I read somewhere about watering every day - think it must have been in a fairy tale. Yes, folks - yet another season of facing heavy fines for having a hose CONNECTED to a tap, heavier fine for using it. I'm bucketing all my washing water onto the garden in an effort to save my shrubs and trees. Have to admit, we must have the cleanest clothes in the street :-)

My apologies MMPI, but jealousy is such a terrible vice. This product sounds fascinating, but how did the roll stay together without the benefit of roots?

I ended up looking it up on Google and found, not only the English Cottage Garden Roll, but the Butterfly Roll, the Sunflower Garden Roll and the Shade Loving Plant Roll.

And how do they make it? "Premium seeds sandwiched between two layers of protective 100% wood fiber mulch ... held together with an organic adhesive."

If it's not available here as yet, it probably soon will be.

What a wonderful idea, takes all the hard work out of planting no more bad back, do you have to prepare the soil first. Ah but the water there is the CATCH.

MM

I suppose you would have to dig the soil over - otherwise the baby roots might have a hard time of it.

The rolls are about 30cm x 3m (or whatever 10 feet equals) and you can cut to desired size and shape. Bit like lining shelves, isn't it?

Now, if there is someone out there with a bit of capital ... but please add water holding crystals.

What an amazing idea. Maybe my seed packets will be soon redundant. It really gave me a hearty chuckle, similar to seeing a succulent garden on the roof of a shed at one of the open garden scheme properties at Mt Macedon.

I wonder too Wombat if there would be a market in Australia. The attraction in Montreal is that there are a specific number of gardening days in the year, the number is not large and a lot of snow. The fact of being able to cut it into shape is interesting. I'm getting very interested but I'll wait to see how my sister goes with it. She, poor darling, has been trying to grow Boronia in Montreal with no success at all. The squirrels tend to eat much of her garden in any case. Even the pots on the upstairs balcony aren't safe.

The succulent roof sounds interesting - do you have a photo?

I was never a great lover of succulents but, as they say, change is a part of life. Except for the annual punnet of parsley, succulents are the only plant I buy these days. I've discovered that they develop interesting colours in winter. And my garden would have the same moisture content as a roof on a sunny day.

Last year I bought a couple of succulents with almost black leaves but they died once winter came. I guess they aren't as hardy in our 'crisp' nights of -5or -6 degrees. Pity - I thought they were quite beautiful and offset the blues and greys of the others.

I really like the idea of roof gardens. My son was living next door to a house in Wollongong (where there is never a shortage of rain) which had a number of large asparagus ferns growing in the gutters. They looked particularly attractive cascading down the sides of the house. And no doubt there was also some interesting growth on the inside walls of the house as well.

The succulent roof on the shed in Macedon belongs to Stephen Ryan - Gardener Extrordinaire - owner of Dicksonia Nursery Mt Macedon. He sells rare and out of the ordinary plants and lives locally.

Listen to him on Radio 3CR's garden show on a Sunday morning 7.30am - 9.15am..............He's a hoot

Cathy