Hope you have a wonderful time and there are lots of Garden Webbers coming along to meet and greet you. One week to go for Henry and I to be wandering along at the Chelsea Flower Show. Marion

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...

here are three main botanical gardens in Brisbane. The Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens are worth a visit. The link is http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/facilities-recreation/parks-venues/parks/brisbane-botanic-gardens-mount-coot-tha If you are visiting you need a car or to organise to catch a bus there. Within the gardens you can follow a map for a self-guided tour or there are free organised tours with volunteers. I'll leave you to look around the website. Right in the city are The Roma Street Parklands which are quite pretty within a city landscape. Their website is http://www.romastreetparkland.com/Pages/default.aspx There are also the city parklands which I have not personally visited and I think may be more of a park than an actual arboretum. However it's right within the city and there is some information at http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/facilities-recreation/parks-venues/parks/city-botanic-gardens There is an Australian Open Garden Scheme and there may well be private gardens within the Brisbane range open to the public while you are visiting. You would need to check back with the website a little closer to your visit for more current information. http://www.opengarden.org.au/regions/qld_calendar.html A few more possibilites are listed at the site below ��" the parks would be just that, open spaces not botanical gardens really http://www.thelocaltourist.com.au/seq/Attractions/Municipal_Parks_and_Gardens.htm Anyway that may give you a start

Artie! I'll elaborate about the pods. Colin thought they were interesting, or attractive,or some such. I inherited my mother's biases there though I couldn't be bothered *hating* them. Sometimes, to keep her happy, I have at them with a pole trimmer, until the neck gives out. The general tone of the segment was positive. The man has a large output and who could blame him for revisiting an oldie for a rest. I've still got a bit of a thrill on a yellow one day but otherwise will let other people put up with the roots and the borers. Hoping to see the flame tree (Brachychiton) I liberated after several years in a pot onto our (sloping) nature strip flower before we leave here. It has settled in well. I remember Grant from FNQ writing here about the extreme colour displays from poinciana in dry times and saw brilliant examples, including the red one, in Charters Towers in Nov '03. Cheers Rose