There are lots of ferns that would be fine, as well as shrubs such as Lilly-pillies, Uromyrtus 'Weeping Beauty', Archirhodomyrtus beckleri, native gardenias, etc. etc. that can be contained in a smaller space. Choose them from the colder areas of the sub-tropics such as the Atherton Tablelands and the hill-country of northern NSW. There is a rainforest nursery at Bobin in NSW (Dingo Creek Nursery) that would have semi-cold tolerant rainforest plants.

Kuranga would be more first and last stop for these sorts of plants. Also worth considering is 'Bushwalk' in Cranbourne, who have some of the more common species at better prices.

If I were in your position I would be growing the flavour myrtles (you'll need to prune them lots though), mountain pepper, dorrigo plum, maybe an australian lime and various other food plants. conservatory space is very expensive and you want to get as much value as possible out of it. I would also put a lime (kaffir or tahitian) in there for fruit.

Robert and Nathan have probably summed it up, but I just wanted to say : go for it !!!

I think you've nailed it by saying that you want to get your plants out of the wind. I am convinced that the majority of stress isnt from heat or cold (barring the dramatic extremes of each season) - its wind. I envy the fact that you wont have to wait for your natural windbreak to grow and shelter your rainforest.

Cheers,

Artie

The north-facing conservatory is attached to the house and doors can be opened to access the heat stored after dusk. Only potential problem is it was designed more as a heat loss tower (it rises 2m above the ceiling of the main house with adjustable louvre windows at this level so cross winds can take away heat in Summer). So convectional currents alone may not be that good in distributing the heat - perhaps we might install a quiet fan to force some heat through the house on these chilly nights if merely opening the doors is insufficient.

Appreciate very much the suggestions on plant species. Will check out the Victorian sites suggested - assume they also grow these in some form of conservatory. Personally, I really like the saprophytic ferns on tree branches but need to locate some medium trees (to 4-5m). Have found some sources - Established Tree Transplanters and Mature Tree Farms - problem is they grow temperate climate trees in Victoria and don't have mature trees from the warmer climes.

Having lived in Brisbane for 2 years, I have seen very quick growing plants which I was hoping would grow into small 4-5m trees in the conservatory situation here. I would obviously have to prune and shape these carefully, so they don't get too tall. Choice of plant would clearly be crucial and any suggestions would be handy.

The conservatory we are building has a large glass wall (6m wide X 6 m tall) facing North. I'd imagine on a sunny Winter day, it could get quite warm in there (even on the south coast of Victoria) so there may be excess heat to share with the adjacent living area in the evening. But we wouldn't do this if the flora were to suffer from the heat loss. On the other hand, I know the place will overheat in Summer but I'm hoping the louvres at 5-6m will offer sufficient ventilation. Time will tell.

I know Fairhill Native Plants at Yandina on the Sunshine Coast Qld will deliver direct at least in SE Qld, because they have done that for me at quite reasonable cost. You could ask them if they are prepared to deliver to Victoria.

Cheers,
Frank

You need to decide how important heating is against what sorts of plants you want to grow. It would be quite easy to heat your house 100% using the sun on a suitably designed conservatory:
http://www.ece.villanova.edu/~nick/solar/solar.html

Nick is hoping to come to visit Australia in winter (I'm currently organising this with the ATA.org.au) to get a workshop on exactly how to do this. Email me if you're interested (njh@njhurst.com). If you could find say 20 people in your area interested in solar heating and high performance cooling, Nick would be happy to visit your town and give a talk (he intends to give talks to anyone who'll listen for cost price - provide a venue and that could be $0).

Quick growing in brisbane does not equal quick growing in a greenhouse down here. I think it's due to the colder nights and the shorter days.

I put the roof and front wall on my greenhouse today, and boy am I looking forward to finishing it! I've already got a 3600L fish tank in there and water and electricity, just need walls, door, vents, drains and floor...

Will ring Fairhill next week re: delivery to Vic. Thanks Frank.