You might be surprised to learn that Australian plants have been grown overseas somewhat longer than they have been cultivated in Australia.
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Naturally enough, it seems that in the early years of settlement, food plants as well as exotics or reminders of ‘home’, such as camellias and roses, were either sown or propagated in preference to the native plants which surrounded them.
Although the aesthetic quality of Australian flora was not to be fully appreciated nor the horticultural potential realised until the 1930s, when there was little money to spare for expensive shrubs, these days native plants are grown for a variety of reasons.
![BIG RANGE: Pink Wax Flower [Eriostemon australasius] makes a pretty native shrub. Photo: Brendan Esposito](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hFr6g9patBg6iG57tGHW5M/7627d6a5-1bea-49f2-8216-9a083dbb6c98.jpg/r0_0_4571_3097_w576_h298_fmax.webp "BIG RANGE: Pink Wax Flower [Eriostemon australasius] makes a pretty native shrub. Photo: Brendan Esposito")
The sight and fragrance of the Australian bush can be captured all year round.
As bird attractants nectar laden blooms are without peer.
Many plants have fragrant foliage that can be enjoyed simply by brushing past.
Most of the prostantheras are aromatic and the foliage of P.incisia especially so.
The remarkable diversity of Australian plants, sometime strange in growth or flower shape and as such underestimated, means that many can be structurally and texturally married to the bricks and mortar of modern architecture as they can to a weatherboard cottage.
Few plants are better suited to natural designs incorporating bush rocks, timber steps and retaining walls, as well as gravel, tan bark or native litter used as weed suppressing mulch.
Culturally Australian plants have many desirable features adapting to a wide range of soils and climates.
Many are drought resistant once established.
They are usually quick to grow and will flower in their early years: a great many of them producing valuable bloom in winter.
While soil requirements will vary between plant species the general preference is for a light free draining sandy loam.
Heavy clay loam will need amending to improve the drainage.
While a well selected native garden may eventually become low- maintenance it would be unfair to consider it no-maintenance.
Each and every plant needs to be sited with as much care as any exotic (or introduced) shrub, its cultural needs attended to and in some cases a pruning and spraying program.
Though pruning is not carried out as you would a rose or a fruit tree, the judicious removal of the growing tips annually (much as the native fauns would prune by nibbling) will promote healthy growth, extend the life of the plant and result in a greater display of bloom.
Jobs to do in the garden this week
- While still under 10 hours of daylight until next month, not much to sow in the vegie plot or polystyrene boxes other than Chinese leafy greens: mizuna; pak choi and senposi (protect from possums). Plant seedlings of keeping varieties of brown and red onions and seeds of mesclun salad mix under shelter.
- Place outdoor grown cactus and succulents in maximum light and dry conditions with low humidity: under frost cloth (Marix) during minus temperatures. Do the same with herb collections grown in pots.
- Keep ashes from wood fires dry to retain beneficial potash before scattering thinly on garden beds from the end of August.
- A reminder that pome fruits (apples, pears and quinces) can be pruned now. Stone fruits should be left until after flowering when cuts will heal readily. Roses are not pruned in cool climates until the beginning of August, and lemon trees after all frosts have gone. Other plants that can be cut back now include oleander, crepe myrtle, hydrangeas and Hibiscus syriacus.
