When I bought this house, sight-unseen, during the pandemic, I had no idea what manner of tropical plants awaited me. It has taken me many months to build up the courage to explore the “understory” of what is certainly my Aussie “Secret Garden.”

I spent the majority of last Sunday removing a crowded section of the garden which was bursting at the seams with agave, aloe, and spiky clumps of bromeliad. I realize that bromeliad is my most hated plant, it is has a cup shaped concentric arrangement of “leaves” (though they are more like spears), and they collect rain water collects vegetable matter and rots.

While I love bamboo, I did not realize how high it grew, and I really had no clue how to prune it. My approach is now to “let it grow” and hope for the best!

This beauty has been thriving in my pebbly front garden. It is a native called “Kangaroo Paw” and the kids love to touch the flowers as they truly feel like the paw of a Kangaroo.

That aloe on the left narrowly missed my reign of terror on his neighbouring friends. But in retrospect, I’m very glad he is still standing.