this post had me in tears when i read it earlier. I am that way about my quilting, absolutely NO desire. So I do know the feeling you get with your gardens. However, my gardens are a totally different story. I WANT to get out there sooooo badly. for the last hmm, six years, I have not been able to physically get the work done. I've finally been diagnosed with MS (18 mos ago), have had two surgeries on my neck do to herniated disks that compressed my spinal cord, and am this year FINALLY getting the energy up to get out there again. I'm starting with a clean slate, which is nice in many ways, but so daunting in other ways. I miss all my flowers so much though, that I will find a way, some way, to get them back again. I hope that you also find the desire to garden soon, the maintenance is enough to drive you bonkers when you don't want to be out there, but left alone, it's going to be horrendous to get motivated again. it takes no time for the weeds to notice lack of interest, and they take over like crazy then. wishing you all best of luck! sally

OK, wattleblossom - your garden sounds absolutely spectacular, but there are several points I'd like to make: 1. 'Your mileage may vary' : many of the species you have successfully grown, be they from Oz or wherever, simply wont do well in large parts of Queensland/Northern NSW/NT. Thats commonsense, but its easy for new gardeners to get drawn into the images presented by the (south-dominated) gardening media. Its a tribute to you that you have found the plants that thrive in your area. 2. Both sets of plants will be as 'low maintenance' as you want them to be, and that comes down to your preferred presentation. For example, pruning is a must for many shrubs, but how many need to be topiarised ? We can create hedges with exotic conifers or a species such as Melaleuca, but how can we prevent dieback in the centre of our new hedge ? This is one area where an informal planting scheme wins hands down, at least IMO. 3. From your description, it seems that you have two clearly delineated areas, and plants belong in one or the other by courtesy of their origin. I accept that this works for you, but have to ask if we need to build such arbitrary boundaries. I've made the point several times that I believe many of our rainforest plants are good companion plants for Vireya Rhododendrons, Gardenias and similar glossy-leaved exotics, and mixing dry climate plants from similar latitudes is already a well-worn path. Proteas are a slightly different story, although my 'high NPK' experiment still hasnt killed my tropical grevilleas :) 4. I also struggle with the insect-attack issue : none of us likes to see their evil handiwork, but I've been very lucky to date. Grasshoppers and caterpillars currently seem to be be enjoying exotics and natives alike in my garden, but its also rewarding to watch a magpie flying off with one of the marauding bugs protruding from its beak. Its currently very dry in CQ, and I suspect that this has pushed the insects into our gardens in larger numbers - they werent a problem in Summer. None of this makes my opinions any more valid than the next persons, but I do think that tight integration between Australian and imported plants is the key for the future of our native plants in commercial horticulture (as opposed to conservation). It will be a sad day when city kids can only see native plants in a botanical garden or arboretum. You or I could build an incredible garden using only plants from Madagascar, but would we be willing to limit ourselves to that one (admittedly sensational ..) island ? Who knows - Bunnings might start shipping truckloads of Madagascan plants after our gradens make the glossies :)

What a shame, to hear that you two have had such bad experiences with Hardenbergias. They should be so good! I've had all kinds, and think it reflects the state of the nursery industry. Maybe people rush to market with a new hybrid before it is properly tested? I had great results with a few plants of a very vigorous climber on a fence. They looked wonderful for two years, and then, I think, had simply played out their lifespans. They petered out over an ugly few years, then gave me a few very full day's work just unpicking the darn dead things from the chain wire. The worst I ever had were a set of a dozen or so plants bought cheap from a nursery. I hoped they would cover a fence with glory. Instead, they all had different growth habits - climbers, shrubs, and some ground covers which refused to even think about climbing and ran all over the drive. I suppose they were the seedling children of a hybrid, and I should have known better than to buy them. Some of the shrubs are still there, six years later, but most got chopped out by me in frustration because they wouldn't grow the way I wanted them to. Worse still was a white one. It cost a lot, hardly achieved a thing, then died before its second year. Meanwhile, the local natives pop up about the place without any help from me. They are modest things compared with the nursery-bought affairs, but seem to go on, year after year, being quietly beautiful. The moral of the story seems to be not to spend money on Hardenbergias, except perhaps for the tried and tested varieties - Happy Wanderer and Mini-ha-ha. Trish

Hi there Satisdee. I'm inclined to think your Hardenbergia is infested with lerps. I'm familiar with lerps on Eucalypts but not on Hardenbergia so I did an internet search but am none the wiser. Assuming that you have lerps on your Hardenbergia I'd recommend that you leave the Hardenbergia in place. The lerps will provide wonderful food for Pardalotes, a small, very attractive native bird (there are several species). The lerp is a tiny insect which builds a sugary coating to protect itself. Pardalotes remove the sugary coating to get to the lerp & you can often hear the click of their bills as they do so. If you don't have Pardalotes in your neighbourhood then I recommend that you & your neighbours begin planting the native vegetation which will attract them. Putting up nest boxes with quite small holes will also attract them. In the meantime you'll probably find your Hardenbergia will look a little sick. Unfortunately, that's a sign of imbalance in the environment which lerps can help to restore. In fact, Pardalotes provide wonderful protection for Eucalypts by controlling lerps. Hopefully, they'll eventually do the same for your Hardenbergia. You might find that living with a temporarily sick Hardenbergia will be well worth it if you can eventually attract the delightful Pardalotes or even Thornbills. That would be far preferable to using a chemical to control the lerps.