Starting a new tropical garden from scratch

20 years ago

Hi All,

If all goes well, I'll be in a new location by June, and the most exciting prospect is that I now have the opportunity to build a garden from the ground up. This time, I hope to do it *properly* :)

Almost 800sq metres, large Poinciana and other trees at the rear, clay soil and a block that slopes -moderately- at the rear : my initial thoughts are:

- terracing, complete with retaining walls

- curved pathways to give a sense of mystery as the 'jungle' takes hold over time

- all grass removed and replaced with paving/raised beds

None of this is rocket science, but its a world apart from the approach I used with my existing garden (which, to be fair, has a charm of its own :))

In terms of plant choice, lots of native rainforest plants intermingled with the fab four - Heliconias, Gingers, Cordylines and Broms. The front will be more formal - tropical Grevillea in one bed, and a stand of Xanthostemons in the other. I've had a lot of success thus far with my closely-planted Aussie Southerns, and I'm hoping the Pendas will respond in much the same way - visitors to Roma St Parklands in Brissie can see what I'm on about in the Rainforest Walk - very closely planted for such large speciments.

Thats the plan at the moment - watch this space :)

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Comments (7)

alisonoz_gw
20 years ago
Good luck, how exciting. Best to look around and learn, for inspiration (says she who should have taken her own advice!)
If you are near Bris, a visit to the Wintle's Open Garden at Birkdale - November - I think would reward you with ideas, many of which you mention going very successfully there , even the "new" bits.
artiew
Original Author
20 years ago
Thanks Alison - I agree that you can take a lot away from the efforts of others, and I devour every article I can get my hands on. I'm hoping that GA's Gerry Coleby will return to segments on his efforts to establish his subtropical garden in Brissie, but they seem to have moved away from tropicals lately.

I'm in Brissie for a week in early May, but my time will be taken up with the course I'm attending (work, I'm afraid). Ideally, I'd like to see the Birkdale garden, and Suan Sawan in Bray Park, along with Dennis Hundscheidt's 'compound' on the southside. If only more landlords were like Dennis - planting a tropical wonderland and making maintenance a condition of the lease !

I lived in SE Qld for many years, and never once made the effort to visit the Ginger Factory at Buderim : now that I am 5 hours drive from the Sunshine Coast, I'm really kicking myself over that little oversight.

Cheers,

Artie
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Hi Lea, You really cant go past local knowledge, so I'd strongly suggest that you take a good look around gardens in your area. Nurseries are also helpful, but you have to balance their advice against their profit motive - the good ones will make recommendations based solely on the best possible outcome for you. I also look at council landscaping - the plants might be doing it tough, but its surprising to see how well many species perform in the harshest of conditions. My current block has the same characteristics you've described, without the advantage of North-South orientation. My experience has been that the following do well in clay, and will be excellent foundation plants within 2-3 years of planting (from a 6" pot): - Xanthostemon Chrysanthus (Golden Penda) : takes the brunt of the afternoon Rocky sun and just looks sensational, even without flowers. Not so much as a single pest, despite the exotic Syzygium opposite being regularly gnawed on :) - Syzygium Australe Southern Form (Aussie Southern) : all LillyPillies arent the same, and this has a fantastic growth rate. I also like Wilsonii and a host of others, but this is the pick for a site such as yours, IMO. - Murrayas : both exotic and the local species - fast growers, tough-as-nails and great foliage / scented flowers. Others might suggest wattles, palms etc as pioneer plants - again, you need to see what works in *your* location. Be very careful in your choices re large trees - in addition to issues with roots and falling branches, I'm coming to the realisation that too *much* shade might be just as difficult a challenge as having too little. Having stood in a baking 40deg backyard 18 months ago, this was inconceivable, buts its definitely an issue with the new block. I'm also going to try wire trellis and climbers at the new place : my lone Pandorea Pandorana was never given the start it deserved here, but has hung in there magnificently. There are a host of exotic climbers, too - my personal preference is for natives where possible. Speaking to a local gardener recently, I was reminded of the importance of regularly checking the acidity of your soil - I started at 6.5, but all the compost, fertiliser, watering etc is bound to have an impact. He told me of a mate who grew 5 acres of lucerne purely to provide compost to his own garden - thats one serious gardener :) I believe that the main challenge facing all mainland gardeners at the moment isnt soil, plant choice or orientation - its rainfall. I remember Coffs as a lush, subtropical paradise with abundant rain - I sincerely hope that remains the case while you establish your own oasis. Cheers, Artie
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Rose_Qld
20 years ago
Great stuff; may I be a nosy parker and ask if this is still in cQ?
Cheers
Rose
artiew
Original Author
20 years ago
No problems, Rose :)

Yes, its on the northside of the thriving metropolis known as the 'Beef Capital' - about 2km from where I am at the moment, to be precise :)

Rocky's increasingly dry years worry me, but driving past sprinklers in the *middle* of the day banishes that concern - my last 'dummy' water bill was less than $7, so I'm confident that I can double my watering and still be ahead of the woeful practices of many landowners (public and private) in Rocky.

As for the clay and the Poinciana roots, its just part of the challenge, and will make the finished result that much more glorious :)

Seeya,

Artie
ashmeri
20 years ago
Artie , will you still be in the Rocky council area or will you have moved into the Livingstone Shire ?
Will make a bit of a difference to your water bill.
Good luck with the new garden, you will have a great time selecting plants for it.
Marion
User
20 years ago
How wonderful to be starting off again.
What a great time you will have selecting all your plants.
Good luck on your new venture....MM
artiew
Original Author
20 years ago
Thanks MM and Marion.

Yes, I'm still within the boundaries of Rocky Shire - unless they've moved Rockonia Road and surrounding streets :)

Bit of a culture shock, leaving Fabulous Frenchville and all, but them's the breaks ! BTW, the Rocky real estate market is going like a freight train at the moment, at least in the sub-200K range. I suspect that another 12 months will see buyers in this bracket restricted to floodprone areas.....

Still the cheapest population centre on the East Coast, I'm told, and a better buy than Emerald and other towns in the midst of the mining boom.

Starting a new tropical garden from scratch

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Starting a new tropical garden from scratch

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