Many Australians will be familiar with the garden at Totara Waters – they just don’t know it. Switch on the television most nights of the week and you’ll see the Lipton’s green tea advertisement with a guru and his devotees set in a lush tropical garden.

The ad was shot in one day, not in some exotic tropical location, but in an exotic garden at Whenuapai, north-west of Auckland New Zealand. Owners, Jocelyn and Peter Coyle were impressed with the care taken by the large cast. Not a plant was damaged. The ad was made for Australia TV and has never been shown in New Zealand.

Unfortunately the reality of coastal gardening can be relentless salt laden winds, sandy water-repellent soil and a garden that struggles to frame that beautiful view. Coastal gardens are a challenge but a well thought out and maintained garden will greatly enhance the enjoyment of your dream home.

Some 165 years after a certain native bulbous plant was first collected by Allan Cunningham in 1824 and noted as growing in great abundance under the hoop pines along the shores of the Brisbane River, I accidentally came across a curious little daffodil-like flower growing in the bush.

In 1832 the ‘Botanic Register’ exhibited what must have been the first coloured image of this plant, and dutifully named it Eurycles cunninghamii. Shortly afterwards the plant appeared in ‘Curtis’s Botanical Magazine’ in 1835 and was called the BRISBANE LILY.

For most gardeners who live in cyclone (and hurricane) regions of the world, the ferocious wind gusts are the main cause of plant damage, complicated by loss of soil anchorage once the deluge of water liquefies the soil. Gardeners on the shorefront may also have to contend with salt spray and even inundation. Anton van der Schans, internationally respected plantsman and landscape designer talks about better garden design and plant selection for these districts.

Have you enjoyed visiting some gardens but wondered how relevant they were to your own patch of turf? Some gardens are very large. Others clearly have been lavished with large budgets or have very committed owners. This garden in Brisbane may inspire you as it is a small, family garden crammed full of innovative ideas which addresses many environmental issues we all now face.

In the previous issue, we investigated the difference between clumping and running bamboo rhizomes. We also discussed the ideal conditions for growing these plants and their maintenance.

In this issue we will look at which clumping bamboos are best suited to your garden. As with all bamboos, environmental and climatic conditions affect how bamboos grow. Some of these bamboos have been around for a while however there are many new ones on the block.

Heliconias would have to be the one group of plants that shouts “TROPICAL” and the ultimate tropical plants to grow by those of us in cooler areas.

In the Sydney harbourside suburb of Bellevue Hill is a garden where heliconias flourish. Les Brandon started growing these plants five years ago and has been gradually adding to his collection each year; there are now over 15 different species and cultivars growing here.