Madspinner, I was driving up to Mt. Baker a few weeks ago and thought of how cool it would be to live in the mountain foothills... of course a lot of the plants I am growing wouldn't last too long up there! On Olearia phloggopappa, I have sent seed to a few people and no one has had any luck with it yet. I will collect fresh seed and try it myself this summer. It's possible that it needs cold stratificaiton. Anyone who wants to discuss this further please do so via email. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos.

Do the tendrils stay green or change to some other Colour? I,ll check it on Google.How did we survive without the web and mobile phones? we,ve had a bit of rain, the grass isn,t growing as fast,the spring bulbs are emerging in Autumn and we,re playing footy in N.Z!! Put the kettle on dear and we'll have a nice cup of tea. chas

I too am curious to discover what Olivia ended up with! Jen, if you're getting your flowers from a florist you may have to depend on a florist who will "source what she can" at the time, unless you're planning to do something spontaneous from your own garden or that of a helpful friend or relative. As Olivia points out, flowering times for Australian plants can't always be predicted by a calendar, as the plants themselves devise their own time-tables each year according to when it has rained. So depending on a florist may end up being the most stress-free option. In January there would be plenty of Grevilleas available. Some have excellent vase lives - up to 9 days - and despite what Olivia's florist said, I imagine there are some which would be good in bouquets, BUT I do wonder whether the problem might be a tendency to drip nectar. The same might go for those spectacular grafted gums, with their large flowers of red, orange, or various shades of pink, which would be in flower in January. They'd look good, and I suppose they'd stop their copious nectar-production after they have been picked??? (They are big enough flowers for someone to wipe each flower out with a tissue, if you wanted to make a bouquet with home-picked flowers.) Baeckia virgata, with its tiny white flowers very appropriate for bouquet fill would be available through a florist, I imagine. I think that scrambling lily, Geitonoplesium cymosum would look superb in a wedding bouquet. It has shiny little light-green leaves and white flowers, on long,fine gracefully tumbling stems. It lasts about 5 days in a vase, but I don't know whether florists ever carry it, or use it for bouquets. Callistemons are probably available in January, and Meleleucas. Leptospermums flower around that time. Baurea rubioides (pink flowers) is also a good filler, flowering about that time. Crowea ditto. Flannel flowers have finished up here (Toowoomba) by then, but maybe down south they are later? Paper daisies of various sorts make good dried flowers, if you wanted to go that way. Dried flowers are certainly fuss-free! I've seen some very pretty bouquets made of the various kinds - white, pink, yellow, orange and bronze. Good luck with it all. trish

Hi Aggie, I think I've mentioned it several times - moved into my new home in mid-June, and I've been planting solidly since (!). My biggest mistake was to place too much faith in the huge Poincianas at the back of the block - the angle of the Winter/Spring sun and the semi-deciduous nature of Delonix has left me with some pretty sorry tree ferns, and my mature palms (2m plus) have all suffered with wind and sun damage, but they seem to be coping. Its not all natives - I've been seduced by a lot of exotic tropical plants - but I've tried to plant natives where possible. Carpenteria, Macarthur, Solitaire and Bangalow palms over an understorey of lillipillies, cordylines, ferns and a mishmash of Austromyrtus, Backhousia, Nandina and other species, with Lomandra, Emu Bush and Liriope at the bottom. Give it another year or three :) Cheers, Artie