When faced with a myriad of fabulous plants at the nursery or markets, it’s easy to just pick the biggest and brightest to take home. But are they right for your garden?
When choosing plants, it’s important to know why. Do you want to eat them? Smell them? Entertain small children or birdlife?
It’s also important to recognise other factors, such as available space, the amount of sun the plant will get, and what sort of gardener you are.
Green thumb gardeners with plenty of time to devote to their plants can usually help any plants to thrive but if that’s not you, then consider planting native grasses and shrubs which will happily survive in most conditions with little maintenance.
When buying trees or tall-growing plants, check labels or with staff to ensure they will not outgrow your garden after a couple of years.
Even if you only have a small space, freshly-picked food is unbeatable, for its variety and ease of care.
– Salad greens, tomatoes and peas will grow happily in tubs or garden beds.
– Plant citrus in a sunny corner or tub for year-round Vitamin C.
– Berries – particularly strawberries and blueberries – are simple to grow and will delight the small child in everyone.
Herbs are the all-round good guy to have in any garden. You can eat them, cook with them, drink them or rub them on your skin to deter insects. Most are available throughout the year and require little maintenance.
– Thyme and oregano make excellent groundcover plants in an exposed garden bed and can be used fresh or dried in many dishes.
– Mint and parsley flourish in damp, shady spots or underneath taller plants.
– Lavender makes excellent hedge planting; crush it to repel flies and mosquitoes or run bathwater through a bunch for a relaxing soak at the end of the day.
Want to attract birds and bees?
Plant it, they will come! With the right plants, birds and bees will entertain you forever with their feeding happiness.
– Grevilleas are native, colourful and the birds love them – particularly Honeyeaters and Lorikeets. They range in size from prostrate through shrubs to tall trees, so there’s one for every bird and garden.
– Bees will flock to flowering annuals such as Borage and Sunflowers.
For plants that will happily grow, flower and attract bees and birds to your garden all year round without your help, choose Australian Natives.
– Acacias, Grevilleas, Callistemon (Bottlebrush), and Hakeas will attract seed-eating, insectivorous and nectar-feeding birds and rarely ask for anything in return.
– Avoid weeding by filling any available spaces with native flowering grasses such as Dianella, Lomandra, Flax Lilies and Kangaroo Grass.
Whether it’s food for you or food and shelter for the local wildlife, visit your local nursery to find out which plants will best suit your needs.
