With water restrictions having been in place in Perth since the summer of 2001, there is an increasing trend to incorporate native plants into garden beds. This is a trend that the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority supports, as it preserves fresh water supplies, celebrates our unique flora and provides resources for the fauna of Perth which manages to survive in urban areas.
The biggest misconception about Australian garden plants is that they have to be treated quite differently from plants from other continents. This idea results in two opposing beliefs - one being that they can be neglected, and the other being they have fussy needs that make them difficult to grow, especially when mixed with exotics. In reality, however, the same general horticultural rules apply to all ornamentals. Every plant, whatever its origins, grows better with a little care and attention, and some plants have slightly different requirements regarding soil and position.
Some of the information in this section is reproduced, with the kind permission, from Garden Note 43: Growing Australian Plants. ISSN 0817-5969, which is published by the Department of Agriculture and Food and co-authored by Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority staff.
Grow it at home
If you would like to create your own native garden or need advice on how to improve your existing one, browse the articles in this section or contact the Garden Advisory Service.
The Backyard Botanicals Garden is a ‘grow-me-at-home’ garden in the Synergy Parkland which demonstrates how easy it is to grow Western Australian native plants. Monthly 'Dig it with Coffee' sessions are held to provide visitors with free gardening information and a collection of fact sheets are available on many of the plants in the garden. The Backyard Botanicals Garden showcases native plants that are hardy, water-wise and beautiful, attract native birds and are all readily available from local native plant nurseries or at one of the Friends of Kings Park's quartlerly Native Plant Sales.