So, how to plant up that special courtyard?

Well, you can always take the simple and easy approach and fill it up with tried and trusted gingers, but hey, do you really want a boring old courtyard that looks just like everyone else’s?

Here’s a list of wonderful tropical natives that will make your courtyard look stunning. And as you get to know the plants and the stories they tell, your courtyard will become a great talking point as well.

This article is based on the assumption that your courtyard is a relatively protected little nook in your garden, and that it is not an exposed open area.

Your courtyard checklist: Agapetes meiniana (Misty Bells) Alpinia caerulea (Common Ginger) Argophyllum spp Cordyline manners-suttoniae (Palm Lily) Myrsine (Rapanea) spp (Muttonwood) Native ferns Noahdendron nicholasii (Noahdendron) Pseudoweinmannia lachnocarpa (Rose Mara) Psychotria spp Pullea stutzeri (Hard Alder) Rhodamnia spp (Malletwoods) Rhododendron lochiae (Native Rhododendron) Rhodomyrtus spp (Rhodomyrtus) Sankowskya stipularis (Sankowskya) Sarcotoechia serrata (Fern-Leafed Tamarind) Syzygium alatoramulum (Tinkling Satinash) Syzygium apodophyllum (Rex Satinash) Syzygium wilsonii (Powder-Puff Lilly-Pilly)

Give your courtyard a backbone…

Rapaneas, Rhodamnias, Rhodomyrtus and Psychotria are shrubs which are basically similar in size, shape and function. They are all medium shrubs of a size well suited to courtyards, with good bushy form, and dense foliage which is excellent for creating privacy between you and your neighbours. Think of them as the backbone of your courtyard planting, since they make a great backdrop for showing off some of the stunning feature plants suggested later in this brochure.
Their common names (Muttonwood, Malletwood and Psychotria) are a bit at odds with elegant, sophisticated, inner-city living, but what the heck … it’s a good talking point!

Plant these backbone species in your courtyard:

• Myrsine* (Rapanea) sp Cape York (Cape Muttonwood)
• Myrsine (Rapanea) subsessilis (Red Muttonwood)
• Rhodamnia costata (Rib-fruited Malletowood)
• Rhodomyrtus effusa (Grey Rhodomyrtus)
• Rhodomyrtus sericea (also Grey Rhodomyrtus)
• Psychotria sp Mt Baldy (Mt Baldy Psychotria)

The Rhodomyrtus have soft, pretty foliage, while the Rhodamnias and Rapaneas have firmer, more glossy leaves.

Mt Baldy Psychotria produces masses of small white fruit much sought-after by birds which will visit your courtyard for a delicious snack. Where’s Mt Baldy? It’s the mountain directly west of Atherton, overlooking the bustling Tableland town.

(*You’ll notice that Rapaneas have had a name change to Myrsine, but Rapanea is easier to say.)

Add some Argophyllums…

Argophyllums are beautiful understorey shrubs, and perfect for a protected position that a courtyard provides. There are a couple of species to choose from, but what they all have in common is the beautiful foliage with its characteristic gorgeous silver sheen beneath.
All the Argophyllums are rare plants in the wild.
Argophyllum sp Babinda is a very rare plant with lovely glossy green leaves. Not surprisingly, being from Babinda, it is best suited in high rainfall areas!
Argophyllum nullumense is from northern NSW, while Argophyllum sp Cape York is (obviously) from Cape York, and both are quite easy to grow.
Argophyllum verae is a really rare species, and is named after Vera Scarth-Johnson, the late Cooktown artist who revelled in recording the Cape York flora on canvas. If you visit the Cooktown Botanic Gardens, you will see her beautiful paintings on display in the Art Gallery at the gardens. This Argophyllum is different to the others, in that the foliage is a soft velvety grey on the upper surface, but the undersurface has the same beautiful silver sheen that is the signature of this lovely group of plants.

Argophyllums really encourage you to get tactile in your garden. Once you’re hooked on the glorious silver underside, you’ll find yourself turning the leaves over every time you walk past, and showing everyone else as well!

And now for some attention grabbers …

The Australian tropical rainforests provide us with some stunning foliage plants, which look just phenomenal when featured in a courtyard setting.

Sarcotoechia serrata is not called Fern-Leafed Tamarind for nothing! This plant has the most gorgeous soft ferny foliage that you can ever imagine. The feathery fern-like new growth starts out pastel pink, fading to cream and green as it matures. What’s more, this plant is only a shrub, so it fits beautifully into a suburban landscape. Being naturally a slender shrub, it needs to be nestled against a more solid backdrop (discussed above) for maximum effect.

Sankowskya stipularis (Sankowskya) is a very rare understorey shrub from the Julatten area. It has brilliant bright red-pink new growth which literally lights up the garden. Named after Garry Sankowsky (author of many of the books and CDs we have for sale here at Yuruga), this plant is unfortunately under threat from misguided landholders who, while retaining the canopy trees, ‘just cleared the undergrowth’ in the rainforest on their properties.

Noahdendron nicholasii

Noahdendron nicholasii (Noahdendron) is an extremely rare plant named after the restricted location in which it grows naturally in the wild. ‘Noahdendron’ literally means ‘Noah’s Tree’, referring to Noah Creek where it is found in the Daintree rainforests. If you look closely at this remarkable plant, you will see that it has quite unusual foliage, featuring bright pink pendulous new growth and large stipules decorating the branchlets. While naturally slender in habit, it is easy to shape into a dense bushy shrub by regular pruning, and its delicately perfumed flowers hang in profusion during flowering time. A beautiful talking point at family BBQs.

Some flowers to knock your socks off…

Syzygium wilsonii (Powder-Puff Lilly-Pilly) is a beautiful small shrub with weeping branches, lovely pink new growth and the most amazing red/maroon powder-puff flowers you have ever seen. It thrives in a protected courtyard situation, and is easy to grow. If you want a talking point, this is it!

Fantastic Foliage Fillers

There’s a family of rainforest plants (called the Cunoniaceae for those with a scientific bent) which have simply gorgeous foliage. When you drive through the rainforest (down the Palmerston Highway, for instance) and you see masses of bright pink or red foliage hanging out over the banks, chances are the plants are members of this family. While they may be large trees in the wild, these plants adapt remarkably well to cultivation, and look simply stunning in a courtyard environment.

Pullea stutzeri (Hard Alder), Pseudoweinmannia lachnocarpa (Rose Mara) and Caldcluvia australiensis (Rose Alder) may have unpronounceable names, but don’t let that stop you! Plant them anyway, prune them regularly to promote a dense shape and lots of brilliant new growth, give them a bit of extra water if they look stressed, and stand back and wait for the admiring comments from your friends and neighbours. Then try a bit of name dropping (if you can get your tongue around the Latin!).

Just for good measure, throw in a couple of broad leafed, strap-like plants to add a great contrast and make a real tropical statement. The native cordylines (eg Cordyline manners-suttonae Palm Lily) not only have fantastic large lime-green tropical leaves, but bear huge bunches of spectacular bright red glossy fruit as well. And the native gingers such as Alpinia caerulea are tough hardy stand-bys to fill in the remaining gaps.

A courtyard always has a hanging basket!

For a hanging basket with a difference, add a beautiful Agapetes meiniana (Misty Bells) to your courtyard. This unusual plant from the misty high peaks of our World Heritage wet tropics rainforests, has thick shiny waxy leaves and beautiful bright pink bell-shaped flowers. In the wild it is found with our native Rhododendron (see below), where it is a vine scrambling over exposed rocks or establishing an epiphytic foothold high in the canopy of the rainforest. In cultivation, it is perfectly suited to a hanging basket, where it will live happily for years as if in its native tree-tops.

If your climate is a bit too hot and coastal for Misty Bells, substitute Medinilla balls-headleyi (Daintree Medinilla) in your hanging basket for an equally stunning effect.

It’s not a courtyard without some ornamental tub specimens!

Did you know that Australia has only one Rhododendron (Rhododendron lochiae)? Our native Rhododendron is a very rare plant, found only in rainforests at the very tops of our highest peaks such as Bartle Frere and Bellenden Ker, where it is actually a rather untidy scrambler. However, in cultivation it can be trained into a tidy plant well suited to pot-plant culture. Put one in an ornamental tub, and tell your friends why it is so special. And after a few years you will be rewarded with beautiful bright pink flowers.

And now for the feature tubs…

Get yourself a couple of large feature tubs, and plant the following lilly-pillies for a stunning effect:

Syzygium alatoramulum (Tinkling Satinash – what a gorgeous name!)
Syzygium apodophyllum (Rex Satinash, from the Rex Range above Mossman, of course).

Both these tropical lilly-pillies have stunningly beautiful foliage and make superb tub specimens. A brilliant centrepoint for a unique tropical courtyard.

Lastly, don’t forget the ferns!

Now all there is to do is to pop in native ferns wherever there’s a space, and your courtyard will be complete.

Now sit back and enjoy!

The focus of this article is for gardeners in tropical Australia.
However, the basic principles apply for throughout Australia
with minor modifications for local conditions.

Creating a rainforest garden is easy!

There are two secrets to creating a rainforest garden, and no, they are not water, and more water! In fact, water is no more a necessity for a rainforest garden than it is for any other type of garden.

The two secrets are:

1. Dig up the garden bed thoroughly to provide as much loose soil as possible;
2. Provide a thick layer of organic mulch.

Soil Preparation

Rainforest plants, as a general rule, have very timid root systems. Unlike acacias, eucalypts and grevilleas which have robust root systems capable of penetrating hard ground, rainforest plants have timid, shy root systems that tend to stop dead at the first sign of an obstacle. Consequently, rainforest plants planted in hard ground simply will not grow.

Rainforest plants grow best when you garden in the traditional fashion – pretend they’re roses or a vegetable garden, and plant them in a bed of thoroughly loosened soil. The ideal depth is about a foot (30cm). On a small block of land, this means rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck into the ground with the pick, shovel and elbow grease to physically break up the soil. You haven’t finished until your original hard lumpy ground is nice and soft and friable.

If you are planting a large garden, it’s well worthwhile to use a machine – a bobcat or backhoe, or even a small bulldozer with rippers can prepare a large garden bed in a flash. It’s not expensive – for less than one hundred dollars you can prepare a garden bed which would take many days to prepare by hand, and the resulting plant growth will be spectacular to say the least. (See Information Sheet ‘Soil Preparation’)

Mulch

Mulch is absolutely essential to grow rainforest plants well. The mulch should be organic and applied as a thick insulating layer on top of the soil much like a blanket covering a bed.

Thick organic mulch is essential for several reason, including:

• It keeps the soil moist by reducing evaporation
• It controls weed growth
• It keeps the soil cool
• It provides a source of recycled nutrients
• It keeps the soil healthy by maintaining a balanced population of micro-organisms

Unlike most acacias, eucalypts and grevilleas, rainforest plants are very surface rooted. It is therefore essential to keep the surface of the soil cool and moist, otherwise the roots will bake and dry out.

As we said above, rainforest plants have timid roots; give them an obstacle and they give up very easily. If you allow weeds or grass to grow around the base of rainforest plants, they cannot compete.

Weeds and grass will severely inhibit the growth of rainforest plants. A thick application of mulch will keep weeds and grass at bay.

For rainforest plants, it is essential that the mulch be organic, since the recycling of nutrients is very important for their growth.
The type of mulch you choose is not important, so long as it is organic. You can use anything, so long as it was once a plant. In north Queensland, bales of mulching hay are popular. In some areas, peanut shell may be available. Many shire councils sell mulched-up garden waste. Wood chip is fine. Newspapers and cardboard are OK, but it is best to shred them first – if you spread them out in sheets they act as a thatched roof and prevent water penetrating the soil beneath. (See Information Sheet ‘Mulching Your Native Plants’).

Mulch should be applied as a clean blanket on top of the soil surface. It should never be dug into the soil – this is for compost, not mulch.

Things such as black plastic are no substitute for organic mulch. Black plastic does not allow the soil to breathe, and it does not allow the recycling of nutrients that is so important. In warm climates, it can cause the soil to overheat. Don’t use black plastic. If you really think you need to, don’t. Make your layer of organic mulch twice as thick instead.

Watering/humidity

Provided you have a thick layer of organic mulch, you will find that you don’t need to water your rainforest garden any more than a normal garden, although it will love any extra water you can give it. Of course, your rainforest plants must be watered for the first few months until they are established, just like any plant, be it a wattle, grevillea or callistemon. (See Information Sheet ‘Watering Your Native Plants’).

However, rainforest plants as a rule cannot tolerate dry winds. Unlike acacias and eucalypts etc., which have a thick waxy cuticle over their leaves (among other adaptations) to prevent excessive moisture loss in dry times, rainforest plants have little protection against evaporation since they have had no need for it in their natural habitat. It is more important to maintain a reasonable humidity level in the air than it is to apply water to the roots.

To grow some of the more delicate species in drier areas such as Townsville or Mt Garnet, you may need to trap humidity around your plants by planting a shelter belt of hardier species or by creating a courtyard.

Fertiliser

Rainforest plants love to be fertilised – fertiliser brings out the lovely foliage colours that make rainforest plants such a delight to grow.

The rules for fertilising rainforest plants are the same as for ordinary natives – check the N:P:K ratio to make sure the phosphorus is low – less than 3% is best.

Water in well, and don’t overdo it. Like medicine, a little is good for you, an overdose can easily kill. (See Information Sheet ‘Fertilising Native Plants’).

A handy reference to rainforest plants for your garden:
‘Growing Australian Tropical Plants‘ by Radke & Sankowsky

Let’s dispel some of the common myths …

Myth : Rainforest plants need to be planted in the shade.

Wrong! Just because the rainforest is a shady place to walk in, does not mean that rainforest plants need shade. What it means is that rainforest plants cast shade. In fact, if you walk through the rainforest you will notice that the seedlings on the floor of the forest in the dense shade are not growing – they are sitting in a dormant state waiting for a gap to form in the canopy so that the sunlight can stream in. It is only when they receive full sunlight that they start growing.

If you plant your rainforest plants in the shade, they will grow slowly, and they will become thin and lanky as they struggle upwards to the light.

Rainforest plants can, and should, be planted in the full sun, where they will grow thick and bushy and flower young. In their natural habitat, most rainforest plants do not flower until their canopy is in the sun. By planting them in the full sun from the start, you will trick them into believing they are already at the top of the canopy.

Of course, this does not apply to the shade dwelling understorey shrubs of the rainforest – these naturally need the shade – so use your commonsense!

Myth : Rainforest plants are too large for ordinary gardens.

Wrong! Most rainforest plants grow in the garden to only about a quarter or a third of their height in the forest. By planting them in the full sun from the start, they have no need to grow taller and taller to reach the sunlight, since they think they are at the top of the canopy already. I wonder how many of you have an Ivory Curl (Buckinghamia celsissima) or Golden Penda (Xanthostemon chrysanthus) in your gardens? Would you have planted them if you had known that they are rainforest trees from north Queensland, where they commonly grow 20-30 metres tall in the forest? In cultivation, however, they are rounded shrubs of only about 5-8 metres, and this is true of most rainforest plants, with the exception of plants such as the Kauri Pine and Bunya Pine.

Myth : Rainforest plants should be planted under a canopy of existing trees.

Wrong! Plants planted close to existing trees generally do poorly due to root competition and lack of sunlight. Take the plunge, and plant your rainforest trees in the sun from the start. Most of our rainforest plants for sale are in the full sun in the nursery, so don’t be afraid to plant them in the sun in your garden.

Myth : Rare plants are difficult to grow.

Wrong! Some rare plants are quite hard to grow, but many are surprisingly tough and hardy. Rarity is often more related to habitat isolation, than to any intrinsic feature of the plant itself.

Myth : Rainforest plants can only be grown in soil that matches the soil type in the wild.

Wrong! Rainforest plants can be grown in almost any type of soil. Mulch and loose soil are the main requirements; fertilise if necessary.

Planning your rainforest garden

To create an attractive rainforest garden that is pleasing to the eye, you need to use a fair proportion of hardy, bushy species that will give the garden its basic structure, bulk and backbone. There are many species that fit this bill, but some examples are the hardier, tougher Syzygiums and Acmenas, and plants like Flacourtia, Scolopia and Xanthostemon.
Pay special attention to the plants that you place on the edge – these are the ones that hit you in the eye every time you look at your garden. On the edge, you should place the plants that have an attractive shape, attractive foliage or spectacular flowers and the plants that could be smothered if placed in the middle of the garden.

Leggy plants are best in the middle.

Your garden should include where possible plants for birds and butterflies, flowers and fruits. The Yuruga Information Sheets ‘Attracting Birds’ and ‘Attracting Butterflies’ give you more information.

Having taken this approach, then you can start placing the more unusual plants that have specific requirements in and amongst this basic backbone.

Happy Gardening!