Kelly Daniels
14 September 2022
There are a ton of amazing plants to grow in your garden, but how do you know which ones to plant? Native plants are the answer. These are plants that were native to an ecosystem in Australia at one point, but they’ve been lost due to human activity like farming or urbanisation. They provide a lot of benefits to your garden — and not just because they look pretty!
Native plants generally require much less maintenance than non-native varieties, too. When you have lawn care or other regular maintenance tasks like weeding on your mind before planting, native plants can be a major time-saver.
They also offer a great deal of emotional and ecological benefits — including helping restore the natural ecosystem balance in your yard. In this article we’ll take a look at some of the most popular Australian native plants that you should include in your yard if you have space for them.
Western Evening Primrose
This beautiful flower is a popular plant that thrives in many different habitats. It’s very easy to grow, and you can even transplant it into your garden after the first year to ensure that it has plenty of room to grow.
Western Evening Primrose flowers come in shades of yellow, gold, orange, and red. They offer a nice splash of colour that will make your garden pop.
Western Evening Primrose also provides a lot of benefits for your garden — like attracting native insects, providing food for birds and animals, and offering shade as needed. In addition to this list of benefits, Western Evening Primrose plants are extremely hardy! If you have trouble growing other plants in your yard, this one is sure to help keep your garden thriving throughout the season!
Grevillea Robusta
Grevillea robusta is a wonderful plant to add to your garden — it’s very easy to grow and requires no special care. It’s an evergreen shrub that can reach up to 8 feet in height, and it produces red, purple, or cream flowers in the spring and summer.
This plant has a lot of benefits for you and your garden. For example, Grevillea robusta is nitrogen-fixing, so it improves the soil quality around your plants. This makes it easier for all of your other plants and trees to grow. You might even be able to reduce your fertiliser costs by putting Grevillea robusta in your yard! Also, you’ll love how this plant won’t take too much space — which means you can put it anywhere in the garden that you want!
Grevillea robusta is also a popular Australian native wildflower. They are commonly found growing along waterways in Australia due to their preference for wetter environments.
Kidney Bean
Kidney Bean is a type of flowering plant with large leaves that has a purplish stem and white flowers. It is a versatile plant, because it can be grown in full sun to partial shade.
Silver Wattle
The Silver Wattle is one of the most popular native plants for your garden. It belongs to the acacia family, which is known for their drought-resistant leaves. These leaves are often a vibrant green, but they can even be white or bronze depending on what part of the country you’re in! While these leaves are beautiful, they also manage moisture well and provide coverage that helps with gardening tasks like weeding and watering.
If you want to plant a tree in your yard, the Silver Wattle is an excellent choice. Not only does it look amazing and climb almost any structure it’s put near (it can grow up to 10 meters!), but its resin oozes out when cut, which is great for improving soil quality as well as adding a natural barrier around your home or garden.
Acacias and More!
Acacias are a popular group of Australian native plants. They’re often used to create attractive hedges and screens, but they also make great trees.
A variety of Acacia plants can be found in Australia, such as the wattles that make excellent landscaping trees, the thorny-leaved acacias that can grow up to 30 feet tall and produce a whole harvest of fruits, or the more compact varieties that tend to be suitable for smaller gardens.
The seeds of the acacias are dispersed by wind and birds, so even if you don’t plant them yourself, they will likely come back every year. They have a taproot like most other plants on this list, so they’ll also tolerate poor soil conditions well enough for you to plant them anywhere in your garden. If you’re interested in trying out some new Australian native plants from seed this season, check out some acacia species!
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus trees are among the most popular Australian native plants to include in your yard. They grow well in a range of places and provide shade, as well as an opportunity for wildlife like birds and butterflies to build nests in their branches.
They are also easy to plant and maintain because they don’t require much water or care. As a result, they make it easy for you to have a beautiful garden that requires less time and effort than other types of plants.
Consider Including an Invasive Species?
If you’re thinking about planting a new plant in your yard, and have some space, consider including an invasive species. These plants are widespread enough that they don’t require much space for them to grow, but they can spread quickly and take over your garden.
Some invasive species are really good at taking care of themselves because they grow fast and have large leaves that help shade out other plants. They also have strong roots to help them thrive in difficult conditions like drought or soil that’s too wet or sandy. Some of the more popular invasive plants in Australia include wattle, acacia, eucalyptus trees, rudbekia, and bougainvillea.
Conclusion
Gardening can be a fun activity for kids and adults alike. For your next garden, consider some of these popular Australian native plants.
- Grevillea
- Kidney Bean
- Silver Wattle
- Acanthus
- Western Evening Primrose
If you are thinking about starting a garden, but don’t know where to start, here are 5 native Australian plants that will add a unique twist to your garden design.
