A week ago I feared the worst. Nothing new was happening in my garden and I was bereft of ideas for more blog posts.

The day we were dismissed from volunteering at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens on March 15^th because the Covid virus pandemic took hold, I vowed to write a daily blog in order to cover topics that were unconnected with the health situation. My intention was to find pleasant and interesting Tasmanian related topics that would take blog followers’ minds into a lovely world, especially when ‘stuck at home’. I didn’t look into the future to speculate on how long the pandemic might affect us, and therefore never considered my vow could be making a ‘rod for my own back’.

There is no doubt in my mind; I love writing these blog posts. I loved undertaking research and I have loved discovering new ideas, practices and vistas. I have loved the communications I have with others when they read a blog post and like what they read. I have loved when people contribute new pieces of information and photographs. Then recently there came a point when I feared the wells of story ideas were dry; the cool and sometimes icy days of our winter months had slowed changes in Tassie gardens and there was little for anyone to show, and at various stages we couldn’t travel any distance and enjoy Tasmania’s fabulous scenery so any related walking and discovery stories dried up. And, of course, concerts, music gigs, festivals and other cultural and food public events all ceased.

I began to think I would be writing a post telling you ‘this is the last one’.

Then I sent out a few emails and lo and behold, friends rallied to help. For this I am exceptionally grateful – not only has it kept the blog going, but I have learnt a great deal as the photos and information have landed in my email box.

However their efforts will only go so far. So, if you have a Tasmanian related story to tell, let my blog posts be the place where it can be seen and read – and I am happy to acknowledge you if that is what you want.

I have explained to a few people that stories and photos which may seem ordinary and mundane for you, are likely to look exotic and seem extraordinary to others. I have followers and readers across Australia and across the world. Just think about how your pot of veggies or flowers on a balcony, a plot of land with veggies, fruit trees, parklands, beaches, mountains, birds, insects, animals, skies, rocks, soil, our Tasmanian native bush foods and much more might look to a reader from China, Bangladesh, Romania, India, South Africa, Peru, Germany or Thailand, for example ( I could go on). Even blog followers in England, though their gardens might have similarities with our Tasmanian ones, will see differences and be fascinated by novel practices and novel plants. This is all to say, that whatever you can photograph and send to me with a bare minimum of information, I will turn into a story which is larger. All you have to do is send an email to newtyzack@gmail.com.

This plea is simply so that in a fortnight I will not be writing ‘this is the last one’.

Every blog needs an image so here is my photo looking down on a part of remote Tasman Island to Tasmania’s south east, when I helicoptered there for an extraordinary day in 2017.  If you want the ten part story go to www.tasmaniandiscoveries.wordpress.com and write Tasman Island in the Search box to bring up all the postings.