Yet another bad idea from the Snail: starting a collection of rainforest figs when you live in a cottage on a very small urban block. The good news is that the sandpaper fig (Ficus coronata) only grows to 12 m. But let us not speak of the small-leaved fig (F. obliqua). Or, if we do, let us avoid mentioning that it grows to 35 m and not in a telegraph pole way either. The leaves might be small but the rest of it makes up for that inadequacy.

I really do need to get a bigger place.

The advantage of this one is that no one is likely to nick the plants. A friend had the unfortunate experience of coming home from holiday to find that some thieving bastard had made off with the best of his orchid collection*. What is it with some of the orchid fanciers? I don't get Casuarina collectors nipping over my back fence and legging it with armfuls of saplings. Perhaps I would if I moved to a house with a more spacious garden. I dunno.

Losing a plant to the drought is unpleasant enough. I'd be really pissed off if I lost one to a light-fingered collector.
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* But only the labelled specimens, so maybe they were filling an order.