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Category: My Dry Tropics Garden | Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:38 am

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Last week was the final week of my mid-semester break and before the holidays I had made plans about just how I was going to spend the fortnight. Of course, you know what they say about the best laid plans. Some vile virus caught up with me and I was down for the count for around 10 days.

As the last week of my break approached the halfway mark, my craving to be out doing some decent work in the garden took over completely and I decided I just had to do something on the list. It was time to tackle the disaster that was the Shadehouse Garden.


Overgrown mess in the shadehouse ( photo / image / picture from Bernieh's Garden )

The Alocasia macrorrhiza or Giant Elephant's Ear was living up to its name and was about ready to lift the shadecloth roof. The Giant Sword Fern was in the midst of a take-over of the entire area. The poor Impatiens walleriana in the hanging baskets were swamped and bobbing up for air, and the plants growing around the clumps of Giant Sword Fern in the beds were almost invisible.


Trimming back in the shadehouse ( photo / image / picture from Bernieh's Garden )

So the mayhem began. First, I had to take out the potted plants that were sitting in these garden beds. It was a real struggle getting some of them out of their spots. They had become so root-bound that the roots had escaped through the holes in the bottom of the pots and had anchored themselves into the ground. It took some pushing and pulling to yank the pots out. Every single potted plant needed to be re-potted.

My Costus productus or Orange Spiral Ginger was potted up into a much larger pot with some Frittonia 'Red Vein'. My Costus speciosus variegata or Variegated Crepe Ginger was given a bigger pot to play around in, as were my Calatheas, Alpinia vittata and Anthurium.

I then cut most of the massive leaves off the Alocasia amazonica, leaving just one upright leaf. After that, I spent the rest of the day just hacking away at the enormous fronds of the Giant Sword Fern and trimming back all the clumps of Neomarica longifolia. Eventually the wilderness was tamed. Now I'm able to wander up and down without the need to take a hatchet with me to hack a pathway through the jungle.


Shadehouse Garden tidied up ( photo / image / picture from Bernieh's Garden )



Potted plants back in place in the Shadehouse Garden ( photo / image / picture from Bernieh's Garden )



Order restored in the Shadehouse Garden ( photo / image / picture from Bernieh's Garden )



All tidied up in the Shadehouse Garden ( photo / image / picture from Bernieh's Garden )






Last edited: Tue Aug 02, 2011 2:40 am

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eileen wrote on Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:26 am:

WOW that looks as though it was a mammoth task!! You've done a spectacular job though and your shadehouse garden is looking fantastic now. Well done.

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Bernieh wrote on Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:40 am:

Yes it was a big job, Eileen. The wet season we had earlier this year dumped a whole lot of rain in our region and the plants just went wild in the shadehouse. I rather enjoyed the clean-up though. It took the better part of a day to complete, but it was a joy to finally see the garden back in some sort of order once again.

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Chubbypoptart wrote on Fri Jul 15, 2011 12:09 pm:

Wow! What a job! The end result is beautiful!

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Bernieh wrote on Fri Jul 15, 2011 12:22 pm:

Thanks Chubbypoptart. It's a lovely cloistered corner of my place and I look out on it every day from inside my house.

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Jerry Sullivan wrote on Fri Jul 15, 2011 12:28 pm:

I can almost hear the plants breath a sigh of relief as order is restored. Great cleanup!

Jerry

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Bernieh wrote on Fri Jul 15, 2011 12:34 pm:

Ha, yes I definitely heard it, Jerry! It was almost as loud as my sigh.

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Tooty2shoes wrote on Fri Jul 15, 2011 12:47 pm:

Wow, what a difference. Looks beautiful.

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cherylad wrote on Fri Jul 15, 2011 1:09 pm:

What a beautiful spot! All those lush tropicals... wow!

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Jewell wrote on Fri Jul 15, 2011 3:46 pm:

What a lush area! I love all the textures. It is picture perfect after a lot of hard work.

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Bernieh wrote on Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:43 pm:

Thanks you Tooty2shoes, Cherylad and Jewell. The micro-climate in the shadehouse makes it the perfect spot for growing a lot of these tropical plants. Elsewhere on my property these plants would never survive.

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