into growing and planting the flowers that can be seen in some of the most public areas around the Island -- Botanical Gardens and the roundabouts.

In the last few weeks all the roundabouts and the formal gardens have been replanted with what is most likely the last of the summer plants and flowers before winter sets in.

Superintendent of horticulture at Tulo Valley -- the Government plant nursery -- Sarah Northcott said all the plants that are in the gardens, roundabouts and parks are grown at the nursery.

"All the plants you see now were recently planted and will be in for three months, but it depends on the weather,'' Ms Northcott said.

She added: "We are the starting point for much of the plant materials used in these areas.

"The whole growing process is not as easy as one might think because you always have to keep an eye out for insects, pests, and prolonged dry periods -- you can't just plant and forget about them because at the end of the day it all boils down to presentation as the areas we plant in are public.

"Tulo Valley is responsible for providing all of the plant materials for the department of Agriculture and Fisheries, as well as Parks which falls under Works and Engineering.

"One of our main functions is to provide all the bedding materials for all the government roundabouts throughout the Island and formal gardens.'' On how to decide what goes into the gardens Ms Northcott said: "It depends on what is in season it also depends on the different varieties of plants we can use.

"We also try new varieties and see how they do so that we could possibly use them the following year on a larger scale.'' Ms Northcott said the design of the roundabouts has always been decided by curator of the gardens, Sarah Vallis, but "now I'm starting to take over the actual design and then I will work with the supervisor and the curator. A lot has to be taken into consideration like the size of the eventual plant, colour, it could be based on flowers and texture.

"You might have an idea and decide what colour scheme you want to go with, you also look at different varieties and plan out according to height and the overall effect you are trying to create.

"That is the large function of Tulo Valley because we have to change the formal gardens and roundabouts four times a year, they get completely replanted and there is a lot of work involved.'' In the roundabouts they have used things like portulaca and marigolds because they thrive in heat. They also use things like celosia, and right now there are nine different varieties in there.

"Marigolds are also quite quick to grow while other flowers need specific growing conditions.'' Ms Northcott added that Tulo Valley also brings in specialised exotic plants for the Botanical Gardens. And they act as a holding house for all the plants until they are able to be planted in the gardens.

She also said although there has been some criticism about the look of the formal gardens "we are trying to get them back into shape and have recently received good comments about the way the gardens look. We can't please everyone.'' "The roundabouts come under parks as well as the nature reserves and parks and the Botanical Gardens comes under Ms Vallis, myself and Botanical Gardens supervisor Dawn Santucci.'' Ms Northcott said: "Although we grow all the plants for different places we are only responsible for planting in the Botanical Gardens and the Arboretum.

Parks does their own designs but they will order from us and we will grow to order.'' She also said even though the nursery is for Government use "the only time we sell to the public is in conjunction with the Planning Department for new planning developments -- selling some hedging materials at a discount rate.

"The other thing we are trying to get more involved in is conservation issues, that is one of the roles of the Botanical Gardens. We are trying to build up the conservation of plants.

"We have certain collections and if for any reason a country needed specific ones then we could possibly provide seeds or propagation materials. we are trying to develop that area a little more.'' Ms Northcott said the nursery is also trying to educate people about different types of plants.''