Happy plants

I think mulching the garden thickly before I went away was a great idea......the garden has survived well - of course it helps that it is the rainy season and so there has been plenty of water.

My neighbours compost bin is on the other side of the fence and a nasty vine has joined into the loofah and passionfruit climbing the happy plant and the fence.  I pulled away what I could, but it really needs to be attended to at the root....  I am thinking I might eventually get rid of that passionfruit vine as it has been going for more than three years now, and they have a short life in the tropics. A new vine has started in the corner and I might start another one out front.  I do love having passionfruit - it changes regular fruit salad into sublime fruit salad in a moment.  A few little pawpaw trees are springing up as well - I have two that produce steadily - my oldest one has a fungal infection, so might have to cut it way back again, or remove it entirely?  I keep hoping that one of the new ones will be a red pawpaw.
Once I have cleared the vine away though I had a bare spot where the birdbath is.  There are  a couple of cannas there, but I keep thinking I need something with a bit more coverage in this area - what do you think?  This photo is a bit dark - I took it before work, and I start work quite early!

After I took this photo I moved the patio lime and fig trees that I have in pots out here.  They will get plenty of sunlight and  room to grow.  For now though I will leave them in pots as I am not sure I could contain the size once in the ground.  It is a balancing act to use some of the neighbours garden features (such as the big trees at the back that make my garden seem bigger) and hide other features.  does anyone else do this?
I have heard that nutrients get washed out of the soil when we have massive amounts of rainfall,  and since I came back have watered with seaweed tea.  I am not so sure I want to add anything to the soil until the wet is really over, if it is just going to wash away.  I think foliar feeding with comfrey tea, and seaweed, is what the plants will get for now.   I do worry that my plants need more phosphorus as that is what is supposedly lacking in  tropical soils.  That would improve the fruiting and flowering in my garden.  I think a natural way to add it is chook poo, so I might look for some pellets.
For now though I think all that is needed is some trimming back of the more vigorous plants.

The amaryllis are continually flowering and volunteering more plants which I share with my neighbours and friends.

 This bromeliad flowers a lot during the wet season, so also adds a bit of colour.

I had the most amazing trip of a lifetime backpacking around Malaysia and Borneo with my two daughters - if you want to read a bit more about that do log onto my travel blog.   It is in three sections - see the link in the sidebar .....