Expert Eye: In Praise of Native Flora and Low-Maintenance Plants
A landscape designer highlights the benefits of using indigenous plants and reveals the star performers to look out for
Designing in harmony with nature by using local plants benefits the whole environment. When approaching a project where low maintenance and sustainability are important requirements for the client and the location, I recommend indigenous plants.
Benefits to fauna
Local animals such as frogs, lizards, small mammals, butterflies and indigenous birds are encouraged to an area when it is planted with native flora. These animals and insects are effective consumers of pests. Many butterflies and other insects benefit from the presence of specific host sedges or grasses.
An environment flourishing with indigenous plants creates wildlife food chains, encouraging pollination by insects and soil microflora and microfauna. Beneficial fungi are often created, which helps improve soil conditions by decomposing dead plant material.
Cost effective
Indigenous plants can also prove cheaper to purchase and, requiring less water and maintenance, they often establish faster and are very resilient. This results in fewer plant replacement purchases. Many species will also reproduce, resulting in free plants through natural colonisation of an area.
Local animals such as frogs, lizards, small mammals, butterflies and indigenous birds are encouraged to an area when it is planted with native flora. These animals and insects are effective consumers of pests. Many butterflies and other insects benefit from the presence of specific host sedges or grasses.
An environment flourishing with indigenous plants creates wildlife food chains, encouraging pollination by insects and soil microflora and microfauna. Beneficial fungi are often created, which helps improve soil conditions by decomposing dead plant material.
Cost effective
Indigenous plants can also prove cheaper to purchase and, requiring less water and maintenance, they often establish faster and are very resilient. This results in fewer plant replacement purchases. Many species will also reproduce, resulting in free plants through natural colonisation of an area.
Careful planning
Conservation-minded individuals within a community are often concerned about provenance and want to know just how ‘local’ the plant is. There will always be controversy over exactly where a species came from or where it belongs. This comes from a history of introduced flora taking over areas of the Australian landscape and becoming a pest to local gardeners and councils. Careful research will assist in ascertaining the appropriateness of a particular species to be included in your planting plan.
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Conservation-minded individuals within a community are often concerned about provenance and want to know just how ‘local’ the plant is. There will always be controversy over exactly where a species came from or where it belongs. This comes from a history of introduced flora taking over areas of the Australian landscape and becoming a pest to local gardeners and councils. Careful research will assist in ascertaining the appropriateness of a particular species to be included in your planting plan.
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Eucalyptus leucoxylon; image by Seeds of South Australia
The following indigenous plants offer inspiring ideas that can work well in Australian gardens landscapes. They are certainly worth considering for a sustainable project.
Yellow gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon) is a small- to medium-sized tree with rough bark on the lower one or two metres of the trunk. Above this, the bark becomes smooth with a white, yellow or bluish-grey surface.
The following indigenous plants offer inspiring ideas that can work well in Australian gardens landscapes. They are certainly worth considering for a sustainable project.
Yellow gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon) is a small- to medium-sized tree with rough bark on the lower one or two metres of the trunk. Above this, the bark becomes smooth with a white, yellow or bluish-grey surface.
Eucalyptus leucoxylon; image by Evergreen Growers
Often found in open forests and woodlands of Victoria, South Australia and south-west New South Wales, blue gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon) includes several varieties. Locals know these as South Australian blue gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon ssp. leucoxylon), Bellarine yellow gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon subsp. bellarinensis), pink-flowered yellow gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon rosea) or Eucalyptus leucoxylon pruinose.
Often found in open forests and woodlands of Victoria, South Australia and south-west New South Wales, blue gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon) includes several varieties. Locals know these as South Australian blue gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon ssp. leucoxylon), Bellarine yellow gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon subsp. bellarinensis), pink-flowered yellow gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon rosea) or Eucalyptus leucoxylon pruinose.
Zig-zag wattle; image by Brisbane City Council
The name of the zig-zag wattle (Acacia macradenia) derives from its zig-zag stem growth pattern. Another name used to identify this native is the ‘bed of rivers’.
Often found in central Queensland in sandy or gravelly hills near creeks, zig-zag wattle’s distinguishing features include alternating phyllodes and yellow globular clusters growing at the forks of its branches.
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The name of the zig-zag wattle (Acacia macradenia) derives from its zig-zag stem growth pattern. Another name used to identify this native is the ‘bed of rivers’.
Often found in central Queensland in sandy or gravelly hills near creeks, zig-zag wattle’s distinguishing features include alternating phyllodes and yellow globular clusters growing at the forks of its branches.
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Cyathea australis; image by Sheldon Navie, Lucid Central
Rough tree fern (Cyathea australis) is found in wet forests and rainforests in all the eastern states of Australia, including Tasmania. The tall, upright trunk can grow up to 12 metres in height, although specimens reaching 20 metres have been reported in Queensland. Fronds are bipinnate or tripinnate (the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis). These form a distinctive crown that is dark green above and a lighter green below. The tree fern has quite adventitious roots, tubercles and hair-like follicles on its trunk.
Rough tree fern (Cyathea australis) is found in wet forests and rainforests in all the eastern states of Australia, including Tasmania. The tall, upright trunk can grow up to 12 metres in height, although specimens reaching 20 metres have been reported in Queensland. Fronds are bipinnate or tripinnate (the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis). These form a distinctive crown that is dark green above and a lighter green below. The tree fern has quite adventitious roots, tubercles and hair-like follicles on its trunk.
Callistemon citrinus; image by Gardens Online
Crimson bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) is often found in wet or swampy conditions of New South Wales, Victoria, and southern Queensland. The flower spikes of bottlebrushes form in spring and summer and are comprised of a number of individual blooms.
The flower’s pollen forms on the tip of a long, coloured stalk or filament. It is these filaments that give the flower spike its colour and distinctive bottlebrush shape.
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Crimson bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) is often found in wet or swampy conditions of New South Wales, Victoria, and southern Queensland. The flower spikes of bottlebrushes form in spring and summer and are comprised of a number of individual blooms.
The flower’s pollen forms on the tip of a long, coloured stalk or filament. It is these filaments that give the flower spike its colour and distinctive bottlebrush shape.
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Leucophyta brownie; image by Australian Seed
Cushion bush (Leucophyta brownii) is a small, rounded shrub with tangled tomentose branchlets that give it a silvery appearance. Often found in well-drained soils of coastal areas in sunny positions on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, it also commonly occurs on the exposed faces of cliffs and dunes on the south coast of Australia.
Although it can grow up to one metre, it usually reaches heights of 0.2 to 0.7 metres. Cushion brush produces flowers during the summer months of December to February that are white-yellow globular heads and measure about one centimetre in diameter.
Cushion bush (Leucophyta brownii) is a small, rounded shrub with tangled tomentose branchlets that give it a silvery appearance. Often found in well-drained soils of coastal areas in sunny positions on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, it also commonly occurs on the exposed faces of cliffs and dunes on the south coast of Australia.
Although it can grow up to one metre, it usually reaches heights of 0.2 to 0.7 metres. Cushion brush produces flowers during the summer months of December to February that are white-yellow globular heads and measure about one centimetre in diameter.
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Which native plants do you love or have had success with? Tell us in the Comments, like and save this story for easy reference and join the conversation.
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Which native plants do you love or have had success with? Tell us in the Comments, like and save this story for easy reference and join the conversation.
More
Find a landscape contractor or gardener near you
Drawn from local flora, native plants add colour, texture and are better acclimatised to local weather conditions.
Indigenous plants also have low water and fertiliser requirements, meaning less maintenance throughout the year. They often recover well from fire and drought, allowing the area to blossom with new growth quickly.
What many people do not know is that indigenous plants improve the local environment. They create eco-systems with a balance of plant and animal life. These natural eco-systems provide for the needs of local wildlife and offer food, shelter and habitats for local fauna to thrive.