A garden for the birds and the bees

Autumn is not only a great time to plant fruit trees in the garden, it is also the best time to plant native plants. Over the last few years I have been converting part of my garden into a native garden using the beautiful plants that are indigenous to the area, gradually expanding the area each autumn.

If everyone was to dedicate part of their garden to growing plants that are indigenous to their area we would be providing homes for birds, bees, butterflies and native animals that are rapidly vanishing from urban areas. Additionally many native plants are adapted to Australia’s dry conditions and so need little water (if any) once established, so helping to reduce water usage.

I have found the Backyards 4 Wildlife a useful website for choosing plants that are native to my area, for finding nurseries that sell native plants and a whole lot of other interesting information.  It is important to recognise that just because a plant grows somewhere in Australia does not make it suitable for your area. There are a number of cases where plants introduced from other areas of Australia and sold as ‘native’ have become major weeds in the introduced area. So when purchasing native plants try to buy from a dedicated native plant nursery.