Episode: #1 30/08/06	Proudly Presented by
Presenter: Melissa King

In this day and age of email and e-cards there's still nothing like getting a package in the post... especially if it is a box overflowing with your favourite plants! Imagine getting fruit trees and roses dropped to your front door - this is the modern and time effective way to buy plants and companies like Garden Express are leading gardening into the future. Garden Express supplies an incredible range of plants from tiny bulbs to advanced 6ft weeping cherries, with varieties to suit every climate, so it doesn't matter if you live in tropical Cairns or outback NSW. Growers and suppliers have to choose the most appropriate time of year to sell and post a particular plant - to guarantee that it arrives looking great and ready to perform - so for example deciduous trees, bulbs and roses are posted in winter when they're dormant and other plants like evergreens are available year round - to ensure the highest quality. Catalogues are mailed out 5 times a year, offering the best plants of the season - plus there is all the growing and climate info you need to guarantee success. Spring is all about summer flowering bulbs, hedging and designer landscaping plants. Each plant is packed for posting using different techniques depending on the variety. For example, bulbs are fairly straight forward, but potted plants, like citrus, require a bit more love and attention. They are covered in plastic to stop the potting mix falling out, wrapped in corrugated cardboard and secured into specialised boxes which protect them during transport. Deciduous bare-rooted plants like roses are packed into cut stormwater pipes filled with moist sawdust which prevents the roots from drying out and smaller tubes are pack into special plastic shipping containers. Now of course the best thing about mail ordering plants is that you can do it all from your phone or computer - so there's more time to spend in the garden. Garden Express: Website - http://www.gardenexpress.com.au Phone 1800 677 437 (within Australia) +613 9751 9498 (International) Fax 1800 063 739 (within Australia) +613 9751 9499 (International) Reply Paid 68541 , Monbulk, Vic, 3793 info@gardenexpress.com.au