Local horticulturist and author Sally-Anne Fowles, of Spirited Gardening, shares her top tips for creating a thriving garden.
NATIVE Refers to a plant or animal which occurs naturally in a country, but not necessarily across the whole of that country. INDIGENOUS Refers to a plant or animal which occurs naturally in a given geographical area. That animal or plant also occurs in other areas either nearby or elsewhere in the state or country. ENDEMIC Refers to a plant or animal which occurs only in a specific geographical area and nowhere else.
Many native plants are at their peak of flowering in the depths of winter and you won’t be the only one who appreciates these garden additions. Our local fauna, including nectar feeding birds, will be grateful for a wintery food-source and safe space habitat.
As well know presenter/author Angus Stewart says, “try callistemons rather than camellias”. Think outside the traditional (plant-choice) box, when planning new plantings, including hedging plants and feature trees.
Here are a few of my favourites:-
- Billy buttons (pycnosorus globosus) – a gorgeous silver-leafed perennial, favoured by floral artists for their cheery yellow globe flowers
- Swan river daisies (brachyscome sp,) – with sweet daisy flowers coming in a range of colours from violet/blue to pink and white. A lovely low mounding plant that can flower all year if happy.
- Native fuchsia (correa sp.) – autumn/winter flowers, frost-hardy, resilient and can grow in full sun to part shade. Adored by nectar feeding birds. What more could you want?
- Bottlebrush (callistemon sp.) – with so many to choose from in height, habit and flower colour, where do you start? For those looking for a smaller variety “Little John” is a cracker for creating a small, natural-looking, hedge.
- Banksia sp. – known for their fascinating flowers and seed pods, banksias range from ground-covering varieties to large shrubs or trees. A hit with our feathered friends, bats, bush rats, stingless bees and more.
- Lilly pilly (syzygium) – fabulous for soft foliaged, fast-growing hedges or stand-alone lovely shrubs; many featuring pretty, fluffy white flowers and berry-like fruit. Look for psyllid-resistant varieties.
- Native grasses – such as poa; lomandra; pennisetum and themeda are great for attracting native butterflies, birds and insects to the garden.
Bush Tucker plantings
Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and historically eaten by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Here are a few readily available plants to include in your edible gardens:
- Midyim berry (austromyrtus dulcis) – a lovely, tough, sprawling shrub, with beautifully coloured new growth foliage and yummy berries, to boot.
- Old man saltbush (atriplex nummularia) – being able to survive in even the harshest environments, saltbush’s beautiful silver/grey foliage makes an interesting hedge. And as the name suggests it has salty leaves, great in cooking.
- Warrigal greens (tetragonia tetragonioides) – I challenge you to say the botanical name 10 times over. A sprawling native spinach that is high in vitamin C and antioxidants.
- Finger lime (citrus australasica) – a prickly shrub/tree with the fruit commonly known as caviar lime, as the flesh resembles caviar.
Until next time…
Sally-Anne
