g'day liv, mine all self seeds and the tiniest seedling looks just like the mature plant in leaf form, with seeds i reckon i would have suggest you plant them in pots and then divide and transplant the seedlings later, they are very hardy plants. i've actually dug well developed seedling out and bare rooted them and posted them to other places in australia with success each time. i've never actually seen the seeds as i use slips/cutting or volunteer plants to share it around. but i do know the seeds can take a long time to germinate, took over 12 months in one instance i had, where i had a pot full of it standing for a while then i moved it and it took that long for the seeds to germinate. so you may need to be a bit more patient yet? and also what is growing i would let it get a little bigger before condeming it as a weed. they are a native type plant over here so seed preperation might also be pouring boiling water over them and let them soak in that water for 24 hours or so before planting this is a quiet common parctise with many native plant seeds, if seeds are big enough we score the sides of them on sand paper or shave some off the side with a blade knife. then pop them into pots and be prepared to wait in some cases for 3 years keeping the pot from drying out. also known as 'warrigal greens'. len Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page

There was no frost at all in January in Portland and then February had below 20* temps. I am still seeing Trachycarpus and Phormium around town. Not noticing death or damage. Just drove past three taller than 10' windmill palms yesterday. They looked fine and were in an open location. I had a early blooming Rhodie suffer frost bite on all buds and new leaf tips are damaged too. I am worried about a couple hardy fuchsias planted in the fall and not properly mulched. The rest are showing growth from the roots. My newly planted (late summer) Hebe 'Red Tip's all made it with no protection. I was actually in Seattle on business when the Arctic Blast hit. I am not one who pushes the climate envelope so my experiences aren't that useful to those who do but I was just mentally commenting on Phormiums and Trachycarpus yesterday after seeing healthy ones. I grew up and learned to garden in a warmer climate so I enjoy growing the typical Northwest plants here. Whenever I've pushed the climate envelope Escallonia, some Hebes, Pittosporum, they have failed. Eventually we get a really cold winter.

To Flick111: Suggest you ring the local CAB and ask for a Herb Society contact for Wellington or Hutt Valley. I know the national herb people put out a journal - 'Dittany', but I'm not sure if it's indexed. Check in the main Wellington Public Library; they've probably got back issues and woodruff may have been the subject of an article. For Penny NZ: Oriental lilies (not the asiatics, which are pretty but have little scent), Viola odorata, Michelia doltsopa. If you haven't already found it - try Carne's nursery at the south end of Masterton, and the High Street Nursery a little further up the road on the same side for several 'see and sniff' sessions... Recommend you take a notebook and no more than five dollars, just in case.

Suggest you also use the Pacific Northwest forum on Garden Web - and, if you get contacts from gardengal48 - treasure them. She's a professional gardener in your area. Knows her stuff greatly. Are you inland or coastal where you are? Cool-ish with reasonable rainfall? Think about ferns such as Blechnum and, if you can get them, orchids such as Earina and Dendrobium. Maybe Microtis and Thelymitra. If it's drier in your haven - how about Libertia and Mazus radicans, Raoulia (the coastal one from round Wellington tolerates more damp than the 'vegetable sheep' variety), Clematis paniculata and other native Clematis, even Muehlenbeckia(!). Some of the pittosporums and Coprosmas should be fine. They grow in Tongariro National Park within the snow range and are hardy. You'd have to be careful with drainage, though. If you have any time to go up to Canada, into BC, take a trip to the Butchart gardens to see what will grow - even outdoors - in your area (give or take a few hundred miles!!) You might also look at Cordyline indivisa rather than australis. It gows fairly high in the hills and appreciates plenty of mist and rain. Bigger leaves than the lowlands cabbage tree. I have a vague memory that someone has introduced a dwarf version of toe toe. If you can't get it then have a look for some of the South Island tussock grasses - Chionochloa, along with Uncinia and the various carexes. They often blend well with driftwood, pebbles, and low Coprosma with tangly branches. Hope that gives you a few notions. Squirrels and bulbs - and mice and raccoons... Makes the possums seem like an asset! Big pots should work - with windbreak mesh tied over the top. Check out the bulbs forum, which is used to dealing with this 'critter problem'. There are lots of suggestions, and most are polite/practical.