Hi M, I am pretty sure that unless you have a specific permit, you won't be able to leave australia with anything of the plant variety. Customs laws here in australia are very strict and for good reason too! Good luck with your search though. Cheers, Mel...

g'day paradisi, for me i can't understand why we should expect the authority to solve our gardening problems. water is getting to be a scarce if not a very expensive commodity and from what i see and read behind the picture portrayed by the administration on tv it is going to get a whole lot worse and there is no qick fix, may never be a fix at all? the way i see it if we want gardens then we have to do gardens that need little or no water (basically survive on rain water alone), to get the best result then you will need to have some understanding of your micro climate as that will play a major part in what you can successfully grow in a near waterless garden. eg.,. if you have a western aspect then your micro climate will be far more extreme than someone with a northern aspect. some steps to get real serious about are: 1.. install at least 1, 3,000 gallon tank 5,000 gallons is even better and 2 will be even more so. you don't have to pay to have pumps or gutter pipes fitted that is DIY stuff so very easy, just have the tanks delivered and sited where you want it/them. 2.. i've said this before and i guess i'll keep saying it because it works! your gardens will have to be very heavily mulched with spoilt hay type mulches and as the mulch breaks down redo it, on vege gardens keep it around 10"s thick around trees and shrubs around 20"s 3.. in hind site you may find your cottage type annual gardens are going to be very resource wasteful (just like lawns) or high in use at least so minimise them and keep those plants in one spot of your landscape. we all love ferns and stag's and tropicals of any sort but they are becomming impracticle as they often consume large amounts of water. 4.. get real about capturing and using all your waste water, the system doesn't need to be expensive, yes it may take some effort on the gardeners behalf but it is going to get valuable water to your plants, mostly for your vegetables as it is very difficult to make vege gardens that waterless as most veges need good moisture levels to produce. guess a lot of bad habits from affluent times are going to have to be changed, but good habits can become part and parcel just as much as bad habits are. there are businesse around that will supply recycled water and water your gardens for you so if you realy want to continue with your gardening style maybe that is a way for you, that way you alone pay for the excesses not others in the community. from all media i have seen from the administrators they are clearly saying grow indemic native plants in your landscape, they are not promoting anything else. all i have written above i have already done so i know it works and i will continue to do so even back here in the burb's, water restrictions aren't concerning me in the least. maybe it's bit the bullet time?? maybe go from pretty to practical?? if you need some help or advice or some analising of your situation or some lateral...

Thank you very much to all the responders to my questions :-))) My question really revolved around *making the roses resist diseases and pests* rather than actual treatments. That's my understanding of the philosophy behind "organic" gardening. I'm aware that everything is a chemical and it's not a term I use in the context that some people use "chemical" and "non-chemical" - as though something could be a "non-chemical"! It wouldn't be anything at all! Regardless, it was an interesting exercise and I am grateful to the folk who answered - I was not able to answer personally as no email addresses are available. I'm still at the beginning of my quest for some cultural changes I could make to help the roses *resist* disease and pests. I have squashed regiments of aphids and have heard of the milk spray - regardless of the benign nature of these treatments, they are still *treatments* and not ways to make the roses intrinsically healthier which is what I still want to do. I should live so long! This form of communication is complex so I'll sign off from this forum. In the meantime ... Happy gardening and thank you again for your responses :-))) Elaine

Yes.. There is a Rose Garden at New Farm Park.. Sadly Qld does not have that many Rose Nurseries now as many closed down in the drought a few years back.. There are no rose nurseries in Brisbane itself you have to go out a bit to the west to find any, towards Toowoomba way. There is Barton Rose farm and Maxine's Mainly Roses both a hours drive west of Brisbane not even sure if they have the type of roses you are after.. http://www.mmroses.com.au/ Here is a link that might be useful: Barton Rose Farm..