Celebrate our planet: plant natives

This Sunday (26 July) we will be celebrating 30 years of National Tree Day, when Australians everywhere are encouraged to plant a tree, perhaps join a local tree-planting event, or just appreciate the role trees play in our neighbourhood and the wider environment.

Over the past three decades, volunteers have contributed more than 10 million hours to planting trees, restoring habitat and taking part in environmental activities that foster a deeper understanding of the natural world. That equates, according to organiser Planet Ark, to 28 million trees planted, and 10 million hours of time donated, to date.

If you would like to add some native trees into your garden patch, Planet Ark has put together a handy guide to help with your choices. It describes each plant in detail, from where it grows best, how high or wide it will grow, and when it is likely to flower.

Planet Ark spokesperson Claire Laws has put together the following ‘small taster’, highlighting six native species included in the guide. Check out the complete guide for what Planet Ark recommend to plant in your region.

Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata)
Native to south-eastern Australia (including parts of NSW, VIC, SA and TAS), Silver Banksia is a low maintenance plant that tolerates a range of environments. It usually grows as a shrub to 2m but can reach more than 10m and produces long, yellow nectar-rich flower spikes that will attract birds year-round but mainly from summer to winter.

Purple Coral Pea (Hardengergia violacea)
Like others in its family, Purple Coral Pea is a hardy climber with beautiful purple pea-shaped flowers are produced from Winter to Spring.

Blue Flax Lily (Dianella caerulea)
Naturally found mainly east of the Great Dividing Range, the Blue Flax Lily is a clumping perennial that spreads via underground stems called rhizomes. With strappy leaves that grow to less than 1m high, this hardy plant produces stalks bearing beautiful blue/purple flowers from spring to summer.

Running Postman (Kennedia prostrata)
Like its name suggests, Running Postman is a ground cover reaching 2.5m in diameter, with grey/green leaves and red pea-shaped flowers. It prefers a sunny position and will do well in hanging baskets.

Fern-leaf Grevillea (Grevillea pteridifolia)
Natural to tropical northern Australia (including parts of WA, NT and QLD), the Fern-leaf Grevillea is large shrub or small tree that can grow to more than 10m. It’s fast-growing and thrives in a variety of soils producing nectar-rich orange flowers in Winter and Spring that attract birds and other animals.

Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra)
One of Australia’s most widespread native grasses (natural range includes coastal, inland and arid locations across the country), Kangaroo Grass is a beautiful, tufted perennial grass growing to 1.5m, with leaves of a lovely green/grey colour or orange/brown during drier periods. It grows in both full sun or part shade and thrives in a variety of soils, requires little water and maintenance once established, making it a great ornamental grass for gardens.

Available for download from the Planet Ark website, the planting guide suggests some native species appropriate for planting across different regions of Australia. The plants included in the guide provide only a tiny snapshot of Australia’s amazing native species and Planet Ark aims to add to the guide over time to include more regions across the country.