Thanks for the reply John. The *pot idea* is/was only for its first year. I was intending to put it in a good size pot - 5 gall or larger - hoping to allow it to develop a stronger root system over the summer. I have a smallish garden shed which has reasonable light and a heater in there should the temps fall drastically. I was thinking if I put the EC in there during say Dec/Jan + may Feb, then come March or so I could bring it out and plant it in ground. Interesting your comments that they took quite a considerable length of time to put on height. The reading I've done indicated they were fast growers but seems that is not the case given your experiences! I can live witih the 5-7 years for bloom thing if that's the way it is. I'm getting a couple of Davidia involucrata and gather that they also can be 10 years to bloom. Hope I'm still around for the bloom of both. LOL!! Again, many thanks for sharing your experience. Holly

I grow everything from all over the world, together. I keep things from overwhelming their neighbors through pruning and careful placement of the larger ones. Eventually it will look like the jumbled mess that nature is up close. I am careful about leaf color and avoid anything that looks too civilized or has large over-hybridized flowers. So it is mostly natives of Mediterranean climates from around the world. I especially like things that spread by underground runners and self sow as long that they are not too vigorous. Most self-sowers can be kept under control by judicious deadheading and runner pulling. I avoid plants that have been labelled noxious weeds in our climate, even those that might not be a problem where I live. I have seen enough broom and pampas grass in the wild to want to perpetuate the problem.

Tony said: [i]I can't recall ever visiting a native nursery in Qld that doesn't stock Gr. venusta. [/i] I suspect that you are right - I have even seen it at Bunnings, but I can accept that it may be endangered in terms of its numbers in the wild. Large tracts of Byfield have been subsumed for commercial timber plantations, and I'm sure that other parts of it were cleared for agriculture back when few realised the value of virgin bushland. One of the locals sells ferns at the Rocky markets, and he recalls seeing 'huge' Byfield ferns (Bowenia Serrulata) being torn out of the ground by bulldozers - particularly tragic when you realise how slow these plants are to reach maturity. On a happier note, I consider both the flower and foliage of G. Venusta to be extremely attractive, and even more so when companion planted with its hybrid, G. 'Orange Marmalade' (G. venusta X G. glossadenia). A real contrast to the lighter, sparser foliage of the other tropical Grevilleas in my front garden. Cheers, Artie

I'm so sorry, Ingrid, to hear about your drought conditions. I can't imagine how hard it must be, especially with a big property like that - so frustrating and demoralising at the same time. (Although I still think your view is amazing!) I wonder... are any Australian native plants available in the States? Because most of them are adapted to be very drought tolerant. Most of Australia is desert and even in the coastal regions, native plants - not the pampered "pet plants" in suburban backyards - have to cope with high heat, intense sunlight and minimal rainfall most of the year. Perhaps you might like to try some? Many are actually very colourful - for example, kangaroo paws are very popular here and they come in vivid red and gold colours. I don't like them personally (I think they look a bit creepy!) but a lot of people love them. (image from gardenexpress.com.au) There are native Ausrtralian daisies that are very drought tolerant once established, I had this one planted - it's called a Brachyscome - and I actually killed it by over-watering! (image from gardenexpress.com.au) ...and a bush/small tree that I see everywhere, called callistemon, that has beautiful red spiky flowers. (image from gardenexpress.com.au) Another bush that I personally don't like but a lot of people love (and it's really drought tolerant) is grevillea with spiky flowers in pink, peach, yellow and red... (image from gardenexpress.com.au) Another bush I see used a lot in gardens - a bit similar to rosemary, with tiny light blue flowers - is the westringia. This is famous for being very drought tolerant.(image from gardenexpress.com.au) There's a native climber called hardenbergia - I think this one IS available in the States (it's also called purple coral pea vine) - I've got this in my garden and it's very pretty when it flowers in spring. (image from gardenexpress.com.au) Oh, one native I do like a lot and I have it in my own garden is the Silky Eremophila. It's got beautiful silver foliage which is velvety to touch and in spring, it produces soft lilac flowers. I think it's native to Western Australia. Here's a picture of mine when it was flowering in Sep last year... Here are some more native Aussie plants that you might find interesting. Again, I don't know if any of them might be easily available in the U.S. http://www.gardeningwithangus.com.au/anguss-top-ten-australian-plants-for-colour/ Hope this might help! ~ HY