I think that cultures that share a language and were both originally colonized by the same culture share quite a bit of common design traditions, and you are letting the language/terminology get in the way. Curb/kerb appeal is simply real estate/television design makeover jargon that has been picked up by mass culture here, and references making a good first impression from the street. Pretty basic concepts both here and there, I would think. The concept of privacy screening may well be either cultural or individual, it isn't the same for everyone here, or there, but more linked to individual preferences. Here in California, which for better or worse is a garden design fashion leader, due to our combination of popular culture disseminated by television and cinema, geography, market size and population, we have multiple influences on design beyond the English garden tradition. Indigenous cultural influences are virtually nil, while the Latin/Spanish/Mexican influences are huge, and can be traced back to Roman, Persian as well as Arabic design influences. More recently, but still at least a 100 years ago now, Asian influences, particularly Japanese in California's case, have played a role. From what I see of New Zealand regional landscape design, you share some gardening trends with California in particular. Smaller sized lots for older, more urban areas for one. A coastal maritime climate as well as mountains, which shapes how we garden and the plants we use, and importance of captured views beyond the garden, screening to control winds and make gardens more comfortable to be in, and plantings that use both natives and imported exotics, that wouldn't survive in more extreme continental climate gardens. New Zealand plants and Australian plants are quite common here, as are succulents and bromeliads which seem equally popular in more contemporary New Zealand/Australian gardens over there. I'd also hazard a guess that at the higher economic end of garden design, there is virtually no difference in styles between California and New Zealand, aided and abetted by mass media such as international garden design magazines, television and newspapers. I happen to live in a part of California where the local and regional design tends to be more distinctive and individual than most other parts of California. There are no new subdivisions of mass produced tract homes in my town of Berkeley, and the entire inner Bay Area around San Francisco Bay is for the most part neighborhoods of older homes(relative I know, nothing much here older than 120 years), built in multiple styles over decades, on mostly small lots. As we also have an influx of people from all over the world settling here, gardens at the local level are distinctly less suburban looking and more international in flavor. Particularly here in northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, we are also blessed with a nursery industry that is still regional and not a national/corporate hegemony, with nursery owners/horticulturists that have broad interests in plants from around the world suitable for California conditions. Not to say that this doesn't occur elsewhere as well,(North Carolina and Washington and Oregon states also have this), but having a broad range of plants to design around also makes for less homogenized landscapes.

spunboundwonder thats applenut's home. Good guy with lots of info and very friendly. Hope he gets some business from this thread.

I think the common Cycas revoluta is common for a reason--it's a great plant with a fair degree of cold tolerance. Mine are too big (and valuable) to do zonal experimenting, but maybe I'll try one year with a smaller one (with some protection). Coonties are just more temperamental in my experience. Your Sago will be fine in a chilly garage as long as frosts are light--keep mine in the 28-60 F range over Winter with some light.--I also like Dioon (overwintered in similar conditions. P.S., Important to keep really DRY over cold season--I think I might water mine once while they're in the garage (December until mid March).

Yes, for sure, as Dorion says they're worth growing even in regions with short summers. If starting from seed, these must be sown very early, even January! Canna rhizomes can be purchased from many places, though beware, much of the stock these days is virused and can preform poorly and virus spreading to other healthy cannas one might have. This is overcome either by starting your own seed or purchasing seed grown plants that are generally offered by many retailers, the Cannova series is particularly good. They make excellent container plants, though keep well watered and fed. Like most tropicals, they don't much like cold weather and I toss my potted plants into the house on those chilly nights we sometimes have even into June. If you keep yours in your greenhouse for an extended period of time, be sure to watch for both aphids and spider mites and use a hose to wash down the foliage if these insects become troublesome. I toss the containers into the cold storage room for the winter, just keep them a few degrees above freezing and check from time to time that they don't become overly dried out and they should be fine, though some cannas do store better than others.