Instant garden

The main street in Lennox Head village is looking very spiffy, with the completion of a beautification project. The last stage was mass garden plantings. I’m very impressed, and just a little nervous. This garden bed is just one of 20 or so along the street. This one has at least 5 advanced grass tree plants (Xanthorrhoea species), all flowering - one is at front left. These are very slow-growing plants, which extend their woody trunk by only a cm or so a year. These particular plants were grown in the nursery of Ballina Shire Council. To buy a flowering plant like this in a commercial nursery would, I suspect, cost a couple of hundred dollars. Home gardeners have had such plants stolen from their gardens, such is the resale value. I’m going away tomorrow for 6 weeks and very much hope they are all still present when I get back.