Arrktrees, just like all apples are Malus domestica, all bananas are the same Musa species. (Not including one edible species grown only in the South Pacific). Just like you can have Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Rome apples, you have small pink bananas, big white ones and plantains all from basically the same genome. In my parent's day, the variety was called Gros Michele, "Big Mike". The last load was imported into the U.S. in 1962, but the dying of bananas had been on-going and had inspired the song "Yes, we have no bananas". Since then, almost all dessert bananas are Cavendish. The reason is a disease that wiped out almost all Gros Michele. The reason for the quintessentially British name Cavendish is that when looking for a banana tree that was immune to the fungal disease, one was found in the greenhouses of Lord Cavendish. This single clone is that basis for the whole dessert banana trade. Now, there is a new threat, another fungus. The industry has already moved from countries like Honduras to Ecuador, the new #1 source of bananas to the US. The fungus has infected trees in South China, and recently was found in Queensland, Australia. When it comes to the New World, you will read it in the mainstream media. While you and I may think of bananas as an accessory to breakfast, places like Uganda and that region use bananas like we do potatoes, wheat and rice. This variety, a plantain type, is also killed by the new fungus. When it ravages East Africa, you can imagine what will happen when it hits there, imagine taking everything with rice, wheat or potato off your menu. Anyways, there is a process going on to try to find a resistant banana. Every banana is an ancient seedless (natural?) hybrid. However, have you ever noticed small brown specks at the blossom end of a banana? Those are vestigial seeds. For every about 100 thousand bananas, one will have seeds that can be made to grow. For every 1000 ones that grow, one will make it to maturity. For this reason, the Country of Honduras has a project where bananas are mashed through a sieve to recover those 'seeds'. They are sent to the U. of Louvain in Belgium where they do the growing. As they get plants, they multiply them and give them to people in India, Africa, South America etc. It is hoped on of these will show resistance to the new fungus. I'll stop this long post, there is so much more to say. For more info, look for info on Tropical Race Four.

Misty- also try dwarf Virginia stocks if you are planting seeds. They are low to the ground and flower in shades of mauve, which would look lovely with or without allysum. They also reseed, so once you have them you have them for good.(though they are not a menace) Another plant I like is perennial Nemesia, which comes in lots of soft colours. I also have Nepeta under some of my roses. Bedding salvia is good too and usually lasts a couple of years for me. The groundcover roses are a nightmare if they get weeds in them. Good luck Deryn

It's highly unlikely that a Monkey Puzzle would grow in the Queensland subtropics, unless perhaps in some cooler, humid locations such as the summits of the Bunya Mountains or McPherson Range (both mostly National Park!). As I tried to emphasise in my earlier post, it seems to be unknown in the Sydney region and indeed in all NSW coastal lowlands, though you would think it must have been introduced here many times over the last 150 or so years. It only appears to have been grown successfully in the tableland areas in NSW, in the central highlands of Vic, and in Tas - see Spencer 'Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Aust.' vol. 1. A Google search shows that Araucaria araucana has its northern limit in Chile at 38 deg 40 min S and grows at altitudes between about 900 and 1700 m. From about 1850 onward it was discovered that it would happily grow in many parts of the British Isles (50 to 55 deg N). The Qld-NW border is around 28 deg 30 min S! This prompts a generalisation that has sometimes occurred to me, namely that most conifer species can be grown in climates somewhat cooler than those of their natural ranges, but few will thrive in climates that are warmer. One exception that occurs to me is Platycladus orientalis, which I have seen in coastal N Qld. As for where a Monkey Puzzle can be bought in Australia, I looked in my 2000/2001 edition of 'The Aussie Plant Finder' and find listed 3 suppliers from Vic, 2 from NSW and 1 from Tas. You could seach on the names Yamina, Dicksonia, Quindalup and Vintage Trees to find if any still stock them. Here is a pic I took just recently of a Monkey Puzzle in a private garden at Mount Tomah, planted c. 1982 as a small seedling. Its height is about 7 m.

Thank you Wombat, at least you know what I am going through, I am on a hill above the road, so a fence would be out of the question I am afraid, I think I will be dead anyway before any tree grew high enough to keep out the noise and black deisel fumes. I hope I don't ever have the experiences you have had though, it is a wonder that you have remained sane. If anyone has ever been down Tin Can Bay road, well they would know what the traffic noise is like. How very true Wombat, I feel like planting anything I can get my hands on if it would make a difference. Karn karn