Thanks for all the good info, folks. Even got a few good restaurant tips from the other thread! I will definitely be visiting those nurseries. Now I just have to aclimate myself as to what to plant when! When I moved down here to Ft Myers in September, it was quite a surprise to see tomato plants ready to go in the ground at Home Depot. I had just pulled all mine up back in NY. Thanks for the welcomes! Scott

Jan, I wonder if the little darling in the iris bed was the same one who was racing back and forth tearing leaves off the trees in the Japanese Garden at the Hobart Botanic Gardens. Don't you just love those parents who don't do any parenting when it's really needed but suddenly appear out of nowhere to abuse staff or other visitors when those people feel compelled to put an end to the shenanigans. So we limited ourselves to the occasional disapproving glare. A little later I was told off for jumping the queue at the ladies toilets. Honest mistake. I didn't know there was only one cubicle. I don't remember a lock on the outer door which is usually the case with a single cubicle facility, and considering it was in a rather nice-looking new (since our last trip) visitors centre with a cafe, I wouldn't have expected a single cubicle ladies. Lovely gardens but not the relaxing visit I had hoped for on the last day of our holiday. Didn't enjoy being on the Tahune Air Walk with a school group either. We were taking a photo from the cantilevered section when they came bouncing along and we had quite a lengthy wait until they finished bouncing. The teachers were some distance behind and obviously enjoying their own holiday and not the least bit interested in supervising these teenagers. And don't let me get started on the parents who think throwing pebbles at ducks in ponds is a healthy outdoor activity for their children. Shame that places which can be so soothing for the soul can be spoilt by kids who have never been taught to respect, sorry, this is turning into a rant. Dead easy, the Canberra Botanic Gardens are native.

Trancegemini, Sorry but I have read the posts correctly, apart from being too hasty in my typing and therefore mistaking Paradisi's comments as Misty's. I was late for work. I stand by all else that I have written. I agree that the form of development that you have described is unsuitable. It is just a cheaper version of urban sprawl. It is driven by the preference that buyers have for just the suburban block rather than a more organised and balanced mix of higher density living, community shops, larger parklands, etc. and fast transport. Government knows that urban sprawl is getting out of hand and by making blocks smaller, it is supposed to slow it down. Of course it is not slowing. But it is having an enormous strain on infrastructure. I feel many outer suburbs will end up as the slums of the future just as they have in the USA. Economies of scale naturally means that services like trains and buses are going to be much more difficult to run in a sprawl than in higher density communities. Before the car, people occupied a footprint a tenth to a fifteenth of what we do now. As a result of the car we take up ten to fifteen times more space. So it follows that it costs that much more for services and inconveniences. When the price of petrol gets even higher as it is bound to, the outer suburbs will be really hit. Where transport hubs are and commerce and shopping exists, Goverments should zone for higher density housing. There are many examples of excellent high density living with adjacent parks and gardens in Europe and the USA. But right now there are not enough votes in it. There will be inevitably though. There are many examples of outer suburbs that have become slums because of the lack of services and amenties being provided. One classic example is Los Angeles where I have spent some time. With reliance on the motorcar and very little consideration for public transport and decent educational facilities, parks, health facilities etc., there are now suburban "no go crime zones" where everyone has a backyard but nothing else. People feel so isolated with support facilities so negligible and morale is so low that crime is rampant. Freeways spaghetti everywhere and yet are still clogged. Billions are now being spent on railways but far too late. Of course everyone in these garden forums are entitled to their garden blocks but that does not mean that there must be some sensible thought into how our cities as a whole will be sustained. It also follows that inner-city high density living can also be quite enjoyable. Most folk need to live close to their work and to the things that gives them pleasure. Urban sprawl has resulted in clogged roads and unreliable public transport services. In order to save on the time it takes to travel they choose to live in higher density communities. Mostly it is surprisingly pleasant believe it or not. I know many more folk in my street than I did when I lived in the "Burbs". We...

Hi, On advice from this forum I pulled my TG out of the rose bed and put her against a wall. She had flowered beautifully but was trying to spread much too far. She is described by Treloars as a low climber. Mine is now sprouting in every direction and looking very happy.