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)).

🤔 The Jobs I'd Been Avoiding

At the start of this month - before the heat and humidity spiked - I finally tackled two messy corners of outdoor beds, one near the shade house and one near the car shed.  

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.  

Near the car shed, an extremely vigorous climber (weed) had migrated from the yard next door and had literally smothered the top of two Hibiscus rosa-sinensis shrubs.  Removing it meant shearing off half of both shrubs, then digging out the roots of the climber.  Brutal, but necessary - the only way to give the Hibiscus a fair chance to rebound.

After two days of cutting back and clearing out, I could step back and breathe a sigh of relief.  I'm fairly sure the shrubs did too.  

The Mussaenda and the Lagerstroemias near the shade house have now sprouted new growth after their severe haircuts, and the Hibiscus is starting to recover as well.

👍 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.

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

The Start Of The Dry Season ... My Dry Tropics Garden Journal ... Mid-Autumn, Week 18, May 2025

Garden Journal Entry - Week 18

This week's weather:

Seasons:  mid-Autumn & start of our Dry Season
Daytime Temps:  26°C - 30°C            
Night Time Temps: 18°C - 22°C
Humidity Levels: around 70%     
Hours of daylight:  11 hours
Rainfall:  5 mm  (well below an inch) 

After a month or so away, I’ve returned home to much cooler weather—both by day and by night. The relative humidity has dropped significantly, signalling the beginning of our dry season. The lush, rainy days have given way to a much-needed break from the constant downpours.

Looking out to the foothills from the top garden

April Rainfall and Seasonal Shifts

I've been told that April started with steady rainfall, bringing around 100 mm (4 inches) of rain in the first week. After that, the skies cleared, and bright blue skies returned, with sunshine gracing us from dawn until dusk. As we step into May, the rain has barely amounted to 5 mm (less than an inch), marking the transition to drier times.

My native Sterculia quadrifida (commonly known as Peanut Tree) is dropping its leaf load
and the tiny yellow flower sprays have started appearing.

Seasonal changes are already noticeable around the garden. The native Sterculia quadrifida (Peanut Tree) has started dropping its leaves and showing off its small yellow flowers.  The deciduous Plumerias (Frangipanis) have also started shedding their leaves - both are clear signs that the cool weather has arrived. 

Native Acacia in full bloom - our Aussie colours of green and gold

Meanwhile, the native Acacias are in full bloom, adding vibrant splashes of colour to the bush land surrounding our home. 

The mornings now feel refreshing, and I find myself spending more time in the garden each day, soaking in the cooler air and making the most of the dry spell.  

May Winds and Tree Debris

May is typically the time when wind gusts take centre stage in our weather. Now that the rainless period has begun and the skies are completely clear, Mother Nature sends in the wind gusts as a herald to the start of the dry season. These gusts usually begin around 15 km/h in the morning, building up to 24 km/h by midday before slowly tapering off in the afternoon.

Fallen Eucalptus platyphylla limb and the debris piled up on the other side of the driveway

Upon my return home, I found quite a bit of tree debris scattered along our entrance driveway. The very tall Eucalyptus platyphylla that graces the driveway garden decided to drop a massive limb. Thankfully, the main part of the limb fell in the best spot possible underneath the enormous tree.  Some of the attached branches did unfortunately cause some minor damage to the fence, but it could have been far worse.

We have decided to leave the huge limb where it fell, after clearing away the smaller dead branches from it along with the branches that were broken off from an understorey tree. 

The fallen limb will remain in place and this spot will now become my new garden project

The Eucalyptus platyphylla limb is just far too heavy to move, and it adds an interesting feature to the garden bed.  I'm now thinking of creating a succulent garden in and around the limb, so it's time to do some research into shade-loving succulents that will thrive in that area among the leaf litter.

Gardening Tasks:  A Return To Routine

Since returning, I’ve tackled a few lighter tasks. Weeding has been a gentler job with the onset of the dry season. I’ve added a fresh layer of sugar cane mulch to the garden beds along the driveway, which should help suppress any further weed growth. 

The Chrysalidorcarpus lutescens (Golden Cane Palm) seedlings that have sprouted in abundance are the only weeds demanding immediate attention. Pulling these out is a recurring task, but one that’s easy to manage at the moment.

Trimming back and cleaning up in the shade house garden - much needed after our wet season

In the shade house garden, I’ve given quite a few of the potted plants some serious trimming. After the wet season, the Coleus in particular had become lanky and unsightly, with a mealy bug infestation remaining on one plant. Some of the Coleus stems had grown so long that they were draping over neighbouring pots! Now that they’ve been cut back, the plants should start recovering.

Trouble In The Shade House Garden

A more persistent issue in the shade house garden has been the rapid spread of Strobilanthes reptans (formerly known as Hemigraphis reptans). 

This creeping plant has been overtaking patches of bark mulch and spilling over into the spaces between the pavers, becoming quite a nuisance. 

In this photo, taken during the shade house garden clean up, you can see the Strobilanthes spreading out all over the pavers!  

I’ve continued trying to pull it out, but it’s proving difficult to manage. Hopefully, with the dry season ahead, the plant will start to die back on its own.

Pest Patrol

Grasshopper munching evident on Coleus (top left), Plectranthus (top right),
Begonia nelumbiifolia (bottom left) and Pentas (bottom right).

 

On a positive note, the marauding grasshoppers that had previously wreaked havoc on so many of my potted plants, in the shade house and in the courtyard gardens, have disappeared. Their damage is still visible on my Cordylines, Impatiens, Plectranthus, Pentas, and Begonia nelumbiifolia (Lilypad Begonia), but with the pests gone, these plants can begin to bounce back and regain their health.

Wildlife and New Discoveries

Yesterday, after spending a couple of hours doing some much-needed weeding along the driveway and trimming back in the shade house garden, I was treated to a delightful sight. 

A small group of Agile Wallabies—two males, four females, and two joeys—were grazing happily on the lush growth of weeds in the side yard. 

It was lovely to witness, as they feasted on the greenery in peace.

This Week's Garden Highlights:

• The Plectranthus babies I potted up ages ago are now flowering beautifully, adding a burst of colour to the space.

• The Acacias are still in bloom out in the bushland, with their golden blossoms standing out against the clear blue sky—such a cheerful sight!

• A Collared Whipsnake seems to have taken up residence in our courtyard garden, as I’ve spotted it a few times in the last couple of days. 

It's always fascinating to observe wildlife finding its way into the garden.

As we head further into the dry season, the garden will require less maintenance, and I look forward to a bit of respite from the usual rush of gardening tasks. However, there’s always something to keep me busy—and with the cooler weather, it’s easier to enjoy the process once again.

Until next time,

🌸 Happy gardening from the northern dry tropics!

Re-Discovering The Joy Of Gardening ... My Dry Tropics Garden Journal, Mid-Summer, Week 1, January 2025

It's been a very long time since my last blog post.  Ten years in fact, and a lot has happened in my corner of Australia between then and now!  All that aside, I'm so very happy to be back working in my garden full time now and I have every intention of re-activating my garden journal for 2025.

After a 40 year career in education, I've retired, and my time is now my own!!  I can think of nothing better for my emotional, mental, spiritual and physical health than getting back to nurturing all the garden spaces that have fallen into decline through no fault of their own.  I'm definitely in my happy place when I'm outdoors wandering around our place and tending the garden.  So ... 

Garden Journal Entry: January 4, 2025

As we step into a new year, I thought it fitting to begin this journal by looking back and reflecting on the last decade of gardening at my place. I'll keep it as concise as possible while sharing the highs and lows of the journey.

The Impact of Life's Demands

Between 2015 and 2023, my work commitments increased significantly due to changes in my role in education and a return to full-time work. Balancing these demands left little time for gardening. Family life, too, grew more complex and demanding, with children and grandchildren navigating their own challenges. Time with them became a priority whenever I wasn’t working, leaving even less room for serious garden care. As a result, the garden often took a back seat, becoming overwhelming to manage and leading to significant losses and transformations.

Losses in the Garden

The most poignant of these was the loss of two magnificent Mussaendas. The pink one in the front garden, and the stunning white one at the back of the courtyard, both gave up the ghost. These towering beauties, standing at around six feet and adorned with blooms during their prime, had been a part of my garden for two decades. Perhaps they simply reached the end of their natural lifespan, but their absence left a noticeable void.

The Tabebuias (on the left) were ripped to shreds during Cyclone Kirrily
and the Poinciana (on the right) simply fell over and crashed to the ground! 

The loss of large mature trees was another significant challenge. In 2018, we lost a 15-foot Acacia (outside the shade house garden) and a 30-foot Poinciana (at the end of the car shed), which drastically altered the light conditions in the garden spaces underneath. Many plants that had thrived in the shade of these trees struggled or perished in the new environment. 

Then came the devastating Tropical Cyclone Kirrily in 2024, which wreaked havoc on the property. Several towering trees, including two 20-foot Tabebuias, were lost, and the Durantas lining our driveway were reduced from their majestic 10-foot height to a humble three feet due to heavy pruning necessitated by storm damage.

There were also many shrubs and ground cover plants that died off

in the gravel-driveway garden beds (Hibiscus, Russelia, Cuphea), 

in the front-of-house garden beds (Galphimia, Hibiscus, Azalea) 

and the back-of-the-courtyard garden bed (Acalypha, Aralia).

The Courtyard Garden’s Decline

The courtyard garden, once the heart of my gardening efforts and a space of vibrant beauty, suffered greatly during this time. Before 2015, it boasted over 100 potted plants, each meticulously cared for. 

By last year, that number had dwindled to just 10, most of which were struggling to survive. This once-thriving sanctuary became a shadow of its former self.

The Shade House Takeover

The shade house garden experienced its own challenges. The relentless growth of the giant Sword Fern turned it into an almost impassable jungle. The fern’s dominance stifled other plants and made accessing the space a chore I rarely undertook. It felt as though the garden itself was reflecting the chaos and neglect brought on by the whirlwind of life.

Moving Forward

As I reflect on these changes, I’m reminded of the resilience of gardens and the potential for renewal. While the past decade brought significant losses and challenges, it also provides an opportunity to rebuild and re-imagine these spaces. My hope for this year is to rediscover the joy of gardening, one small step at a time, and to nurture these spaces back to life.

Until next time,

🌸 Happy gardening from the northern dry tropics!

Hungry Hordes ... My Dry Tropics Journal ... Week 35, 2011

 Date:  August 28th


Season:  end of Winter and 'dry' season

While the Winter sunshine bathes the garden in bright light and the skies overhead remain bright blue, I'm taking every opportunity to be out and about the place.  This is our last Winter month and while many southerners will be jumping for joy with the thought of Spring just around the corner, here in the north we're not all that thrilled.  Spring heralds the start of the heat once again and the sun's intensity ramps up a notch or two.  I've already started turning on the fans inside the house in the afternoons!

So, as we head into the really warm part of the year, I've taken the opportunity to do some planting in the new rock garden now to let the new plants get a little settled in.  This was the spot where opportunity knocked after the cyclone and I had the chance to create a new garden bed which is a rare occurrence on this property.  After all the prep work, including carting in some of the readily available rocks scattered around here, I had an area ready for some tough sun, heat and humidity hardy plants.

I'd taken some time to think through what would survive in this new garden bed.  There's no irrigation system in this section, so apart from the watering it would receive in the establishment phase, this bed would have little chance of sustaining anything other than extremely waterwise plants.  So, I bought a few things from a local nursery and I had a couple of plants I'd started from cuttings to throw into the mix.  They are all in their new home now.

At the back of this new area, next to the Pseuderanthemum, I've planted a marvellous Melaleuca linariifolia, sometimes referred to as 'Snow In Summer'.  It's a small tree that's native to my home state and when it eventually grows up, it will be covered in creamy white flowers all during our summer.  It's a baby now and hard to spot, but I'm hoping it will settle in well.

Starting at the left of the top photo, there's a Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' or Purple Fountain Grass, with a Gardenia radicans in the front and a little behind that off to the right is the Caesalpinia pulcherrima.

Off to the right of the patch in the photo above ...

... the Pseuderanthemum has little Alternanthera 'Tricolour' planted around it.

There's a couple of Galphimia glauca shrubs, right next to the Fountain Grass, and a Turnera subulata in the front of those.  Down the front is a patch of Gazanias, with Gazania 'Sahara' right next door.  I've deliberately chosen lots of bright yellows for the middle of this new garden area.  I wanted something a bit more cheerful at the end of the driveway.

The 'Sahara' Gazania is middle top row of the collage.  It's a relatively new variety and has been bred in Australia as a plant that can withstand extended periods of dryness.   It's been billed as tough and reliable, so I'll be interested to see how it goes.

Galphimia glauca, seen on the far right of the second row above, is an extremely robust little shrub that tolerates full sun and high humidity very very well.  It has already proven how drought tolerant a plant it is as I've already got one little shrub in the front garden bed.

Turnera ulmifolia, seen on the far left of the bottom row, is known as a reliable drought tolerant plant and should do very well.  The Rudbeckia and Ixora 'Golden Ball' featured in the collage can be seen in the centre of the patch in the photo below.  I have no worries that they will both survive and flourish.

At the back of this section of yellows, off to the right there's this lovely Verbena ...

this gorgeous Thunbergia erecta 'Tru Blu' ...

and this Scutellaria ... which I picked up at the markets without a label unfortunately.  I'm not sure of its varietal name.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this new garden bed develops.  Sadly, there's already been a bit of a set-back ... thanks to a few hungry wallabies.

As it's our 'dry' season right now, the grasses in our yard and the surrounding bushland have withered and browned, and a lot of grass was also burnt off in the bushfire that swept across the adjoining hillside.

It's difficult for the little group of wallabies living around here to find a decent patch of grass to nibble on these days.

So, they've started searching for other little goodies to eat.  They do seem to like the leaves of the Gazanias ... not the flowers for some perculiar reason ... and they have nibbled all the Alternanthera plants down to a stub.  Having tried a product called 'De-Ter', which is supposed to deter creatures from nibbling on my plants and which failed miserably, I've decided I will have to erect some sort of barrier around this new garden bed to these poor plants have a chance of growing up!

I'll have to do the same thing with the bottom tier of the tiered garden beds outside my shadehouse.  It seems that Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' is a treat no self-respecting hungry wallaby can resist ... oh and apparently while they were busy gnawing away at that it seems that they thought they might as well eat the white Pentas to the ground and actually dig out and ravenously consume the Creeping Charlie as well.

It's not a great sight at the moment.

The wallabies also managed to eat the Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost' growing in pots in the Courtyard Garden, and they found another delicious treat ... my Gomphrena globosa.  Again, apparently the flowers are not all that tasty, but the leaves and stems ... mmmmm!!!!  All this means I've had to do a bit of re-arranging of pots out in the courtyard, but I'm pleased with the way it's looking at the moment.

I'm managing to keep on top of the watering needs for all the pots out there, and wallaby damage aside, most of the plants are flourishing.  

The potted Azaleas always put on a great display towards the end of our Winter.  The Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' is flowering beautifully and those Shock Wave Petunias are a fabulous addition to this corner.

The Salvia 'Dusky Hues' are carrying on with their show, as are the Crossandras. The Lavender is just now showing the first tiny little flowerhead and the two Plectranthus 'Mona Lavenders' are beginning to put on their next display of flowers.  The foliage plants in the background are adding lots of great colour.

Out in front of the pergola the potted annuals have started flowering and will be in full swing in a matter of weeks.

I can't wait for those double 'Bonanza' Petunias to fill out and for the Gazanias to bloom.

In front of the Cycad the New Guinea Impatiens and the Begonia semperflorens are putting on their best effort.

I planted up a whole heap of Oriental and Asiatic Liliums just three weekends ago ...

... along with some Cosmos seeds I had been sent from a couple of kind fellow bloggers.

They have all started pushing their heads above the soil. 

One of my gorgeous Begonias is in full bloom ...

... and the beautiful double Impatiens walleriana hybrid I bought last year has finally shown the variegated blooms it was covered in when I originally purchased it.  After that first flush of lovely red and white splashed flowers, the Impatiens reverted back to just plain red blooms and I had almost given up hope of seeing these variegated ones again.  But it seems, re-potting and moving into a slightly sunnier spot has changed its mind about which flowers to show off.  I'm pleased to see these particular blooms back once more.

Elsewhere around the place, the cyclone-damaged trees and shrubs continue their slow, slow recovery, but it's good to see the signs of canopy growth once more in the tall trees left behind.  These trees, though still standing after Cyclone Yasi, were stripped of almost all their leaves and looked decidedly naked for months.  The leaves have returned and so have some of the birds that forage amongst these trees.