spreading very well.

In the new rock garden established at the end of the driveway just at the end of last year, all the plants I chose for that spot continue to do well now that the Wallabies are leaving them alone.  They just need another round of feeding once the rains have been and gone.

Under the new pergola out in the Courtyard Garden, I've started some planting as well. A very kind gardener, also a fellow Queenslander, sent me a little collection of Bromeliads which I've added to the area close to the pond.  I'm not very good with identification of Bromeliad varieties unfortunately, so I have no idea of their names.

In this little patch next to the Brom in the photo above, I threw in a couple of Belladonna bulbs that have done absolutely nothing in the pots they've been growing in for two years, and I scattered some Amaranthus seeds.  The seeds came up within a day and suddenly there's new growth on the Belladonna bulbs.  I'm keen to see how they all get along now!  To the right is the newly planted Strongylodon macrobotrys or Jade Vine.

The Jade Vine started throwing out new leaves after just a few days, so it seems quite happy to be in this spot too!  I just have to provide some netting on that post to give it some support as it climbs skywards to the pergola roof.

Down the hill driveway, the ferns and the Monstera are just loving all the rain and are looking happy once again.

There is one ugly spot though, left after the neighbour's tree crashed over the fence during Cyclone Yasi last year taking out a couple of little shrubs.  It's a tough spot ... very rocky and compacted and now in full sun for most of the day.  It's also often used as a thoroughfare by the Wallabies, so whatever I put in there will have to be something they don't find delectable!  I'm thinking perhaps some Oleander shrubs.  I've been wanting to find a spot for a couple for ages now and this seems like the perfect time and place.

Another huge job that I've finally got finished is the cleaning up of the Shadehouse Garden.  It's a regular job I have to do around this time every year.  The rains bring on a sudden burst of growth from the Giant Sword Fern in the shadehouse and it tends to take over.  Every year I have to get in there and rip out huge pile of it!  I also had to trim back the hanging baskets of Dragon Wing Begonias and Impatiens walleriana.

I do so like the tidy look when I'm done!  Here's a few photos taken as I wandered through the newly tidied Shadehouse Garden this weekend, starting from the doorway that brings you in from the front yard.

Looking straight ahead, standing at the doorway.

To the left

and to the right.

Walking further into the shadehouse ...

That's my teeny weeny little collection of Orchids on the cane table.

Walking down towards the end of the shadehouse that leads out onto the alley besides the pergola area.

Now we're at the end and turning around to look back to where we came in.

That's my teeny tiny collection of Rex Begonias on the shelf to the left.

Walking a little closer ... here they are.

OK, so now we're wandering back to the screen door where we started.  Watch your head.  There's a few hanging baskets of Streptocarpus caulescens and Dragon Wing Begonia.

Oh, it's so nice to be able to wander around without struggling through huge fern fronds!