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Top tips for growing native plants in your garden

According to a horticulturist. - by Laura Barry
  • 19 Dec 2019

WATCH: Plant selection and placement tips with Graham 

Native Australian plants appear to be the up-and-coming plant trend of 2020, and according to data obtained by Plant Life Balance, Australian gardeners are buying more natives now than ever. In fact, one in four Australians purchased a native plant in the past 12 months.

Horticulturalist Narelle Happ from A Garden For Life says there are plants to suit every type of garden.

“There are native plants to suit every garden style from edible, formal, cottage to natural bushscape. Nurseries and plant breeders have been selecting native plants that are lower maintenance, better suited to gardens and better performing, so there really is something for every garden.”

“Natives are incredibly important for encouraging biodiversity, serving as wildlife corridors for birds, reptiles and mammals, and providing ora for insects and bees, which pollinate the plants. Native plants are also much better at coping in our challenging climate, in comparison to exotic species that often require a lot of water. Better yet, hardly any Australian native plants need to be sprayed for pests and disease.”

pink kangaroo paw plant
Getty

Native plants for colour

  • Kangaroo paw
  • Australian daisy

Edible natives

  • Finger lime
  • Waarigal greens

RELATED: 5 edible Australian natives you can grow at home

Top tips for planting natives in your garden

Embrace mass and void

Mass planting in clumps, grouped by colour or leaf shapes, creates a striking feature in the garden. Leaving a void in the design can lead the eye to another area of the garden, while giving larger plants some breathing space to show their true form.

Replicate the natural landscape

Borrow design features from the natural landscape and use it in your garden design. Trees in the background become a canopy layer, allowing for more contrasting shrubs to be used in layers.

Patterns in nature

Designers often talk in odd numbers and love plants in threes. In nature, smaller plants and grasses usually grow in a group, and groups are often repeated in the landscape. Repeated leaf structures, such as grasses clumped throughout the garden, allow the eye to rest as it views the garden, rather than too many shapes creating chaos.

You might also like:

The essential guide to Australian native plants 

Laura Barry
Laura Barry
Laura Barry is a writer, bookworm and interior design enthusiast with a love for reporting on all things homes, travel and lifestyle. When not tapping away at her keyboard, Laura can be found making endless cups of tea or perusing the shelves of Sydney’s many bookstores.

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