Showing your Australian pride and heritage doesn’t stop at supporting Australian made and grown products because even in your own homes and gardens, you can go Australian. Knox Weekly featured a couple, who shares their joy of gardening around, by welcoming people to explore the garden they’ve spent years creating and beautifying in their Boronia home. They will showcase the fruits of their labour as they participate in Open Gardens Australia. Rob and Val Henry have plants native to Australia because they want to change the perception that native plants are wild, bushy and unattractive.

Mr. Henry encourages would-be gardeners not to be disheartened if their first gardening effort will not be a success, because garden maintenance takes time and work. For those who enjoy beautiful gardens but don’t have the time to work on it, you can hire landscaping services. If you’re looking for someone to do landscape design in Sydney, Manna Landscapes can offer a complete innovative and creative landscaping service, including garden design, construction and maintenance.

Native Australian Plants for Your Garden

In choosing the plants for your garden, be proud of our native Australian plants. The West Australian featured some of the favourite Aussie natives that local gardening experts love.

      • Scaevola Aussie Spirit (Scaevola crassifolia)

           o a robust and hardy semi-woody shrub that grew to a metre or so tall

           o fleshy and lightly toothed leaves

           o pretty blue flowers appear in spring and summer

           o hardy, waterwise and performs extremely well in coastal and dry inland conditions

      • Big Red (Syzygium)

           o large glossy leaves

           o frost hardy and dry tolerant

           o could be grown as a hedge, topiary or pot specimen

           o white flowers bloom over summer, followed by edible berries that help attract native birds to the garden

      • Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos)

           o available in a range of colours, from the traditional red and yellow to black, salmon pink and green varieties

           o its striking flowers make it good for mass and border plantings

      • Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea)

           o makes a great feature plant

           o has black trunk and unusual, bright green leaves

           o would thrive once it has been burnt by fire; they need fire to survive and seed

      • Banksia

           o complex flowers and strong, interesting leaves

           o makes a great feature plant

      • Albany Woolly Bush (Adenanthos sericeus)

           o well adapted to sandy soils

           o waterwise but responds very well to supplementary irrigation

           o grows quickly and has a tall, upright form

           o foliage is soft and lush

           o responds very well to pruning

      • Swan River Pea (Brachysema lanceolatum)

           o low-growing native shrub

           o has glossy green leaves with silvery undersides

           o red flowers appear from late winter to spring

           o hard and waterwise

           o has the ability to produce beautiful flowers and attract native fauna into your garden

      • Hakeas

           o drought tolerant

           o adaptable to sun, shade and most soil types

      • Snake Bush (Hemiandra pungens)

           o prickly foliage with attractive lilac or white flowers

           o would grow in full sun to dappled shade

           o ultra tough, would not require irrigation once established

      • Dryandras

           o beautiful foliage and neat dome-shaped form

           o birds

           o well adapted to low-nutrient, free-draining soils

            o beautiful and low maintenance

Be one with the Australians in promoting Australian culture through gardening and landscaping.