Kalgoorlie Paradise

I recently received an email from a landscaper in Kalgoorlie.
Lee Mullen, horticulturist, landscaper and owner of Gan Eden Landscapes, lives and runs his landscape business in Kalgoorlie and also has a great passion for cactus and succulents.

He moved to Kalgoorlie 4 years ago from Perth and has many cacti and succulents in the garden where he lives. He started his collection back in the 90’s when he grew them outdoors in the UK.
He then continued his passion when he arrived here in Australia only for it to take over his life.

His main love is with Pachypodiums, Aeoniums, Aloes and Agaves however his garden has an amazing collection of numerous other species.

I asked him about the climate in Kalgoorlie. He said that the temperatures can reach up to 42C in summer and can drop to around 0 C with the odd -1C or -2C in winter.
He mentioned that  Kalgoorlie only gets 220mm of rain a year and the  vast majority of the species are grown on straight red dirt which is a clay based loam and around 7.5-8.5 in pH.

He also mentioned that the drainage seems fine and it also holds nutrients well which although Perth has the drainage ( a little too much I might add) it does lack the nutrients that these specimens would really thrive on.

Another interesting tip was to plant closely together, which I thought was a great tip. In my own experience I have also found this very beneficial for the plants help to create a micro climate around each other which reduces evaporation from the soil and also reduces transpiration from the plants. The plants also shelter each other from the severe rays of the sun. They almost tend to look after each other.

Thanks for contacting us Lee, and thank you for your great input and photos of your beautiful garden.