Sally - thanks for the invite! I so wish I could make it to Brisbane for the conference, but that's not happening. Will there be any sort of written or recorded record of the speeches? The reason I ask is that I feel a real affinity with "warm weather" antique rose growers in Australia. Here in CA we talk to each other, but outside of that the rest of the US has way different climates from ours. (Sometimes we annoy rose growers in the rest of the US by touting roses they can't grow, or insisting that Austin roses are mostly huge climbers, or exclaiming over the delights of Spring in Feb!). Even the warm South & Southeast of the US is horribly humid, and so has very different issues from our Mediterranean climate. Reading that wonderful book about old roses in Australia made me realize that you guys have very similar climates to ours! (So does Southern France, but my French is not that good - Australia seems to be the only area full of English speaking old rose enthusiasts in a similar climate to ours). Jackie Schmidt

Bob you should check it out. The plants in the conservatories are just gorgeous and the butterflies and hummingbirds flying around are really something. The outside gardens are beautiful as well and you can get some cool plants. It's really close to you. I'm surprised that you've never been. I'll be going again. I never get tired of it. I have no idea if we'll be flying or driving. Even with cheap fares it's expensive to fly 5 people anywhere but with the price of gas........ Karyn

I am a huge Australia fan. I think you are 100% doing the right thing sticking with Australia with only a few weeks. I just love Sydney and would move there in a heartbeat. I second the recommendation to read Down Under - it had me howling with laughter. Just fabulous. The Blue Mountains are a must do. You can take the train I think or drive. If you drive there is a campsite that seems to attract a lot of wild wallabies. Tripadvisor forum might be a good spot to work out exactly where it is. Seeing them in the wild is a whole different ball game to seeing them in the zoo. Melbourne is a nice city too (I prefer Sydney), but the suburb of St Kilda beach has a pier where wild penguins come in at dusk. That was the coolest thing to me. It's hit or miss, but we went twice because I am just a sucker for that kind of thing! There is also a huge touristy penguin viewing place in Melbourne where you sit on bleachers and watch the penguins come in. I'm sure you would see many more penguins that way, but I just feel like the pier in St Kilda is more authentic, but different benefits to each. Melbourne also has the much mentioned Great Ocean Road which is stunning. PLUS there are various areas to stop off which are known for wildlife. I can't remember how I found out about them (tripadvisor forum? lonely planet?) but there is a golf course where kangaroos hang out. I got the funniest photos of kangaroos just chilling on the green. Another area with lots of wild koalas, and it also happened to have a bunch of parrots which took a liking to our car. There is also a crater called Tower Hill which is a national park at the end of the GOR which has a ton of wildlife. We did not get especially lucky there and 'only' saw emus, but it was a very cool place and I would definitely go again. The other nice thing about Melbourne is that it has short flights over to Tasmania which is much more like New Zealand in feel and is stunning. We loved the Bay of Fires and Wine Glass Bay (a hike!) which is meant to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Also has a lot of vineyards, and farms with happy, free range cows where you can go to try the cheese, etc. lovely. There is also a place on the east coast (I forget the name sorry) which is meant to have the most wonderful small tour of a penguin area. We got rained out so couldn't do it, but it is meant to be amazing. Cape Tribulation has one of the most gorgeous beaches I have seen and access to the Great Barrier Reef (MUST DO)!!! I have heard amazing things about the Whitsundays. I am DYING to go there one day. Sorry some of this is vague, but if you like any of the ideas it should give you a starting point at least to find out more. I am so jealous - have a blast!!

Hi everyone, I’m new to this forum and thought I would give it ago. I have a green couch lawn (with a little Queensland blue couch mixed in with it the front yard) and just having a few problems with certain weeds. When I moved to the property the lawn was dead… I mean like so dead it has taken me ages just to revive it to this level. At the moment the lawn is healthy and gets mowed once every 4 days and deep watered once every 7 days and fertilized at least every 3 months. Also I’m located in Brisbane Queensland Australia. At the moment I have removed most of the board leaf weeds and just struggling to get rid of these last ones. Does anyone know what type of weeds these are and what the best way to remove them is?