flowers – Paradisus Garden Lovers

Xmas Sparkles ..

Mexican Rock Orchids – Schomburgkia tibicinis an easy and tough December garden hero .. TAKE A LOOK !

Xmas Orchids .. ? Yes & so easy …

Orchids .. we love them Garden Lovers, but where are the ones that are easy to grow in the home garden, aside from Crucifix Orchids … right ?

WELL THERE ARE MORE.. enter a rather miraculous tribe of Mexican Rock Orchids, the Schomburgkia from humid summers in parts of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia to Ecuador at slight elevation; that equate to most of cool to warm subtrops East Coast Australia. Requiring direct winter sun and now known as a new genus Myrmecophila tibicinis is a species that will adjust to half day shade within drip-lines of host trees as epiphytes. Also lives on rock as lithophytes out in the full blast, where our scorch prone Dendrobium speciosum would be disappointing come December.

Tree stumps are a welcome perch for Schomburgkia superbiens another species, that flowers a little earlier in Spring and is also known synonymously merged with Laelia. Make a stabilising divot from the stump sky face for either of these species to rest in; then build up beneath with orchid compost and course bark chip to level with the stump top face. Mine has a sheltered east facing aspect but both have hard boat shaped, highly resistant leaves that would accept more exposure.

Schomburgkia superbiens long fishing rods that move in the breeze ..

Xmas Annual Stars of December ..

At this time of year leading up to entertaining with family and friends, the garden pulls a bit more focus with emphasis on outdoor dining. That’s why it’s good to keep your garden open, with sunny plots reserved for season annual colour. This prevents overcrowding of permanent planting, where some would need to be removed to avoid congestion. Think of it as a trade off of permanent plants, for short cycle annuals that bring welcome ‘burst’ to the garden when you need it most.

Newer compact, non-invasive hybrid Petunias

Solonostemon hybrid formerly coleus, for complementary foliage colour

Hydrangeas… the supreme Xmas Garden fave

Hydrangea macrophylla – ‘Ne Plus Ultra’ white, pale pink to green.. TAKE A LOOK !

Xmas, family & friends, hydrangeas, Xmas Bush and agapanthus …. they go together … right ? And this year has been exceptionally kind, sans hot westerly winds that can turn gorgeous to ghastly in an afternoon.

So far so good in this Paradisus design at Willoughby for long time dream clients. where an old French variety ‘Ne Plus Ultra’ flourishes from hydrangea queen Lesley White. A good tough macrophylla ‘mop-top’ like the others but with the added attraction of a colour merge from lustrous ivory at Xmas to rose pastel with cherry stains and lime green hues coming into the April/May garden.

So wishing everyone a safe and fun end of year break at Xmas time, New Years Eve and into the holidays. Hope these posts help you make an even better garden to enjoy. If family, friends or work colleagues are struggling with theirs, ask them to head over to paradisus_sea_changer for inspiration and maybe .. I could help them too ..!

Good performers in the May garden .. for you !!

Holmskioldia sanguinea lutea – Chartreuse Chinese Hat

Garden Lovers, did you know there’s another interesting near evergreen shrub to brighten the late garden that’s flowering now.. ? For an intriguing fresh chartreuse splash in the May garden, Holmskioldia sanguinea lutea or Gold Chinese Hat from the lower Himalaya & Myanmar is for you ! I’ve used it here in the ‘Sea-Changer’ garden in the Sun Trap plot that receives northern sun all year but it would also tolerate half day sun as a an upright to lax, 2m shrub with a cut after flowers to bring new canes for the following season.

Gold Chinese Hat combines well with yellow variegated flashed bromeliad (alcantarea)

Just nearby and for combined ‘pop’ at the same time of year, you could use Barlaria cristata ‘Lavander Lace’ as a really useful sub-shrub to around 1.5m with a cloud of pretty, striped, mini trumpets.

Soooooo pretty, just as the worst of the heat has passed and we look into the garden for some fresh seasonal change.

‘Planty Fierce ’18’ …. was a fun day

‘Sea-Changer’ mirror deck with Bruce Buddha

‘Planty Fierce ’18’ at the end of last month was a sparkling Autumn day, refreshed by an early shower and internet was high from all visitors, especially this young one having a closer look at the mirror Buddha on the long deck looking down to ‘Sea-Changer’s’ Shade Hut.

Talking to Ross & Chris Bolwell from ‘Bloom’n Greenery’ nursery

Nothing extinguishes interest and plenty of people arrived into brilliant sunshine in the Sun Trap plot where I spoke to many on questions around how to make their home gardens even better !

The unirrigated “L” shaped, west facing, wrap around garden surrounding ‘Sea-Changer’

The 2pm ‘Walk & Talk’ brought forward many interesting questions, like how to make a ‘green-fence’ alternative to fence palings using Solandra longiflora over black pvc coated mesh. Thanks to all PF ’18 Helpers and Peter & Ruth Donnelly’s fabulous Coachwood sales tables loaded with new and interesting ‘must haves..’.

Sub-tropical New Zealand

Heliconia bourgaeana, Russell Fransham's Matapouri Bay garden New Zealand — Heliconia bourgaeana, Russell Fransham’s Matapouri Bay garden New Zealand

Fellow Designer Russell Fransham at Matapouiri Bay, just north of Whangarei in New Zealand’s north island,

…where I found myself wandering around an impressive home garden of some 20 years or so. Interesting to see a few of the cool tollerant ginger family in heliconias like H. bourgaeana (shown beneath), H. subulata cv Thaysiana and H. tortuosa ‘Red Twist’ all flowering very well. I find the easy occurance of these in Russell’s garden very encouraging for us Australia’s east coast where minimum winter overnights would rarely descend beneath 7 or 8 degrees, against the Bay of Islands cooler 2 degrees and less.

A nice smaller clumping palm in Dypsis baronii, (like a better version of Golden Cane Palm) combined well with bromeliads like Canistropsis billbergioides cv. Citron. and a lot of interesting tillandsia and vriesea aside from many spectacular flowering shrubs in Brugmansia hybrids & species like B. sanguinea.