moonlighting...

Whilst I've been terribly neglecting my own blog lately, you can catch a little snippet of some crafty loveliness on my guest post today over on my favourite blog of all- Lou's Littlegreendshed. 

Happy reading x

g'day gardeners

Fifteen months ago, my mum emigrated to Australia and unfortunately we haven't made it out to visit her yet. I was wondering what gardening was like on the other side of the world, so I asked her to take me on a 'virtual' guided tour and, as my own garden is looking decidely scruffy and autumnal at the moment, I thought it would make an interesting 'guest blog' ...

What does 'tropical garden' conjure- up for you? Gauguin? Palm trees? Multi-coloured birds?

Yes, we have all those, (well, maybe not our own personal Gauguin!) but add high humidity, fierce sun, 'the wet' season and bugs normally accompanied by a David Attenborough commentary and you're 'getting warm!'


So where are we? In far north tropical Queensland in our tropical paradise of Cairns… wedged between the Coral Sea and the tropical rainforest. Daily we are awoken by multi-coloured lorikeets squabbling and spooning in the frangipani trees, at dusk the sulphur-crested cockatoos gather to gossip and play trapeze artists in the eucalyptus and our daytime visitors include the local 'street-wise' gang of miner birds 'hanging' and 'breakdancing' by the pool. Add to this the blood-curdling screams of the curlews, the sarcasm-filled laugh of the kookaburra and the incessant rattle of the crickets, that's our garden.

I snapped these two kookaburras having a domestic tiff!

With only 2 seasons (wet and dry), to both words add 'very', the plants and trees tend to pick their own times to blossom or drop, with very short flowering times. I love approaching the house to be surprised by the vision of our 'bottle brush tree' having burst into flower whilst I have been at work, its profusion of large, red, furry pipe-cleaner-like flowers unashamedly sunbathing.


Growing almost wild are our numerous native hibiscus bushes offering their raunchy scarlet blossoms, interspersed with a variety of native palms and many species recognisable as common UK indoor pot plants .


Through the gate behind the pool is our fruit orchard, with paw-paw, mango, lemon and pink-grapefruit trees. Oh, the ultimate indulgence to pick a fresh lemon for the g&t! (How very '50s ex-pat!)

Where’s the lemon?

Following countless years of UK gardening, shunning gardening gloves for the enjoyment of soil under fingernails and the sensuous experience of splitting root balls by hand etc, common sense reigns here and I wear my protective suedes whenever I am 'at one' with nature. With the world's largest collection of deadly venomous snakes, 3-5 metre pythons and a whole host of very nasty spiders in the neighbourhood, I take care! We regularly see totally harmless, but fascinating fauna specimens .. giant stick-insects (30cms) on the patio and, last week, this spectacular Hercules moth on the garage door. (The world's largest species of moth). Our 'visitor' was 30cms wing-tip to wing-tip!


So, tell me, can you spot the interloper 'planted' in my tropical paradise? Yes, of course, there is a vase of daffodils lurking in the rock garden by the pool. Friday was Cancer Council Queensland 'Daffodil Day' and I succumbed to a bunch. (Well, it is the first day of Spring next Wednesday!). Needless to say they are now taking pride of place in the sitting room. I suspect they have travelled from Tasmania but a nice nostalgic trip for me, nonetheless.


Gardening the fringes of tropical rainforest brings some challenges, but I am captivated…..the sights, the sounds, the smells, the sheer 'untamedness' of it. Please bring the family to visit very soon… to Flora and Pearl I am 'Grannie in Australia' and I am in dire need of a cuddle from those little garden helpers and their beautiful Mummy !

Thank you for sharing a little of our paradise with me,