Mauirose - a crimson flowering Broadbean ? Wow, do you know the name and/or a source for the seed ? Ozzievego. I would second Mauirose's suggestion of Bull's Blood Beets ( grown for their tops )you could also try the varieties of Swiss Chard 'Charlotte' ( deep yellow color ) and 'Bright Lights' ( several colors Maroon, Green, Yellow and Pinkish ) I would also second the suggestion of Nasturtiums, they look great and the blossoms taste similar to radishes when added to salads looks and tastes great, they can also take less water than many types of flowers which is probably a plus in Perth from what I have heard. If you have a trellis or climbing structure on the south side of your garden you could grow climbing nasturtiums, or Morning Glories ( but 7C may be a bit cold for them if it stays that cold or below 10C for very long. ) Marigolds not only smell bad to rabbits and some other 4 legged pests but their roots deter nematodes that can damage roots ( club root ) in cabbage family plants and others and 1 other flower to try is 4 O'clocks ( Mirabilis ) they can take cooler temps and get their nickname from the approximate time they open their flowers ( although mine seem to be on GMT cuz they always open 5 hours earlier at 11am :-) Good luck and give us an update on how these things do for you this season.

I've been gardening now in my home for 27 years and can only go by my experience, but I don't have problems with MG potting mix causing any problems in my gardens. When first dug, as there where no gardens anywhere on the acre of land we purchased with our home, I added plenty of peat, humous and top soil to the gardens. Kept turning them over and over and planted a few annuals the first year. As my gardens expanded to many different ones, I would put a handful of MG potting mix in the hole when the seedlings went in the ground. I always fertilized with MG fertilizer. My container pots got miracle grow potting mix in them and at the end of the season, the soil went into a compost area for next season. In the spring it was loaded with worms etc. I would mix the compost and MG soil in the containers and use the MG potting mix when planting in the gardens and the MG fertilizer for the plants. All of my flower and veggie beds are covered with bark mulch purchased by cubic yards from a local nursery and it decays over time into the soil. 4 years ago, I started WS seeds and used MG potting mix in all my containers to start the seeds and have had at least 90% germination every year. What ever didn't germinate went into a "let's see what happens" bed and some seeds have germinated in the area. I just let mother nature water them and see what happens. As I have dug out these seedlings do transplant I have found many, many earth worms in the soil there that is mostly sand and MG potting mix. This past fall, I wasn't in the best of health as I was emptying my containers of soil for the winter and decided to just dump the soil in left over plastic bags that had held the many cubic feet of MG potting mix I had purchased. I left the soil in the bags in the back of the house all winter. They where covered in snow, rained on, sleet, ice etc. Typical stuff for winter in New England. I hoped that the sun and heat within the bags would make a compost that was fairly good to use. Well, Saturday I decided to check the soil and see what had happened to it. Hubby dumped one of the bags that was almost full, making it about 2 cubic feet of soil, into a lawn cart. It smelled rich and much like a compost and it was full of earth worms. At least 30 of them in that one bag. Based on what I found in just 1 bag out of 4 of them, I fail to see how the MG soil is such a problem to the ground and gardens that we have. If, as you say, the MG potting mix would deplete the soil of good nutrients and not good for the soil, how is it that I have a bags of it left outside and they are full of earthworms, smells like compost and looks rich and healthy. I have had my soil tested many times in the areas of my gardens and the soil has always been good for my plants and that's with use of MG fertilizer. Now my lawns are another story, but I just keep digging up more and more of it as I think beautiful green lawns are a waste of time and money. New England weather does not produce perfect green lawns unless lots of chemical stuff and water is used. I prefer to have beautiful gardens instead. The only pesticide I have ever used is roundup on poison ivy and I don't like to use it but have no choice. My daughter is anaphylactly allergic to the stuff and when she was young, almost died twice from contact with it. My gardens are full of healthy beneficial insects, butterflies, birds etc. The only insects I gave up on dealing with is the red lily leaf beatle. When that problem became an hourly pick off the things, I pulled out all my lilies and got rid of them. Too many other beautiful plants to put in the ground without dealing with them. I recycle everything we possibly can, separating for the recycle pick up. For WS, we use only the recylces that are deep enough. My plastic bags are on their 4th year of use and still appear to be able to reuse another year, as are most of my containers. The ones we can't use, will go in the recycle bin. I use styrofoam cups for plant swaps and ask that the cups be returned for use in follow up years and they have been. The ones I use for starting seeds in, are in their 4th year of use right now and still in good shape for another year. When they can't be used anymore for seeds, I will break them up and use them in the bottom of containers for drainage. Personally, I think there are many more concerns for our gardens than he worry about MG soil. Bees disappeared from my gardens until the neighbors moved. They had to have a perfect lawn and the chemicals the lawn company used kept the bees away. Now they are gone and the insects are back. The attitude the public has "a little bit is good so a lot is better", is the dangerous thing. The products that are sold to the public and used for everything under the sun are a much bigger concern. The aim for a perfect lawn and all Scotts perfect lawn method is far more serious than MG soil problems, if they exist. It's improper use of chemicals that is the real problem. Just wish they could come up with a way to eradicate the misquito. that one serves no purpose and their bite can kill people. Like a student in high school that was a student of my daughter. That scares me a lot. Not MG potting mix. Fran

Another MG here....at least I completed the course but I was unable to do the volunteer work due to a medical problem. I did mine in Thomas Co., Ga. and here they require 50 hrs. of volunteer the first yr. and 25 hrs. every year after that to retain your "certificate". I don't need a "certificate". As for the class....way too much about turf grass! But the reason for that is that many varities of turf grass has been developed at the UofGa. satelite campus in Tifton, Ga....especially that nasty bermuda grass! I wish they had it all back, that stuff is horrible for people who have gardens & flower beds...it gets into everything. I was raised on a farm in central Ill. and have gardened most of my life. So I ended up teaching many things to my class...they were not things the UofGa. would promote cause I tend to use very little to no chemicals! Monsanto gives grant monies to UofGa. so they promote using chemicals for anything & everything! The class was interesting and I did get one very helpful item from it....no matter where you live or what you plan to do with your land...GET A SOIL TEST BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE! See what your soils actually need before you start putting things down that won't help or could make it worse. I found that my soils are in dire need of lime. Since we have several acres, I got ag. lime...it is loose (sorta powder form) so it won't go through regular lawn applicators, I've applied it by hand where I needed it. The thing is, it only cost $20 for one ton, but we did have to haul it ourselves. The cost of one ton of pellet lime in bags would be way beyond my budget. The ag lime also tends to last longer in the soils than the pellet. Most of the MGs in Thomas Co. are also wealthy women and a few men. And since I don't live in Thomas Co. I had another strike against me. My county doesn't give the MG class...it is geared more to field crops, both commidity crops (peanuts/cotton) and field veggie crops. I've learned more from being on several different gardening boards and asking questions than I learned in MG class. I've also taught a few folks things I already knew. So don't limit yourself to just one source of information...gather it from every place you go and then weigh it for how it will work in your area. No one has the same exact conditions as anyone else...even the neighbor next door or across the street/road. We all have to learn what works best for our own!

Be sure to pick plants that will stay within scale of the planting area (primary issue with the current plantings). Many bigleaf hydrangeas like Nikko or ES get huge here in the PNW (6-8' tall and wide) and a need to prune them to keep size in check will limit the flowering. Also afternoon sun exposure in that location is likely to be far too strong and result in daily wilting. You might want to look into some of the more compact or dwarf forms of Hydrangea paniculata, which can take full sun and can be pruned to size (if necessary) without affecting any flowering potential. Even if only viewed from indoors during our rainy season, I would still want to see something evergreen in that bed....otherwise you will just have bare dirt for a good 4-6 months and that means weeds :-) We are not limited in the variety of smaller evergreen plants available in this area so I would visit a local nursery to see what's on offer that you might like - euphorbias, candytuft, hebes, dwarf abelia or pieris. Even a groundcover or a carex or two.