JUSTICIA CARNEA
STANHOPEA ORCHID
AGAPANTHUS white
THIS MONTH
IN THE GARDEN
with Jan
JANUARY
IN THE GARDEN
with Jan
JANUARY
PHALAENOPSIS ORCHID
HOLMSKIOLDIA
COSTUS barbatus
Let nature be your guide
GUXMANIA bromeliad
|
Shrubs/Trees Abutilon Acalypha Agave recurvifolia Allamanda Ardisia Backhousia citriodora Barleria albostellata Bauhinia galpinii Bougainvillea Brugsmansia Buckinghamia celsissima Buddleja Clerodendron Costus Delonix regia Eremophila Euphorbia millii Euryops Evodiella muelleri Fiddlewood Tree B Frangipani Galphimia glauca Gmelina hystrix Grevillea Heliconia Hibiscus Holmskioldia B Hydrangea Ixoras Jatropha podagrica Justicia carnea Lagerstroemia indica Leucospermum Loropetalum Magnolia Malpighia coccigera Mussaenda Odontonema Pachypodium Peltophorum africanum Plumeria rubra Plumeria stenophylla Quisqualis indica Raphiolepis indica Roses Sambucus nigra Stenocarpus angustifolius Stachytarpheta Tesselated Gum Thunbergia erecta Zingiber (Gingers) Yucca recurvifolia |
Perennials Angelonia Anigozanthos Barleria albostellata Celosia Centrantherum Cleome Coleus Coreopsis Cosmos Cuphea Daisies Echinacaea Euphorbia ‘diamond frost’ Gaura Gerberas Globba Ginger Heliotrope Impatiens Indigofera Jasmine Lavander Leucanthemum superbum Leonitis Mirabilis jalapa Nasturtium Oenothera Orthosiphon aristatus Pachystachys Pelargoniums Pennisetum Burgundy Pentas Plectranthus Russellia Pots Anthurium Begonias Costus Gloxinia Kaempferia Snake Plant Streptocarus Strobilanthes Tacca integrifolia |
Orchids Arundina Cattleya Dendrobium Lycaste Phalaenopsis Stanhopea Thunia Vandas Vanilla Bromeliads Achmea fasciata Guzmania Neoregelia Orthophytum Quesnelia Tillandsia Vriesia Climbers Clerodendrum Combretum coccinea Cobaea scandens Dalechampia roezliana Hoya Ipomoea horsfaillae Mandevilla (Dipladenia) Maurandya Petrea Phaseolus caracalla Quisqualis indica Stephonotis Thunbergia mysorensis Water Garden Alocasia esculenta Thalia geniculata Water lilies Bulbs Alocasia Agapanthus Canna lilies Crinum Crocosmia Dahlias Gladioli Habranthus (Rain lilies) |
Happy New Year to everyone, may 2026 be a great year for you and your gardening adventures and a healthy and happy one.
THE RAIN this year has been fantastic and with full tanks, summer is looking good. Everything is growing and flowering like a tropical jungle.
THE CHANGING GARDEN
A garden is always evolving and sometimes changes are made for us because of natural events and sometimes because of natural growth. Two things happened here at Coucals in the spring of 2025; a storm brought a huge Fiddlewood tree down and with so much humidity, I found mould in the orchid house.
The Fiddlewood was over 50 years old and so it was huge, about 20 meters wide and high. It had provided a lot of shade for a lot of bromeliads and orchids, not only on its branches but also in the ground around it. The shallow roots came up into the air about 3 meters. All the branches had to be cut off, were chipped and put back onto the garden and paths. The huge branches were logs and cut up for firewood.
I could see that the Phalaenopsis orchids were going backwards in the orchid house. The plants on the ground which were mainly Anthuriums, Aglaonemas Begonias and Alocasias were very thick and the concrete and pavers were black. I reduced the plants on the ground and pressure cleaned the concrete which got rid of the mould. There were a lot of ferns in the pots of the Phalaenopsis orchids, so I repotted the orchids taking the ferns out.
I have relocated some of the Phalaenopsis to horizontal bamboo shafts and hung them in a small bush house where they will get rain as well as sprinkler irrigation and left the door open so that they also get air movement. The door open will not allow any sunlight onto the orchids as they are shade lovers. The door can be closed in winter which will keep the bush house warmer as they don’t like to get below 10 degrees Celsius.
In a garden we have to work and bend with mother nature to learn her ways
ORCHIDS
This is a great time to repot orchids if they have outgrown their pot or the medium has broken down.
CONTAINERS
·Use terra cotta pots (with holes if possible)
·Hanging wire or wooden slat baskets
·Ideally the container should hang so that they get plenty of air movement around the plant
·The size of the pot should be relevant to the size of the plant
·Hardwood, Natural cork, tree fern slabs or lengths
·Shallow rather than deep particularly for Cattleyas and Dendrobiums
MEDIA
·Orchid bark because it is harder than mulch bark and should last for 5 years before breaking down
·Cork (natural or bottle corks)
·Must be fresh and clean
·Do not re-use old potting medium
·Right size in relation to orchid size
·Right potting medium in relation to orchid genera
·Don’t pack down potting mix, allow room for roots to grow in between
·I sieve my orchid bark if it has ‘fines’ in it
The Dendrobium beetle can decimate flowers and new leaves. These can be simply squashed between your fingers and inspect for the grubs that will hatch in the flowers as they do as much if not more damage.
MAINTENANCE
It is a bit hot to do too much hard work in the garden, but with all the rain comes a lot of growth, so some trimming will be necessary. Do it early in the morning or late afternoon. I love my small battery hedge trimmer and chainsaw; they both make maintenance a lot easier.
VEGETABLES
Plant beans, bush tomatoes, Chillis, pumpkin, zucchinis and capsicum. Mulch the vegie patch and feed. Water if we haven’t had rain for a couple of days. Asparagus should be ready for picking as will tomatoes. Gingers and Turmeric are growing well as the herbs are also. Strawberry plants are sending out runners and could also do with a feed.
Plant herbs like Rosemary and Rue in the flower garden as well as in the herb garden. Rue adds a lovely soft blue green mound to the border and Rosemary is tough in the drier times. The prostrate form is a lovely smaller plant. Perennial Basil is a must in this hot weather.
Good Gardening
Jan
THE RAIN this year has been fantastic and with full tanks, summer is looking good. Everything is growing and flowering like a tropical jungle.
THE CHANGING GARDEN
A garden is always evolving and sometimes changes are made for us because of natural events and sometimes because of natural growth. Two things happened here at Coucals in the spring of 2025; a storm brought a huge Fiddlewood tree down and with so much humidity, I found mould in the orchid house.
The Fiddlewood was over 50 years old and so it was huge, about 20 meters wide and high. It had provided a lot of shade for a lot of bromeliads and orchids, not only on its branches but also in the ground around it. The shallow roots came up into the air about 3 meters. All the branches had to be cut off, were chipped and put back onto the garden and paths. The huge branches were logs and cut up for firewood.
I could see that the Phalaenopsis orchids were going backwards in the orchid house. The plants on the ground which were mainly Anthuriums, Aglaonemas Begonias and Alocasias were very thick and the concrete and pavers were black. I reduced the plants on the ground and pressure cleaned the concrete which got rid of the mould. There were a lot of ferns in the pots of the Phalaenopsis orchids, so I repotted the orchids taking the ferns out.
I have relocated some of the Phalaenopsis to horizontal bamboo shafts and hung them in a small bush house where they will get rain as well as sprinkler irrigation and left the door open so that they also get air movement. The door open will not allow any sunlight onto the orchids as they are shade lovers. The door can be closed in winter which will keep the bush house warmer as they don’t like to get below 10 degrees Celsius.
In a garden we have to work and bend with mother nature to learn her ways
ORCHIDS
This is a great time to repot orchids if they have outgrown their pot or the medium has broken down.
CONTAINERS
·Use terra cotta pots (with holes if possible)
·Hanging wire or wooden slat baskets
·Ideally the container should hang so that they get plenty of air movement around the plant
·The size of the pot should be relevant to the size of the plant
·Hardwood, Natural cork, tree fern slabs or lengths
·Shallow rather than deep particularly for Cattleyas and Dendrobiums
MEDIA
·Orchid bark because it is harder than mulch bark and should last for 5 years before breaking down
·Cork (natural or bottle corks)
·Must be fresh and clean
·Do not re-use old potting medium
·Right size in relation to orchid size
·Right potting medium in relation to orchid genera
·Don’t pack down potting mix, allow room for roots to grow in between
·I sieve my orchid bark if it has ‘fines’ in it
The Dendrobium beetle can decimate flowers and new leaves. These can be simply squashed between your fingers and inspect for the grubs that will hatch in the flowers as they do as much if not more damage.
MAINTENANCE
It is a bit hot to do too much hard work in the garden, but with all the rain comes a lot of growth, so some trimming will be necessary. Do it early in the morning or late afternoon. I love my small battery hedge trimmer and chainsaw; they both make maintenance a lot easier.
VEGETABLES
Plant beans, bush tomatoes, Chillis, pumpkin, zucchinis and capsicum. Mulch the vegie patch and feed. Water if we haven’t had rain for a couple of days. Asparagus should be ready for picking as will tomatoes. Gingers and Turmeric are growing well as the herbs are also. Strawberry plants are sending out runners and could also do with a feed.
Plant herbs like Rosemary and Rue in the flower garden as well as in the herb garden. Rue adds a lovely soft blue green mound to the border and Rosemary is tough in the drier times. The prostrate form is a lovely smaller plant. Perennial Basil is a must in this hot weather.
Good Gardening
Jan
WHAT IS FEATURING IN THE GARDEN IN JANUARY:
