This is the fourth post about the various parts of my dry tropics garden here in north -eastern Oz. For the previous parts, please click on the 'All About My Place' tab above this post. Alright now for the next instalment ....
The western side of my house is set into a section of rocky hillside ... which could have meant an ugly view from the windows on that side. This is not the case, however. The entire length of this western side has a greenhouse or shadehouse area attached.
The way we use greenhouses here in north Queensland is a little bit different to the way there are generally used. They're not used as a 'hothouse', as is the case in the northern hemisphere, but used more as a 'coolhouse'. They are covered in shadecloth that blocks out most of the sun's UV rays, giving much needed protection from that really hot and intense summer sun, and providing relief from the heat thus making the area inside a little cooler than the outdoors.
My Greenhouse/Shadehouse Garden area attached to the western facing wall of my house, makes a noticeable difference to the indoor temperatures on that side of the house. It provides a cool spot to grow many plants which would not survive out in the garden, especially during our horrible summers. It also provides a break from the winds we get around here. It's a lovely place to potter around in during the Summer when the sun's gone down - quite cool!
I've included a short video clip that gives some idea of what this area is like ... this was shot at the end of September which was our first Spring month. (Just a quick note: please scroll down and turn off the Playlist music ... on the sidebar ... as this will interfere with my commentary on the video clip).
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
My Place - Part 3: My Driveway Garden Beds.
While vista shots are commonplace amongst so many garden blogs, they are most definitely NOT common on my blog. The position of this property ... it sits on the side of a rocky granite hill
... and the conditions here ... including non-existent soil of any worth or depth and the long hot, dry weather for most of the year ... make it almost impossible to have long meandering garden beds filled with great colour, texture and seasonal interest. For those readers who want those sort of long views ... you have definitely chosen the wrong blog.
Garden beds on this property are few and far between ... and were created long before hubbie and I moved in here. Those garden beds are now completely compacted following years of heat and drought with occasional monsoonal wet seasons ... the soil that was bought onto the property to create those garden beds has been properly cooked, pummelled and beaten into submission and now pretty much resembles concrete!!!! I actually yearn to get out and dig into soil with a shovel!
Since my interest in gardening was only re-vitalized around two years ago now, my efforts have centred on adding lots of potted plants to the garden areas close to the house ... my Courtyard Garden and my Greenhouse/Shadehouse Garden which I have written about in a previous post - An Inside-Out Garden View
I have not paid all that much attention to the other long-ago established, rather boring and uninteresting garden beds around the property. Over the years since we moved here, quite a few plants have disappeared from these garden beds ... mainly the result of low rainfall and the watering restrictions that are in place in my part of the world. Whatever was growing in those garden beds just had to survive without my help ... or perish and disappear forever.
Two of those poor unloved garden beds are the Driveway Garden Beds that flank the rather long entrance to our property. These beds have been watered very sparingly over the years ... the irrigation system that sits in those beds is only turned on every two months or so during the 'dry' season (which lasts for anything up to nine months of the year) and the continued existence of the plants in these beds rests almost entirely on the rainfall we receive during our 'wet' season (which usually only lasts for a few weeks at the end of Summer).
There are no gorgeous perennial flowers or any underplantings whatsoever. The planting does not change ... unless something dies!! The only noticeable change would be when some of the shrubs or trees are in bloom .... otherwise it looks the same most of the year .... GREEN. I need to make a note here ... I've tried to find photos of the various shrubs and trees at different times of the year when they are in bloom, otherwise it would be a pretty boring picture of this part of my garden.
Beginning outside the property from the street ...
you would see that the front gate is flanked by two Delonix regias (Poincianas). This is what they look like when they're flowering during our Summer:
Right behind those two sections of front fence are my two Calliandras (Powder Puffs), two Pseudomussaedas, an enormous Duranta, a stand of Golden Cane Palm and a Triangular Palm.
Pseudomussaenda flava (White Wing) with its' fabulous white bracts and little yellow flowers ....
.. and on the left side just inside the front fence, there's a Dypsis decaryi (Triangular Palm).
Going further down either side of the long driveway into the property are the two long garden beds. The one on the right side is edged with rocks.You can see from the photo below just how dry and desolate it is out there ... watering restrictions and our dry weather make it impossible to keep this part of the property looking lush and green all year!
These garden beds run the entire length of the dirt driveway, so let's take a wander and see what grows in the beds. They contain:
... lots of Chrysalidocarpus lutescens (Golden Cane Palms) ... around twenty stands, I think,
... a Licuala ramsayi (Australian Fan Palm),
... a few Codiaeum variegatum (Crotons),
... around six tall stands of Duranta repens shrubs, including two variegated ones, which all have beautiful purple flowers and orange berries at different times throughout the year,
... a few scraggly Graptophyllum pictum (Caricature shrubs),
... a couple of Schefflera arboricola ... Dwarf umbrella trees,
... a couple of clumps of Philodendron,.
.. a sprawling climbing clump of Epipremnum aureum syn. Scindapsus aureus (Pothos) which is growing on an old gum tree trunk,
... a Polyscias fruticosa (Ming Aralia),
... a Malvaviscus arboreus (Lipstick Hibiscus),
.
For Part 4 of My Place, please click on this link My Greenhouse / Shadehouse Garden
... and the conditions here ... including non-existent soil of any worth or depth and the long hot, dry weather for most of the year ... make it almost impossible to have long meandering garden beds filled with great colour, texture and seasonal interest. For those readers who want those sort of long views ... you have definitely chosen the wrong blog.
Garden beds on this property are few and far between ... and were created long before hubbie and I moved in here. Those garden beds are now completely compacted following years of heat and drought with occasional monsoonal wet seasons ... the soil that was bought onto the property to create those garden beds has been properly cooked, pummelled and beaten into submission and now pretty much resembles concrete!!!! I actually yearn to get out and dig into soil with a shovel!
Since my interest in gardening was only re-vitalized around two years ago now, my efforts have centred on adding lots of potted plants to the garden areas close to the house ... my Courtyard Garden and my Greenhouse/Shadehouse Garden which I have written about in a previous post - An Inside-Out Garden View
I have not paid all that much attention to the other long-ago established, rather boring and uninteresting garden beds around the property. Over the years since we moved here, quite a few plants have disappeared from these garden beds ... mainly the result of low rainfall and the watering restrictions that are in place in my part of the world. Whatever was growing in those garden beds just had to survive without my help ... or perish and disappear forever.
Two of those poor unloved garden beds are the Driveway Garden Beds that flank the rather long entrance to our property. These beds have been watered very sparingly over the years ... the irrigation system that sits in those beds is only turned on every two months or so during the 'dry' season (which lasts for anything up to nine months of the year) and the continued existence of the plants in these beds rests almost entirely on the rainfall we receive during our 'wet' season (which usually only lasts for a few weeks at the end of Summer).
There are no gorgeous perennial flowers or any underplantings whatsoever. The planting does not change ... unless something dies!! The only noticeable change would be when some of the shrubs or trees are in bloom .... otherwise it looks the same most of the year .... GREEN. I need to make a note here ... I've tried to find photos of the various shrubs and trees at different times of the year when they are in bloom, otherwise it would be a pretty boring picture of this part of my garden.
Beginning outside the property from the street ...
you would see that the front gate is flanked by two Delonix regias (Poincianas). This is what they look like when they're flowering during our Summer:
Right behind those two sections of front fence are my two Calliandras (Powder Puffs), two Pseudomussaedas, an enormous Duranta, a stand of Golden Cane Palm and a Triangular Palm.
Here's a closer look at the Calliandras ... Calliandra haematocephala (Red Powder Puff) on the left side of the driveway ...
On the both sides there are two Pseudomussaendas ...
... and to the right is Calliandra surinamensis (Pink Powder Puff):
These two Calliandras begin flowering in late Autumn and will continue to bloom right through to the end of Winter or the beginning of Spring.
This is the enormous Duranta repens just inside the front fence which now stands at over 5 metres and is in bloom for most of the year and, for some reason, has darker leaves and flowers than all the other Durantas.
These two Calliandras begin flowering in late Autumn and will continue to bloom right through to the end of Winter or the beginning of Spring.
This is the enormous Duranta repens just inside the front fence which now stands at over 5 metres and is in bloom for most of the year and, for some reason, has darker leaves and flowers than all the other Durantas.
This is my showiest Duranta repens.
On the both sides there are two Pseudomussaendas ...
Going further down either side of the long driveway into the property are the two long garden beds. The one on the right side is edged with rocks.You can see from the photo below just how dry and desolate it is out there ... watering restrictions and our dry weather make it impossible to keep this part of the property looking lush and green all year!
These garden beds run the entire length of the dirt driveway, so let's take a wander and see what grows in the beds. They contain:
... a Ficus benjamina (Weeping Fig Tree),
... a few Codiaeum variegatum (Crotons),
... a couple of tall white Gum trees,
... a few clumps of Russelia
.
.. a large white Bauhinia variegata and a Tabebuia impetiginosa - which you can see in bloom here in this photo taken back during our Winter.
Right beside that garage at the end of the driveway there are several Acalyphas ...
... a Spathodea campanulata (African Tulip Tree) with its' strange tulip-shaped orange flowers ....
and finally, at the end of the driveway, standing behind the garage, is a Jacaranda mimosifolia which has just started to bloom ....
and a couple more Delonix regias (Poincianas) which won't bloom until Summer.
To end off, I'll add a few 'vista shots' taken at the beginning of the year after the 'wet' season ... hence the green grass you can see! That is a rare sight during the rest of the year. Oh, to be able to get out there and dig and plant ... if only I had a magic wand!
For Part 4 of My Place, please click on this link My Greenhouse / Shadehouse Garden
Sunday, September 19, 2010
My Garden in Flower - Winter 2010 (June to August)
Time to update the record of my garden through the Seasons. Whilst we don't experience four distinct seasons here, we do have two ... the 'wet' and the 'dry'. Our 'dry' season usually begins in Autumn and lasts until early Summer ... but this year there has been a slight change in the weather pattern. Our 'dry' this year has not been as dry as usual. Over Autumn and Winter this year, my area of north-east Oz received around 300mm of rain. This is not typical at all ... nor were the number of dreary overcast days!!! Usually during the 'dry' we have endless clear blue-sky days ... but not this year.
There was also a slight change in the temperature range ... with slightly warmer temps. than usual. The Winter temps. this year remained mostly around 26 deg C (78F) during the daytime and around 17 deg C (52F) in the night-time ... although there was the occasional below 10 deg C night. Given these variations in weather conditions, it's time to take a look back at what was going on in the garden during Winter ... smack bang in the middle of an atypical 'dry' season.
Most of the large shrubs around the property, like 'Snowflake' and 'Roseflake' Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, the Ixoras, the Mussaendas, the Poincianas and the Plumeria, take a break over Winter, but there are a few large trees that do flower during this time of year.
In early Winter the magnificent Bauhinia variegata 'Alba' begins its' show. It will bloom right through mid- to late-Winter and there will still be a few flowers in early Spring.
The Spathodea campanulata, or African Tulip Tree, is another great Winter bloomer. You will spot these tulip-shaped bright orange flowers all over the top of the tree for most of the Winter months.
Yet another of the large trees around the property that flowers during Winter is the beautiful Tabebuia impetiginosa. This year, probably as a result of the unseasonal rainfall, my Tab and the Tabs next door had two flushes of flowers. They bloomed from the end of June right through July ... and then the second flush suddenly appeared at the end of August!! It was so unexpected ... and so lovely to see!
The large Calliandra shrubs display their unusual powderpuff flowers all during our Winter. Calliandra haematocephala and surinamensis usually begin flowering in late Autumn and will continue producing blooms through to late Winter ... although the Pink Calliandra (Calliandra surinamensis) will bloom on into Spring most years.
A medium-sized shrub that only ever flowers during our Winter here is the fabulous Euphorbia leucocephala ... the Snowflake bush. Every Winter it puts on a great display of these bright white bracts and tiny little flowers ... and this display lasts pretty much all through Winter.
A much smaller shrub that grows in another of the outdoor garden beds is this dwarf Azalea and it has put on a fantastic display all through the Winter ... the last of the blooms are only now fading away.
Violas and Petunias ....
Snapdragons ...
Plectranthus 'Mona Lavender' ...
Calibrachoa ...
Crossandra and Angelonia ...
and lots more Pansies and Violas.
Of course, the Begonias continued to bloom through Winter ...
To end, I'm adding a link to a post I did last Winter just for comparison. Take note of the words in the last paragraph, where I talk about the temperature range during a typical Winter. You will see that this varies significantly to the temperatures we've experienced this Winter. This one was definitely warmer, more overcast ... with a sprinkling of rain thrown in for good measure!
There was also a slight change in the temperature range ... with slightly warmer temps. than usual. The Winter temps. this year remained mostly around 26 deg C (78F) during the daytime and around 17 deg C (52F) in the night-time ... although there was the occasional below 10 deg C night. Given these variations in weather conditions, it's time to take a look back at what was going on in the garden during Winter ... smack bang in the middle of an atypical 'dry' season.
Most of the large shrubs around the property, like 'Snowflake' and 'Roseflake' Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, the Ixoras, the Mussaendas, the Poincianas and the Plumeria, take a break over Winter, but there are a few large trees that do flower during this time of year.
My new baby Poinsettias bloomed brilliantly through the Winter months as well ... as a matter of fact, they're both still blooming now in early Spring. I just can't wait for them to mature and grow much larger.
Another great Winter bloomer is Kalanchoe blossfeldiana.
There are also the plants that flower all year long scattered around the outdoor garden beds ... plants such as Pentas, Russelias and Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost'.
The other Winter blooms can be found either in the Shadehouse/Greenhouse Garden or the Courtyard Garden on potted plants such as:
Azalea ...
Bracteantha bracteata, Scutteliaria suffrutescens, Pelargonium peltatums, Dahlias ....
Pelargonium 'Passion', Impatiens walleriana, Verbena, Bromeliad and Pansies ...
Salvia splendens ...
as did the Gazanias.
I also had some success with the bulbs I had planted at the beginning of Winter. It was limited success though ... mostly in part, I'm sure, because of the consistently warmer temperatures we experienced throughout the Winter this year.
So, that was the Winter here in my north-east Australian garden ... now for a short video that shows some of the flowers blooming out in the courtyard potted plant garden on the very last day of Winter.
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