HI Barrie, Nice pic. I'm right on the edge of zone 8 and love the unusual plants that neighbors haven't seen, like this one. Would you say that this is a good tree to take cuttings from for indoor floral arrangements?

HI BARRIE( VANCOUVER ISLAND) YOU WOULD MAKE ME SO HAPPY IF YOU WOULD TELL ME WHERE YOU GOT YOUR CYTISUS BATTANDIERI OR WHERE I MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND ONE. MAYBE THE NAME OF A GARDEN CENTRE THAT MIGHT HAVE ONE. THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP YOU CAN GAVE. HAPPY GARDENING.

It's beautiful (and what a sweet corner that is!), but in my experience the dwarf varieties have little or no fragrance. The tall Nicotiana Alata, which is mostly what I've grown for the past 30 years, is so powerfully night-scented that its perfume literally drifts around the yard. I'm not all that crazy about Nicotiana Sylvestris, although its wildness has a certain appeal, but the relatively new Aztec variety looked wonderful last year. I haven't figured out if Aztec is a hybrid or just a renamed issue of white Alata. Here's one clump of it in my garden:

Shilpa, I love Australian plants! Such an amazing variety of textures and colors; I don't see why any gardener would not want to use them. Especially Eucalyptus and Grevillea. I'm glad your folks have kept the Aussie natives in their yard. Even though I like rare plants from other parts of the world, I have kept quite a few northwest native plants in my garden as well (though I don't bother to take photos of them much). Brian, I planted the E. parvula in summer 1997; it was a little 6" tall plant in a tiny pot. I like it a lot too, but I think its growth form is better when it approaches maturity and starts getting rounded off at the top. That Callistemon is very upright, but I can never get a good pic of the flowers because it is in too much shade and I have to use the flash (with my camera anyways).