Where I Live

Before I forget I better tell where I’m from and why I enjoy horticulture. My house is located in the small town of Emerald, located in the Dandenongs which is about a 40 minute drive South-East of Melbourne. The reasons why I love living up here are because of the awesome colours of the autumn trees, the green grass (instead of a concrete jungle such as the city), the famous Emerald bakery and also my property. This is probably the reason why I have an interest in horticulture, as I just love maintaining my property and try new things to try and improve the aesthetics of the property.

Another great thing about Emerald is the ‘Emerald Lake Park’. This is one of the main attractions of the area, the main reason being Puffing Billy; it runs from Belgrave to Gembrook via Emerald and the Emerald lake park. With this tourist attraction in mind, the streetscape environment is normally well maintained and therefore presented. Although there are some areas of the town that do degrade the town’s the visual appeal, not only to the tourists but also the locals.

For example the former land where ‘Chris & Marie’s Plant Farm’ use to located. Since the business moved out of town about 8 years ago there has been nothing to replace this site, not even a nice park!!! Another reason to why this land lets down the town’s look is because nothing is done to maintain the wild weeds and grasses; action is normally taken when the issues can’t be overlooked due to weeds.

For the town of Emerald to still be a tourism destination in the future more needs to be done to keep the town presented at its best. Because let’s face it nobody like any weeds in a town, let alone a whole acre of them.