Creating Nature at Home

Spend some time observing your garden and consider (1) what works well, (2) what you want your garden to provide, and (3) what existing features or resources already provide habitat. Existing plants can usually be integrated into your plans, and you risk doing more harm than good if you create a 'clean slate' by indiscriminately clearing your site. Leaf litter, rocks, and even some weeds can provide habitat for local fauna. See Habitat Stepping Stone for a checklist of plants and garden features that offer food, water, and shelter for fauna in the Inner West. The Useful Resources provided above, and Design & Plant Selection below, can also be read to identify opportunities for retaining and building on existing habitat at your home. 

Location will determine which plants are most likely to thrive, and learning about the local ecosystem will help you better understand important site conditions such as soil type and moisture. A Marrickville property on the Gumbramorra Swamp, for example, will likely have poorly draining soils that are prone to waterlogging and best suited to wetland or floodplain forest plant species. To learn about your local ecosystem, visit Trees Near Me NSW and Native Plants of the Inner West [hyperlink]. These resources identify and describe the 'native plant communities' that existed in the Inner West prior to colonisation and urban development. 

Identifying your soil type will help you (1) understand the soil's ability to hold water and nutrients and (2) determine which plants are most likely to thrive in your garden. Soils Near Me NSW can be used to identify the soil type in your area, but the character of the soil in your garden will also be influenced by the site's topography, development history, and proximity to watercourses. A simple test to identify soil texture (PDF, 610.56KB) - i.e. the amount of sand, silt, and clay in your soil - can be completed with a shovel and bucket (see below). This will give you a good indication of your soil's fertility, water-holding capacity, and help you decide what garden style and/or plants are best suited to your property. 

Plants are adapted to different levels of sunlight and will not thrive if they get too much, or too little, of their preferred light. Learn about sunmapping, experiment with a shade calculator like ShadeMap, or simply take time to observe your garden at different times of the day to see how sunlight moves across the site. You should also consider the space available in your garden, and how big the plants will be at maturity. Take note of your services (e.g. electricity lines) and avoid planting species with invasive roots near pools or plumbing. The Inner West Native Plant List (PDF, 312.25KB) provides information about plant size and light preferences, and you can also consult free plant selection tools like Which Plant Where for further information. 

Most trees are long-lived and some can grow very large. A poorly positioned or selected tree can become a nuisance, cause disputes with neighbours, or create a safety risk for people and property. Consider Council's policies and guidelines for trees on private property before planting. If a large tree doesn't suit your site, don't worry! Native shrubs and groundcovers are desperately needed in urban areas, and increasing the volume of these plant layers can produce excellent biodiversity outcomes. 

Converting concrete or lawn verges into native gardens is increasingly popular and can produce valuable social and ecological outcomes. However, public verges (also known as nature strips) are highly regulated, multi-purpose spaces and not all are suitable for conversion to native gardens. Please see Council's Living Streets Verge Garden and Adopt-a-Spot Program before planting out a verge or other area on public land. 

There are all sorts of reasons for creating a garden with native plants, and native plants from the Inner West can be used to create a variety of garden styles to suit your needs and preferences. Some examples are: 

1. A flowering garden with year-round colour
2. Creating privacy by screening out neighbouring properties
3. Lawn alternatives - low-maintenance native lawn and soft garden edges
4. Habitat for wildlife - plant to provide food, water and shelter for frogs, reptiles, mammals, or birds

Consult the Your Native Garden (PDF, 1.96MB) and Creating Habitat for Wildlife (PDF, 8.52MB) guides for further advice on these garden styles. You may also want to draw a simple sketch of your proposed garden to help you decide on the new layout and how it will fit in with existing landscaping and garden features. 

Creating habitat for wildlife at your home makes an important contribution to local biodiversity and can make our balconies, backyards, and verges more lively and joyful places. Generally speaking, garden habitat is created by ensuring your home offers the following three things:

1. Food: plant a range of small, medium, and tall plants to provide food for different animals
2. Water: consider adding a pond, water feature, or bird bath if you are able to
3. Shelter: provide safe refuge with thick shrubs, rock piles, hollow logs, or even nestboxes

If you want to increase the value of your garden habitat, or attract a particular type of animal, consider selecting a 'target species' and designing your garden to meet their needs. The habitat requirements for lizards, for example, will be quite different to microbats or native bees. The native garden and creating habitat guides above can be consulted to help design for your target species. 

Please note native animals also need safe places free from predation and disturbance, which may confining cats and dogs. See Living with Nature at Home below for more information about responsible pet ownership.

Year-round colour

There are many beautiful plants that flower during spring and summer, providing an abundance and variety of colour, as well as food for native animals. In winter, however, fewer plants flower and it becomes difficult for animals to find food. Planting trees and shrubs that provide food during winter and early spring will add colour to your garden year-round and help to ensure our local birds and mammals have abundant food throughout the year.

What to plant:

• Hairpin Banksia (Banksia spinulosa) and Forest Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis) can provide nectar for possums and flying foxes.
• Small flowering plants, such as Grey spider Grevillea (Grevillea buxifolia) and Needlebush (Hakea sericea) can provide nectar for small honeyeaters.
• Prickly Parrot Pea (Dillwynia juniperina) and Myrtle Wattle (Acacia myrtifolia) can boost insect numbers for small birds to eat.
• Many wattles have bright yellow flowers during winter that attract a variety of insects for birds to feed on. They then produce seed pods that are eaten by parrots.

Plants for screening

Native plants may be used to provide privacy or create a formal hedge. These effects can be achieved by using a variety of different sized shrubs or with one row of the same species. For a more natural screening effect, you can also try planting a mixture of different species relatively close together (about 1 to 1.5m apart).

What to plant:

Some of the more effective native screening plants include:

• Needlebush (Hakea sericea)
• Native Snow-in-Summer (Melaleuca linariifolia)
• Sydney Golden Wattle (fast growing) (Acacia longifolia)
• Black Wattle (fast growing) (Callicoma serratifolia)
• Blueberry Ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus)
• Christmas Bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum)
• Rough fruited Pittosporum (Pittosporum revolutum)
• Native Rosemary (Westringia fruticosa)

Native climbers, like Old Man’s Beard (Clematis aristata) and Purple coral pea (Hardenbergia violacea) are also great for covering up a fence. Just add a frame for them to climb up and cover.

Native lawns and edges

Native grasses can be used as lawns. They are generally low maintenance once established, requiring less mowing, watering and fertilising than exotic grasses. They are however, generally slower to establish and, if grown from seeds or seedlings, require weed control during establishment to achieve a good result. 

What to plant: 

• Nara (Zoysia macrantha)
• Weeping Grass (Microlaena stipoides)
• Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma longifolia)
• Red Grass (Bothriochloa macra)

Soft garden edges can be created with many local native plants. 

Where you want feature plants, try clumping plants like Tall Sedge (Carex appressa), Mat-rush (Lomandra longifolia), Knobby club rush (Ficinia Nodosa) and Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma longifolia).

Or add some colour with Flax-lilies (Dianella caerulea) and Australian Bluebells (Wahlenbergia stricta).

Weeping grass (Microlaena stipoides) is soft to walk on and only requires mowing three or four times a year. It grows on both sandy and clay soils, excels in shady locations, and easily self-seeds and spreads into adjacent bare areas.

Insect hotels

Insect hotels have become popular in recent years. Ideally habitat for insects should be provided by growing a variety of native plants of different heights and species.

Allow your garden to have messier patches of fallen dead vegetation for insects to make homes out of. Insect hotels mimic natural features of the environment and offer hibernation and nesting spaces and come in all shapes and sizes. They can also be creative pieces that make a great feature in any garden.

If you are making your own insect hotel, build shelves into them to create a variety of living storeys and use different materials to encourage a greater diversity of insect life. Recycled and natural materials are best and can include stones, tiles, timbers, bamboo, bound reeds, straw, dried grass and bark. Drilling holes into the building materials also creates more spaces for insects to live in.

Native bee homes

Native bees come in a great range of colours and sizes, from a tiny 2mm to a large 24mm. Some have furry overcoats while others are smooth and shiny like a stainless-steel kettle. Some are yellow and striped, and others are black and blue. Most native bees are solitary and only around 10% of native bee species are social and build hives.

To provide habitat for native bees, plant bee friendly plants like:

• Native rosemary (Westringia fruticosa)
• Gum trees (Eucalyptus)
• Bottlebrush (Callistemon)
• Paperbark (Melaleuca)

Leave fallen stems, sticks and branches on the ground to provide nesting material and undisturbed patches of bare soil or clay for burrowing bees. Neat piles can be created in more hidden spots in the garden if you are concerned about your garden looking messy. This will provide great habitat for other insects too.

Frog ponds

A pond with partial shade and away from large trees can provide suitable breeding habitat for frogs. Sloping sides and logs will help frogs get in and out of the pond easily, and reeds and sedges growing in the pond can help oxygenate and filter water naturally. Ponds can be planted with reeds like Jointed Twig-rush (Baumea spp.), Common Spikerush (Eleocharis palustris) and Common Tussock Rush (Juncus usitatus).

Bird baths

Many birds need fresh water both for drinking and bathing, so providing water in your garden is a great way to help them. Place your bird bath so birds can perch nearby to observe the surrounding area for dangers. Plant dense shrubs or trees close by that birds can escape if needed. If the bath is deep or has a smooth base, place pebbles, a stick or brick in it so birds can climb out.

Replace the water every few days and clean the bird bath regularly to keep your local birds in good health.

Please see the Your Garden Guide (PDF, 1.96MB) (p.38) for advice about correct planting technique. Once in the ground, a heavy, weekly watering encourages stronger root growth and greater drought tolerance than watering small amounts more often. Maintain this for six to eight weeks, then once the plants are established, watering can be less frequent.

If you have a larger garden, consider installing a rainwater tank to irrigate your plants. Rainwater tanks come in many sizes and designs to suit your home and you may even qualify for a Council tank rebate.

Usually, native plants do not require fertilising. It is better to mulch or add leaf litter to boost soil nutrients. Mulching will keep the soil healthy, improve water holding capacity, and suppress weeds.

There are different types of mulch but choose an organic one made from bark or chipped hardwood rather than pine chips. Mulch should cover the ground to a depth of 10cm and topped up annually. When spreading mulch, remember to keep an area clear of mulch around the plant stem to prevent fungal infection and insect attack.
 

The benefit of growing local native plants is they have adapted to local soils. However, if you still find it hard to grow particular plants, the soil can be adjusted.

For heavy clays – dig in compost or manure and add gypsum to loosen the soil and help to break down the clays. Raising the soil level, even just 30cm, will also assist with drainage in boggy spots.

For sandy soils – dig in organic matter such as compost or cow manure to increase the nutrients in the soil. As sandy soils drain very rapidly, it is important to keep the garden beds well mulched to retain moisture. The use of organic mulches such as sugarcane mulch will also break down increasing the nutrients in the soil.

Weeds can be useful and are not always bad. In urban areas particularly, weeds play an important role in contributing to habitat for wildlife.

There are some invasive weeds however they should always be controlled or removed and if left alone will take over large areas, out compete other species and have disastrous effects on native plant communities and animals in our backyards, bushland, creeks and rivers.

The NSW Biosecurity Act (2015) outlines a list of weeds that must be controlled and removed from private property and public land. Some of these weeds include:

• Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus species aggregate)
• Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum)
• Bridal Creeper (Asparagus declinatus)
• Water Hyacinth
• African Olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata)
• Alligator Weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides)
• Green Cestrum (Cestrum parqui)
• Lantana (Lantana camara)
• Madeira Vine (Anredera cordifolia)
• Giant Reed (Arundo donax)
• Asparagus Fern (Asparagus virgatus)

Other common weeds that should be controlled include Asthma Weed (Chamaesyce hirta), Ochna (Ochna serrulata), Ivy (Hedera helix) and Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora).

Here are a few simple steps you can take to help control the spread of invasive weeds:

• Look out for unusual plants you haven’t seen before.
• Always dispose of weeds by placing them in your green bin.
• Never dump weeds in or near bushland.
• Choose garden plants carefully and avoid plants which spread easily.
• Manage your plants so they don’t spread into neighbouring properties or bushland.
• Check the Department of Primary Industries website for weed species that must be removed and advice on how to control them.

If weeds in your garden are being used by native wildlife, take a slow and careful approach in replacing them with natives to ensure you are not removing habitat areas all at once. If these weeds are contained and unlikely to spread, consider leaving them there and work on other areas in your garden that need more help.

If you are having trouble identifying any plant in your garden, take a photo and have it identified online by the Royal Botanic Gardens. Visit the Plant Net website

One of the most pleasurable activities you can do once you have created your habitat garden, is to sit back and watch your wildlife visitors.

Keeping an eye on the native animals in your garden and how they use the different plants and habitat areas you have created is a great indication of how well your efforts working.

You may be inspired to keep more formal records of what you see and there are a few ways to do this. You can participate in the annual Citizen Science events like the Birds in Backyards surveys, Aussie Backyard Bird Count, or the Australian Museum’s FrogID week. Residents can also join in on one of our Citizen Science programs.

Avoid using chemicals, pesticides, non-organic fertilisers or snail pellets which can be especially harmful to insects, reptiles, and amphibians. Please see advice from WIRES on Wildife and Pesticides

Native animals need safe places where threats are absent or minimised. Cats and dogs are beloved companion animals, but they will harm your habitat values and kill local wildlife if given the opportunity. Consider options for confinement or excluding them from valuable parts of the garden, if possible. Practice cat containment, especially at night, to protect native animals and prevent illness or injury to your cat.