Spanning the majority of the eastern coastline of Australia, Queensland is one of the largest states in Australia and is considered to have some of the most diverse habitats in the one state, ranging from the wet monsoonal tropics, to the frosty mountains in South East Queensland, to the arid inland regions and the mangroves along the coast.
Gardening in each climate (from the tropics, subtropics, warm temperate and arid zones) requires each gardener to recognise the natural conditions that exist and impact on the property. To some, it may be seen to be easier to modify the gardening site to suit the plants however this tends to be more timely and requires far more maintenance (and possibly more expensive).
The best method to garden, no matter what climate you live in, is to accept the climate and soil conditions and then work WITH these to develop a garden to suit the site. In some cases this may result in increasing the planting of local indigenous plant species, in other cases it may necessitiate changing to new plant combinations otherwise not considered - for example growing exotic Aloe species alongside native Westringia.
It is important that gardeners become aware of the climate - when it rains, when the winds arrive, when frost hits, if it hails, frequency of cyclones, etc.
It is also imperative that suitable gardening references be used. If you live in the tropics and subtropics refer to specialised books or gardening magazines (such as subTropical Gardening www.stgmagazine.com.au), listen to your local gardening personality on radio and join a local garden club.
(a brief article submitted by Paul Plant)