How Do I... Choose Low-Maintenance Natives for My Garden?
Natives are easy to grow and care for, and are a great choice for time-poor gardeners. Here are our expert's top 4 picks
In this practical series, we ask experts to answer your burning home- and garden-related questions. Here, Phillip Withers, landscape designer and director of Phillip Withers Landscape Design, reveals his four favourite easy-care natives for Australian gardens.
You can see Withers’ work at at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show from 21-25 March, where he will be exhibiting (more details at end of the story).
You can see Withers’ work at at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show from 21-25 March, where he will be exhibiting (more details at end of the story).
1. Coast banksia (Banksia integrifolia)
This versatile and adaptable tree comes in many forms – from bushy, coastal thickets to the gristly Y-shaped forms you find inland. It boasts deep-green leaves and cylindrical yellow flowers from autumn to winter.
Dimensions: Grows up to 15 metres high and 6 metres wide.
When to plant: Between autumn and spring.
Light requirements: Light shade to full sun.
Good to know: Irrigate sparingly during the establishment period.
This versatile and adaptable tree comes in many forms – from bushy, coastal thickets to the gristly Y-shaped forms you find inland. It boasts deep-green leaves and cylindrical yellow flowers from autumn to winter.
Dimensions: Grows up to 15 metres high and 6 metres wide.
When to plant: Between autumn and spring.
Light requirements: Light shade to full sun.
Good to know: Irrigate sparingly during the establishment period.
2. White correa (Correa alba)
A beautifully formed, low-maintenance shrub with pretty grey foliage and dainty white flowers in autumn and winter.
Dimensions: Grows up to 1 metre high and 1.5 metres wide.
When to plant: Between autumn and spring.
Light requirements: Light shade to full sun.
Good to know: Irrigate sparingly during the establishment period.
A beautifully formed, low-maintenance shrub with pretty grey foliage and dainty white flowers in autumn and winter.
Dimensions: Grows up to 1 metre high and 1.5 metres wide.
When to plant: Between autumn and spring.
Light requirements: Light shade to full sun.
Good to know: Irrigate sparingly during the establishment period.
3. Woolly grevillea (Grevillea lanigera)
This compact and robust ground cover boasts matted foliage and vibrant red, pink or white flowers during winter. It also serves as a living mulch, suppressing leaves and conserving water in the process.
Dimensions: Up to 30 centimetres high and 1.5 metres wide.
When to plant: Between autumn and spring.
Light requirements: Light shade to full sun.
Good to know: Irrigate sparingly during the establishment period.
This compact and robust ground cover boasts matted foliage and vibrant red, pink or white flowers during winter. It also serves as a living mulch, suppressing leaves and conserving water in the process.
Dimensions: Up to 30 centimetres high and 1.5 metres wide.
When to plant: Between autumn and spring.
Light requirements: Light shade to full sun.
Good to know: Irrigate sparingly during the establishment period.
4. Prickly spear-grass (Austrostipa stipoides)
Native grasses such as this one add a lush, natural feel to your garden and create a wonderful rustling sound as you walk by.
Dimensions: 80 centimetres high and 50 centimetres wide.
When to plant: Between autumn and spring.
Light requirements: Light shade to full sun.
Good to know: Irrigate sparingly during the establishment period.
Native grasses such as this one add a lush, natural feel to your garden and create a wonderful rustling sound as you walk by.
Dimensions: 80 centimetres high and 50 centimetres wide.
When to plant: Between autumn and spring.
Light requirements: Light shade to full sun.
Good to know: Irrigate sparingly during the establishment period.
What do I need to consider when choosing natives for my garden?
In a nation of varied climates and soil types, there’s a native plant for every situation. Find out which plants are best suited to your garden’s conditions by considering:
In a nation of varied climates and soil types, there’s a native plant for every situation. Find out which plants are best suited to your garden’s conditions by considering:
- Soil type
- How much rainfall the garden receives
- Light levels
- Wind
- How much maintenance the plant needs (natives are typically low-maintenance).
Planting layout ideas
When it comes to plant layouts, think as carefully about colour, balance and layering as you would with your indoor living spaces.
Some of my favourite native planting ideas include:
When it comes to plant layouts, think as carefully about colour, balance and layering as you would with your indoor living spaces.
Some of my favourite native planting ideas include:
- Establish a bush tucker garden near the barbecue. You might consider growing native lime, warrigal greens or blue-flax lily (which boasts edible blue berries).
- Give your garden a casual, prairie-like aesthetic by planting kangaroo grass, wallaby grass and spear grass, mixed with flowers such as billy buttons, lemon beauty heads, native flax and cut-leaf daisies.
- Create a warm welcome for birds and bees by planting banksias, acacias and grevilleas.
- Mix exotics and natives. Just be wary that the phosphorus-rich fertilisers used for exotic species may prove toxic to some natives. Consider planting lomandra and prostrate banksias beneath an oak or elm tree.
The Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show will be held Wednesday 21-Sunday 25 March 2018. Adult tickets $29.90. For enquiries, call (03) 9864 1111.
Tell us
Did you find this story useful? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to like, share or save the pictures in this story. Join the conversation.
More
Read more ‘How Do I…’ stories
Tell us
Did you find this story useful? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to like, share or save the pictures in this story. Join the conversation.
More
Read more ‘How Do I…’ stories
Australian natives have evolved to suit our harsh climatic conditions, adapting to cope with periods of droughts and floods, thick sun and full shade, and soil conditions that range from the nourishing to the savage.
This makes them ideal for time-poor gardeners. Chances are your natives will survive – and thrive – even if you neglect them. These resilient plants also look incredible and you’ll find they make a delightful addition to any garden.
Here are four of my favourite low-maintenance natives: