We’ve been busy taking cuttings from our Sydney tropical garden to embellish the outdoor shower area and one of the first plants we put in were two frangipanis, one white and one pink. One day when we retire to Booyong I want to be reminded of my Sydney garden. I love the Australian native forests and bush but I’m also fond of the colourful foliage in a tropical garden, so I thought around the shower would be a good place to put such plants. As these plants establish themselves they’ll make the area cool and inviting on a hot summers day.

Frangipanis love dry soils, full sun and are easily struck from cuttings. As these grow they will contrast beautifully against the tin walls of the shower and the colours and fragrance with be stunning. Our tree at home is about 4m high and although they grow slowly, they can grow about 5-6m high. They have a small root ball so the roots won’t harm any of the outdoor shower structure or plumbing.

They are low maintenance and only require watering in spring and summer which is perfect, and the heat of the tin should help them withstand the cooler months. We’ll see how they go in the clay like soil and let you know. We will also watch out for rot or fungus during the wet cool months, and to avoid this we will thin the tree out 15-20% when it matures every few years. This will open up the branches and let the light in and is when we gift branches of the tree at home to friends.