Some visitors arriving in Tauranga come in on State Highway 36 - the Pyes Pa through road from Rotorua.

They get to the roundabout by the cemetery and what do they see?

A large roundabout full of dull brown grasses, which look totally dead - perhaps a nod to its situation beside the cemetery.

These plants are not dead - but surely some greenery, perhaps a few low-growing shrubs, which do not block vision, would be more welcoming. A bit of colour please instead of a sea of drab, dreary brown.

Following directions to the city centre, these visitors shortly arrive at the toll booth, where they are fleeced of a few dollars simply to enter our city.

Dull, boring gardens in this most fertile growing area of New Zealand, a rip-off at the toll booth - welcome to Tauranga.

R Bishop, Pyes Pa.