From my balcony I overlook a tropical paradise – blue sea, sun and lush foliages. Plants that dominate the landscape are Palm, Aloe, Agave, bold groupings of Kalanchoe and Bromebeliads. With just a little regular pruning and deadheading these gardens have been kept most attractive.

But it is not all sitting around…  one of our many excursions took us into the hinterland of the Glasshouse mountains where we explored the charming towns of Maleny and Montville as well as Mary Cairncross, a sub tropical rainforest park and living museum, – where we were greeted with beautiful bird song.

A visit to a private garden at Palmwoods was a gem. Oh the Succulents and Begonias! Garden owner Lyn Ampt was passionate about Begonias, which she had planted in pots and others directly in the garden. While mainly the Rex variety, there were also several of the shrub like perennials, many of which we grow as indoor plants. Lyn prunes and feeds them in the spring and they reward her with a myriad of colour, flower and form throughout the season.

Now for the foodies!! A visit to the Ginger Factory had the taste buds alerted – we were pleased to hear many of the delicious Buderim products sampled are available at New Zealand supermarkets. A tip: keep your  ginger fresh by storing it in the freezer.

Finally on our way back to Brisbane we visited  the Eden Garden Centre – what a stunner! Themed indoor and outdoor displays were really inspiring, especially the wall of living art – which you can eat too! (see above). The box frame was made of recycled wood (from used pallets) painted, then filled with potting mix and black weed mat to hold in place. Plant with your choice of vege, flowers or herbs. Finally hang onto a colourful wall or fence – a must do for the Spring!

Freda Hunter Tour Manager