Rainforest Garden
Rainforest was once reasonably extensive in the Redlands but most of it was cleared for farming. Small remnant patches of rainforest remain in Mount Cotton and Sheldon along the coastline and on the Bay Islands. Prior to European settlement there would have been allot more rainforest, particularly in Wellington Point, Ormistion, Cleveland and Redland Bay. Much of the remaining rainforest is found on private property.
Rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems on earth and occur in areas of high moisture, but often poor soils. Most of the nutrients are stored in the living plants and leaf litter rather than the soil and this is cycled through rapidly by many fast-acting and effective invertebrates in the leaf litter. Most rainforest plants are tall trees that grow quickly to reach the life-giving light at the forest canopy. The flowers and fruits of many rainforest trees are often of great importance for butterflies and birds.
Rainforest trees often have attractive shape and foliage, making them excellent garden specimens. In a more open garden they rarely reach the heights they do in the wild as they have no need to shoot straight up for the light. This leads to shorter, bushier specimens where the flowers and fruits are more visible. The hardiness of this group varies enormously but they will generally require a good mulch layer to keep the soil cool and moist and some water during hotter months. This garden took three years to establish and hasn't been watered since.
Garden's are available to book for weddings.