We have just celebrated Australia Day down under and a lovely long weekend that saw most of us enjoying sunshine and family activities.
This time of the year can be pretty hot in most parts, up in the NorthWest it is hot and wet and further down south it is dry and hot. It’s great cricket and beach weather for sure but it’s also great gardening weather. You see, we are not all about drinking beer and eating BBQ’d
We have had some warm weather but actually, it has been a pretty mild summer in Western Australia so far, so, it is absolutely great (mate) for planting things in your garden.
Here’s 5 Australian plants that will be perfectly happy if planted during late January and early February.
Scaevola crassifolia ‘Aussie Spirit’
This is a handy little plant that produces sweet purple flowers in a fan shape that will produce flowers for you most of the year. It’s a ground cover that will only grow to about half a metre high and the same in width. This plant is also
Hardenbergia ‘Happy Wanderer’
Also known as the ‘Happy Wanderer’, this plant is a great little climber but will also serve you well as a ground cover just literally wandering through your native garden, spot flowering with teeny purple pea-like flowers, that are a bit like a wisteria, some people, even call Hardenbergia, native wisteria, it is a very tough little plant that looks delicate. It looks great over an archway too. It flowers in late winter and spring but will also spot flower through summer. The leaves are long and kind of “eucalyptus-like” and a bit leathery looking. It also comes in white which is super pretty.
Anigozanthus ‘Bush Ballad’
It’s the perfect time to select new Anigozanthus or Kangaroo Paw for planting right now because they are in flower and you can select the perfect shade for your garden. I love ‘Bush Ballad’ for its striking red claw-like blooms. This beauty will flower every month of the year and as the blooms open they reveal yellow puffs of pollen and lime green internal colour. It is super pretty and super tough. This particular variety is only about half a metre tall and small pollinators will love you more for planting this in your garden. A bush ballad is also another name for an Australian poem.
Dianella ‘Cherry Red’
You can plant any of the Dianellas at this time of the year, they love the hot weather. Dianella ‘Cherry Red’ is particularly great for container planting. It has arching leaves that will spill over the edges of an urn and offers tall cherry coloured stems and blue and yellow small flowers in the spring. A great alternative to a Cordyline in a tall urn or large pot in a sunny position. Trim the spent blooms to encourage more flowers and tidy up the plant.
Westringia fruticosa ‘Smokie’
Shape, can offer a really pretty element to any garden and using native plants to accomplish this in our climate just makes great sense. Westringia ‘Smokie’ offers grey foliage and is commonly called Native Rosemary. It will grow quite large about a metre and a half but lends itself to being tightly clipped into ball shape and mass planting of say 5 or 7 of these provides a really interesting opportunity to create a folly in the garden of tightly clipped balls. It is a very easy care plant and extremely water-wise and tough to boot!
HERE’S A HANDY PLANTING TIP
Planting at this time of the year requires a little more effort. I always have a large bucket of water and Seasol (seaweed extract) beside me as I plant and I dunk the plant, still in its pot, into the bucket until all the bubbles have been removed. Then I remove the plant from the pot and pop it into the prepared hole. The hole should have a little native slow release fertiliser in it to really give your new plant the best chance in life, especially if your soil is very sandy. Some mature compost added to the soil, before planting would also benefit your plants, just because they are native doesn’t mean that they will survive straight into the sand without a little help. Remember these plants have all been grown in a nursery where they have been nurtured from the beginning.
So, don’t let a little heat put you off gardening, there are some great plants that don’t mind the Summer at all. Keep yourself hydrated!
*Special Thanks to DOMUS Nursery for the photographs.
