I thought I posted this on the gardenweb forum. Now it's houzz? Had to sign up for a new user name. Anyway soo - you can get the Naked Gardener Compost or Debco Premium Potting Mix from Masters (closing soon). Course Perlite is from The Perlite & Vermiculite Factory Myaree (much cheaper than anywhere else). Sand I got from a bulk landscape place (lawn mix) but you can get 10 or 20kg bags of builders sand at Bunnings. Zeochlor is in the pool section at Bunnings. Rock Dust I got from the manufacturer direct somewhere in Bibralake (called Natural PK) but I think but you can now get a similar product from Waldecks (in Myaree at least). Waldecks also sell bentonite clay. I still want to try the gritty mix but getting my hands on all the materials has proved very difficult when I tried last year. I found a Queensland company that makes course DE (for mopping up oil/chemicals) but they didn't have a distributor in Perth. Nobody I could find has pine bark in the right size - and even if they did I'd have to by a cement mixer and modify it with a fine wire to screen it. Honestly, if an agricultural company were to produce the gritty mix and sell it in bags I think they'd make bank - even considering how long it lasts.

I second, very strongly, the above comment about Plane trees. The disease is anthracnose. There was some discussion of the merits of an alle and problems with monoculture. There is nothing wrong with an allee as long as it fits your tastes and landscape. They need not be the ultra formal European Alles of Versailles et al. Nor do they need to be a monoculture. You can have a mixed alle of complementary trees. To make it more formal, make sure that you pare up the trees with the same species on the opposite side of the allee. For example a line of trees like this. Incense Cedar, American Linden, English Oak, European Linden, Yellowwood, Red Oak, Repeat as needed. The repetition in the line and on opposite sides of the drive would give the viewer the idea of the allee but also have the variety of form and species that would avoid the monoculture problem.

you know i completely forgot that the red BOP was deciduous. that sucks :( i guess i'll just have to have one or two in the backyard for my own visual enjoyment instead. the orange jubilee does sound like a good replacement. it would be nice to have another foliage type though just to mix it up a little more, but i like the idea of orange, yellow, and fuscia blooms. cape honeysuckle might be something as well but it doesnt seem to like afternoon sun near as much as afternoon shade around here. i have been considering mixing 4 small trees along the fenceline though. something i can keep trimmed to around 15ft that would provide dappled shade and a little more privacy above the fence. i was thinking pink dawn chitalpa, vitex, or heavily-manicured mesquite (for interesting branching and to keep the size down like they do in parking lots). what do you think? below is a bird's eye photo of my house so you can see the fenceline i'm trying to cover and the direction it faces. it's an old photo from before i owned the property though. seems like it's about 5 years old or so: here's the bougainvillea in my backyard and the baby yellow bells i planted last week (they were begging to be released from their containers lol). i love the foliage mix and the electric colors when in direct sun, so i'm hoping to mimic that in the hedge so the neighborhood can enjoy them too.

what is the problem with b&b? ===>>> first off... most of us.. do not have a husband who has very large machines .. to move these things around... lol ... i 6 foot BB... can weight.. 200 to 300 pounds.. you arent going to be hoiking that size things.. out of the car pictured above ... its no real problem getting them into the car ... and i often joke with the burly young men loading it at the nursery.. if they are willing to follow me home to get it out ... even if you have them delivered to the driveway .. moving them a couple hundred feet across the yard.. can be a lumbar disc killer ... sans heavy equipment ... now.. a large BB was field grown ... and if .. as it is said.. a tree is twice as big below as above ground... and you dig up a 6 foot tree .. with at most a 2 or 3 foot rootball.. you should be able to conceptualize ... that a vast majority of the root mass is cut off ... and since no one can see into the ground.. there is some loss.. simply because the digging itself causing severe root loss ... so.. based on all the above ... i would never go.. about a 3 footer ... and do be prepared.. that once you sink the roots ... it might only be a 2 footer.. lol ... so when i say 3 foot .. i mean the tree part ... its all about the stress you are applying to the plant ... thru digging .. transporting.. and planting.. and the larger the plant.. the larger the stresses involved ... i highly recommend you call your COUNTY extension office .... and ask them about their suggestions for your COUNTY ... that is a good way to start with LOCAL opinion .. feed us back that knowledge .. and we can go from there ... i even found out.. they had a tri-county forester on staff.. and though it took a few weeks, he eventually visited and offered many opinions ... and also ask if they have any spring plant sales.. my MI soil conservation dist offices sell 1 to 2 foot trees and conifers for a buck or two .... this is a good way to plant a lot of stuff .... on a low budget .... and do understand.. there really is no instant gratification in this project ... one thing you really need to get thru your head though.. is that this is not suburbia .... and this is not a one year project ... i would suggest.. with the scope of what you are trying to accomplish.. a min of 5 years.. to get this done ... coffee buzz is kicking in.. and my eyes are vibrating.. no chance to reread the above.. lol... gotta go .. perhaps do a couple laps around the acreage ... lol ken