Garden facelift fills the Youngs with joy

Rachelle and Luke Young started digging in April to fill their property to the brim with succulent and cactus varieties, giving the garden a facelift in just four months.

Rachelle’s passion for plants sprouted young with a cacti collection in full swing at just 14 years old.

She has now been collecting succulents for about three years.

“The garden is only four months old, apart from three plants that remain from the original plantings, Rachelle said.

“We began removing the existing plants in April, restructured the soil combinations and planted almost every succulent and cacti that I owned.

“I had no idea that this established garden would soon become home to my many, many pots of gorgeous succulent babies.”

Rachelle said it was exciting to see her dreams come true although creating a thriving space meant removing old plants that were root bound and in poor health. 

“When I put my plan to Luke, he was more than happy to help this plan become a reality,” she said.

“Luke pulled out all the large plants and does all the heavy work shovelling and prepping the soil.”

Rachelle said gardening was a hobby she couldn’t live without and tending to her large assortment of plants species was sure to keep her on her toes.

“I enjoy the massive variety of plants that I have all in the one place, I can watch them grow and flourish,” she said.

“I love keeping check on all my babies, seeing new varieties thrive and spending time with my children who love propagating and selling the succulents.”

The green thumb said Bundaberg provided the perfect growing conditions for the succulents in her garden.

“They can survive on very little watering,” she said. 

“I only need to use systemic treatments for some pests which can spoil all plants.”  

For Rachelle, she loves adding to her ever-growing variety of flora.

“I didn’t realise how many different varieties I could fit in one garden bed,” she said.

“I love sharing my succulents with friends and visitors, most people don’t go home without a few babies to nurture.”

Last week's garden: Julie Balinese garden a place for leisure