Hi Lorax, I'm in Nhulunbuy in the N.T. I grow heaps of carnivorous plantshere, mostly nepenthes and droseras. I have very little luck with VFTs and I have tried forcing dormancy by putting them in the fridge. They will last perhaps an extra season or so. There are many tropical native Droseras around Cairns and up here in the N.T. which would do well for you, including D. falconneri which I think is the most spectacular of them all. Go down and see Desiree at Melsonrock nursery in Whiterock, she has heaps of C.P.s and will be able to help. Also, Rod from Captive Exotics in Kuranda will be able to shed more light on the VFTs as well as Nepenthes and Droseras. Both places are worth a visit just to see the C.P.s on display. If you are keen on tropical C.P.s I would be haoppy to send you some Nepenthes cuttings to get you started. I hope this helps, Regards, Brendon

Dav- I hear your plea. I have the same issue. We purchased a home a couple years ago. Backyard had existing pool and hardscape, surrounded by many plants and fruit trees. We had most prior landscaping removed and I had a "tropical" design done and installed. I was on a fairly tight budget (I didn't know it was "tight" at the time) so they used lots of queens, agapanthus, hibiscus, bird of paradise, etc. Essentially all the "tropical" stuff you can get at Home Depot. I began adding/replacing some elements with other plants I bought. The overall look improved as my skills increased. One of the biggest reasons for my success in "getting it" was this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1561582328/qid=1122653709/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/002-7357636-6356020?v=glance&s=books It has lots of pictures, but more importantly, he talks about colors, texture and canopy, the three things that change a garden with some tropical plants into a tropical area. Very subtle, but once you read it, you'll get it. One final caveat that has come up in talking to friends that are doing their yards. I've found I'm in the middle of the road in gardening. I don't hate it, and I do love when an area's plants finally achieve the look that I want. But, if my garden/yard were done, you would not find me whiling away my time gardening. So, I'm sort of an interested amateur. Now, this matters because as you move up the chain into more and more tropical looking stuff, the more work it takes to maintain them. You have to understand that in So. Cal, you can't just plant the jungle and forget it. It takes nearly constant care of some sort. The stuff you have now takes little/no ongoing care other than proper watering and very occasional fertilizing. Hope this helps. aiki

Bindersbee, I hope you have fun building your pergola. I really enjoyed building mine. I created that design in a quick sketch after looking over a number of designs in Sunset books and some other sources. I only have one modification I'll probably make -- I need to extend the lattice down a little lower so it will be easier to get a vine to grow up on it. I can't really use the corner posts for the vines, because I think they're too close to the roses and the trees. I have some little Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' plants that I've grown from cuttings off of my established plant, but I'm afraid they won't do well there because of the Swedish aspen roots that will compete with them too much for water and nutrients. I still haven't decided what to grow on it, but I'm leaning heavily toward climbing roses. Probably Zephirine Drouhin, because she won't mind growing up the shady side, and she's not thorny. Any other suggestions? I suppose if I grow a climbing rose there, I can get the canes growing up the lattice without extending it lower, but if it were the clematis, I'd need more support down low.

Whilst in Yandina why not drop in a Fairhill Native Nursery. They have an excellent range of natives though prices are not so cheap.Depending on what time you got to Yandina there is the plant market every Saturday morning on the land next to the sports field. Plants there are very reasonable. Have a great day. Cheers Jan