Re: Plants for shaded areas in a community garden

**A*@aol.com**

Friend,

Outside of the heart-warming  bottles of New South Wales Shiraz that a 
gardener brought to our Hell's Kitchen Heroes Picnic ( honoring our 
neighborhood's firemen, cops and emegency medical service ambulance personnel 
last weekend) my knowledge of soil and plant conditions in Australia is 
pretty attenuated.  I do know, however,  that you have flora that many of us 
in North America would die for. 

Others on this list have probably already looked up plant varieties that 
would work in your climate/zone - we have some amazing master gardeners here. 

My suggestion is for you to reach out to resources close to home.  Why don't 
you send a note to the Royal Melbourne Botanic Gardens          (<A 
HREF="http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/";>Click here: Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne 
Australia</A> ) with a photo and map of your garden,  your ideas and 
questions - just like you sent the list serve, and a request for:

1) Where to economically get your soil tested - key for food production. 

2) Resources on Australian native plants that do well in the shade ( or 
non-invasive foreign ones)

3) A request for information on how your garden group could get a guided tour 
of Royal Melbourne Botanic Garden tailored to your current interests ( note: 
Botanic Gardens do this all the time for garden clubs.) 

Botanic gardens are filled with many helpful people who love gardens and 
respect backyard/community gardeners. Really, its really refreshing for 
people in a big league botanic garden to work with folks whose jewelry 
doesn't clank.  ;-)

Go for it!  Let us know how it works out for you.  Who knows? Maybe the Royal 
Melbourne will take you under their wing - the world class Pennsylvania 
Horticultural Society, New York Botanical & Brooklyn Botanic gardens all have 
educational programs for community gardens - some of your local resources may 
suprise you.

Best wishes,
Adam Honigman
Volunteer,  <A HREF="http://www.clintoncommunitygarden.org/";>Clinton 
Community Garden</A> 

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