I planted a hummingbird-friendly garden in Whittier (Inland LA County) a few years ago, and a few shrubs have bloomed every since: Cuphea "David Verity" has had hundreds, if not thousands of blooms constantly. They are 8 feet tall now and need to be cut way back, but the hummingbirds love them; Salvia x jamensis has also bloomed continually. Some of the original plants have died or been replaced, but seedlings have taken their places (so i am not really sure if I should call them Salvia x jamensis anymore. Some look a lot like regular Salvia microphylla). Hummingbirds love all of these salvias, and they survive even when the sprinklers are turned off for weeks at a time. In the almost frost-free climate on LA County both of these are constantly in flower.

Funnelweb, I like your approach! We have a similar attitude. I remember a few years ago we had a snake in the backyard. I only saw it partially once in the old chook shed as it scuttled away very quickly. I thought "god what the heck is that" and then figured it must have been a blue tongue as we had quite a few of those. Then one day my son's school friend was here and they got a good look at it. The friend was all for killing it as he used to live on acreage down around Berry and reckoned that when it gets to breeding season they (snakes) get agressive.. but I reckoned it wasn't doing anyone any harm and indeed it had only even been seen the once, and frankly, I'm flattered it likes our place, so I issued a protection order for it. we have some frogs and some water and the old chook shed has a nice northerly facing concrete floor and stuff in it to hide under. Sounds like pretty good snake apartments really! There used to be an aviary and chooks in nearby yards, and these attracted the mice, but those are gone, so the food supply may not be what it once was, and I don't think snakey is till around. I have been doing a project re family photos recently and had a disappointment. We have an old family story about my grandfather walking along and stepping in a taipan which was curled up asleep minding its own business in the long grass. Snake jumped up into the air in fright. Granfather jumped up into the air in fright.. the family story went that snake went one way, grandfather the other.. but then going through my mothers photo album, there's a photo of my grandfather holding up a dead snake. Mum says, yeah, that IS the snake from the story. .... sniff... I liked that story better when I thought the snake lived to tell the tale. As far as I know the only fauna permanently living in the old chook shed at the moment is a rather large and impressive red back. When I found her she was a beautiful specimen. Red backs made excellent pets. They are quiet, timid and provide food for blue tongues. Sure you don't want to go sticking your finger in their gob, but I reckon that's about what you'd need to do to rile one up.. and im our experience the red backs aren't stupid, they do their best to choose places you don't interfere with too much and set up their web out of the way there. They are lovely little creatures.

Hi beebs, It is my understanding that the reputation of Eucalyptus for limb-shear has been extrapolated from the few to the many. As a general rule of themb, the eucalypts which make good building material are also good strong trees in the paddock, and don't deserve to be lumped with the widowmakers like river redgum and the angophoras. Ironbark is one of the strongest, and a tree you could trust where, for example, you might trust an English oak. Do you want to go with dry sclerophyll plants such as melaleucas and callistemons, ar are you more interested in a rainforesty look? Dry sclerophyll plants burn like a bomb, whereas the "dry rainforest" species tend to be a bit hard to set alight. They are also usually good at growing in a crowd, even in the difficult situiation of under eucalypts. Pittosporums are notably fire-retardant, and are lovely civilised things to live with - not to big and amenable to pruning for thicker growth or size control. Members of the Sapindaceae family are particularly deep rooted and get down below the eucalypt roots to a space of their own. They include Alectryon, Arytera, Atalaya, Cupaniopsis, Diploglottis, Dodonaea, Elattostachys, Guoia, Harpullia, and Heterodendron - plenty of good shrubs and small trees there. And all those dry rainforest things are drought hardy and never need watering after their first six weeks. Hoveas also have a reputation of preferring the under gumtree site. Another gem worth trying is the little Ironbark orchid, Dendrobium aemulum, which you can usually get from nurseries, and might like to attach to the south side of your tree. Trish

"To enhance the red colour on the NSW Christmas Bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum), apply 50g of sulphate of iron per each 2m high bush in October." I am quoting a titbit I saved from somewhere but have never actually got around to using. My Christmas bush looks as though it will take forever to get around to flowering. It never gets watered, and I don't really think it likes it here. Best of luck with yours. Trish