So what can you do in your garden during the dry season? It’s simple. Get your garden ready for the wet season.

It may not be the best time to plant new plants into the garden because of the dry, but it is a good time to pot up your smaller plants into larger pots to increase their size in preparation for the wet. You see, even though it’s dry, the days and nights are warming up, so with a little extra water and fertilizer, freshly re-potted plants can be encouraged to have an early growth spurt.

Subsequently you’ll have much larger and healthier plants to plant when the rains do finally come. In fact some gardeners including myself purchase, pot-up and store our new plants all through the dry season waiting for the wet season to start so we can plant everything at the most suitable time of the year.

The dry season is also the ideal time to do a bit of plant culling. Plants that have underperformed, outgrown their welcome, died, or you simply don’t like the looks of can be removed to make room for new ones. And because the wet isn’t here yet, you can do this at your own pace and without all the rain, sweat and complaining.

You’ll even have plenty of time to ponder about what you’ll plant in its place. It doesn’t have to stop with the removal either. It’s actually the best time to prepare the ground for the replacement plant, because it’s much more pleasant doing this in the dry than the wet. Dig out the roots of the old plant, loosen the soil and then cover it with a good layer of mulch to prevent the weeds from invading the newly prepared space. And this way you’ll have till January to make up your mind as to what should be planted there. Who knows? If you’re after something really specific, it may take you all that time to find it.

Then once the rains start, all you need to do is bring your collection of plants out of storage, move the mulch to one side, dig a hole in the previous prepared soil, pop in the pre-determined plant, move the mulch back into place, water it, and you’re done. Simple as that.

Marcus Achatz
Yuruga Nursery

(Published in Cairns City Life magazine, August 2009)

December is probably one of the most exciting times of the year for gardeners in the tropics as it’s usually the time when we see the strongest signs that the dry season is coming to an end and the real wet is about to start. It’s the time of the year when new plants get planted, and failures get excavated. Everything starts to grow like mad with the onset of warm heavy rains, and you assume you can just sit back and watch your garden grow. Unfortunately the weeds and lawn also go into overdrive and gardening turns into a race between you and everything green. So before you get left behind and your beautiful garden turns into an accidental jungle, there are a few things you should get on top of.

Basically just think of all the things that turned into a drama last wet season, and fix them. You know yourself it’s easier to clean out gutters or unblock drains in the sunshine than during a tropical downpour. And I’m not just talking about the home handyman or woman, but it would also show consideration for those professionals you may employ to do the work for you. After all, the hot-and-sweaty look is always more attractive than the drowned-rat look.

Plants that become unruly during wet season growth-bursts can be cut down to size and any branches or palm fronds that look like they could become a problem can be removed. Maybe your backyard drainage needs an overhaul so that you can actually mow the lawn this wet season instead of having to wait till April for it to dry out enough to support the weight of the mower. Also of great importance is weed control. They may be okay now, but once they get the upper-hand they’ll take more than just a couple of minutes to remove and you know the kids won’t volunteer to help.

It’s also a good time of the year to carry out some plant evictions and then to replace them with some more suitable tenants. Personally I give plants in my garden a generous two to three year trial period. If after that time they’re still not living up to my expectations they get forcibly evicted with the help of my friend the mattock. I know this sounds a little cold, but it’s all part of maintaining a garden. It is amazing how bad one sick or dying plant can make a whole garden look. It just seems to be human nature that if we are confronted by a wall of green our eyes will focus on the one sickly plant with the yellow leaves and dead twigs. Anyway, you have to look on the bright side. When there are gaps in your garden, you’ll have the perfect excuse to go out and buy some new plants. Preferably native ones.

Marcus Achatz
Yuruga Nursery

(Published in Cairns City Life magazine, December 2008)

Don’t give up on your seasonal swamp just yet.  As architects like to say, “if it’s a problem, turn it into a feature”. It’s all a matter of correct plant selection and timing. There are a number of native north Queensland plants that naturally thrive in these conditions. The easiest way to find these water tolerant plants is to head to a specialist native plant nursery and simply have the staff show them to you. However if you would like a head start, here are a few of my favourites.

If you’ve got plenty of room, you might like to try a Leichhardt tree (Nauclea orientalis). This very fast growing large tree will even tolerate flooding for the entire wet season. Paperbarks such as the very elegant silver leafed paperbark (Melaleuca argentea) with its long weeping foliage take up a lot less room and will look good in larger gardens. If space is limited there are also a number of plants that are very suitable. Native Cunjevoi with its massive leaves look like an exotic house-plant, but is 100 per cent native and local. The stunning fan palm (Licuala ramsayi) isn’t only water-tolerant, but it’s also a garden feature in its own right. If you’re after a bit of colour, add a couple of purple flowering swamp orchids (Spathoglottis paulinae) and what about my all time favourite plants for a boggy spot, the pandanus. They may not be everyone’s first choice due to their sharp spiny leaves, but I think their symmetrical growth and long light-grey foliage look great in any location. In addition their prickly leaves will deter the kids from losing their gumboots in the mud.

The timing of planting your waterlogged garden is just as important as the species you put in it. As tempting as it may be, you can’t plant it during the wet season while it’s still waterlogged. These plants are tolerant but they still need time to get established, so plant them just after the wet season. Any time from now should be fine. Once planted, ensure you keep them nice and moist until the rains come again. If you plant your plants snug and close together (about 50cm apart), you’ll end up with a nice dense mass of green leaves and eliminate the need to mow or even weed.

Just remember, a waterlogged area in the garden isn’t a problem, it’s a feature in waiting.

Marcus Achatz
Yuruga Nursery

(Published in Cairns City Life magazine, April 2008)