OOps, I overlooked where you said that this was a public garden! I was giving you the credit! Oh well, you can have the credit for the great photo! :) I am planning to go to England someday for the Chelsea Flower Show. In fact, we were supposed to go there for our honeymoon, but we were scared of going overseas right after 9/11, so we went to Hawaii instead. With airfare going up up up, it may be many more years before I can affored to go. I would love to meet someone who has been there!

Okay, Medo and CarolynP effectively twisted my arm! I'm in! I see some things that I can fill requests for, too, which is going to be such fun! I am concerned over the names that noone else has picked to send to yet. Is there any way we can pick from the list of people that haven't been picked yet to be sure we're sending something to everyone? I'd love to volunteer to send things I have to several of them to be sure to spread the holiday spirit more evenly. Just LMK how you want to handle that issue, Kym, okay? I'd be happy to wait until you get a list from other people of who they're sending to before I pack up my seeds. Here's my list. The first two are my biggest wants; the rest are simply in alphabetical order: 1. Fruit - (anything that makes good fruit for eating/canning when grown from seed) *BIGGEST WISH* 2. Vegetables - (just about ANY not on my list as I'm collecting seed from tons of stuff to hopefully have an insanely huge stash to plant from and share) * Bay Laurel Tree (Bay Leaves) * Berries (any edibles) * Chinese Lantern (prefer named varieties) * Corn, Ornamental - (any variegated variety) * Custard Apple - (any variety) * Figs - (any variety) * Grains, Ornamental - (any variety) * Grapes - any named * Hazelnut Shrub/Tree (or any edible nut shrub/tree that comes true from seed) * Kale - Redbor * Lettuce - Merlot * Miracle Berry / Miracle Fruit * Passion Fruit Vine - (I would like to grow any named varieties) * Saw Palmetto * Squash/Gourd/Pumpkin - (any uncommon varieties) * Tomato - Hawaiian Currant * Tomato - Ildi * Wonder Egg (tropical fruit plant) Blessings, Angela

When I first moved to my new garden in Castlemaine, some 15 years ago, I realised I would not have a lot of time for gardening, and although I had gardeneed from early childhood, I had just got the bug big time. I had come from a garden with excellent water retention, to one that was sitting on the top of a very porous hillside, with scant topsoil. I definitely wanted flowers - not so much big and blowsy, as plentiful - cottage style. I decided to make myself a long list of what I liked that WOULD grow there. I used Kevin Walsh's "Water-Saving Gardening" published in 1993 by Reed Books, as a resource, and spent several evenings going through forst the "High drought tolerance" plants, then the 'Medium drought tolerant" plants and simply made a long list of those I really liked. The lists are extensive, and include all types of plants, giving brief descriptions, and some cultural info. Only a few photos in the book, but a big plus for me was that the author was a local. My garden was lovely (in my eyes at least) and I was sad to leave it. The new owners pretty much ripped it up after they found a snake the first week. The got rid of anything that provided ground cover - LOL. Didn't really upset me - they didn't deserve my garden, and I had taken lots of it with me. Rather than lists - how about some good resourses - either in book form or online? My need for drought tolerent plants has been greatly reduced with my move here, as the soil is more water retaining, and the rainfall a little more reliable. Here is a link that might be useful: Tips from Kevin Walsh

lady of the bats We feel your pain. I am currently facing the three horsemen of the apocalyse: Deer, Wallaby and Yowie. If it wasn't for the kind words of encouragement from the forum-mongers, Uncle Remiggio and I would have long ago surrendered. I won't bore you with the long history or soul-crushing defeats, outright routings and dismal failures we have had to contend with, but believe me, my Ice Berg roses will never be the same again and Uncle Remiggio still has a slight limp and one eye is more askew than socially acceptable. Be advised, don't waste time exploring the various solutions on offer - their is no chemical, device, detector, emmitter or philosophy that has any effect on these creatures (I include possums as a potential fourth horeseman). Their is one and only one solution - extermination. After months of research - literally weeks spent acting and thinking like animals, Uncle Remiggio and I have engaged in a ruthless guerilla war determined to eliminate the foe or die trying. You will be abused. You will be reviled. The percieved cuteness of the possum is seem by many as more than enough reason to allow them to eat your plants and defecate on your Ice-bergs - but be strong - kill - kill - kill. Please note that any comments in defence of "native" animals will be ignored vigorously.