Why Plant With Australian Natives?
Picture yourself, cuppa in one hand, looking out over your garden, with sweet-smelling aromas and the sounds of happy birds. You’ve created a safe haven for our native critters, and an oasis for you to unwind and enjoy.
At West Earth Landscaping, our absolute favourite Perth landscaping projects are native gardens, and here is why.
Sustainable & Supports Native Wildlife
There are so many benefits to planting native gardens. They are by far the most sustainable garden design choice, helping to benefit the local ecosystem and reduce watering needs.
By choosing a native landscape design, you rebuild your soil ecology and allow native fauna including birds, insects, reptiles and frogs to thrive in Perth suburbia. Even if you only have a small space to create a native garden, you can still attract lots of beautiful wildlife.
The native fauna can also balance the ecology of your garden, meaning fewer pests. This is particularly helpful if you have a veggie garden.
Lower Cost
An Australian native garden is the best choice for your wallet. Natives not only provide a waterwise garden, cutting down your water bills, but they also elevate outdoor spaces at a lower cost compared to exotic plants.
We source local plants from specialist native nurseries such as APACE at affordable prices. Native gardens also require less maintenance once established, which can save you money in the long term.
Coastal Native Gardens
If you live in a coastal suburb of Perth like City Beach, we opt for coastal natives that are hardy enough to withstand the salty strong winds and sandy soil. There are many species that thrive along Perth’s coast without soil amendment, including:
Native Cottage Gardens
Many people love cottage gardens, but they don’t fare well in the harsh Australian climate. With introduced high-quality soil and more frequent watering and higher nutrient additions, it is possible to achieve, but at a bigger cost in the long run.
With water restrictions of twice a week and increasingly hotter and drier summers, it will be harder for these exotic cottage gardens to survive in Perth.
The good news is there are many Australian native species that can create a beautiful cottage garden aesthetic. Many native plants have beautiful flowers that provide colour, beautiful aromas and a whimsical aesthetic all year round.
Our favourite natives to achieve a cottage native garden are:
Edible Native Gardens
When people imagine an edible food garden, they usually think of orange and pomegranate trees, but did you know we have a large range of Australian native edibles?
There are many edible plants endemic to the Perth region as well as edibles from other parts of Australia that thrive in the Perth climate.
We love to incorporate:
Native Hedging & Topiary
When it comes to native hedging, we are spoilt for choice in Perth. Hedging is important in most garden designs, they can be used to create different sections within the garden, provide privacy screening and shield your garden from outside noise.
Just like exotic hedging plants, regular trimming will encourage dense foliage that can be shaped into hedges or topiary shapes like spheres.
Our favourite native hedging & topiary plants are:
Verge Native Gardens
Many Perth verges are covered in couch grass that browns in the summer and returns to mediocre green in the winter. To keep a lawn verge looking vibrant and healthy all year round it requires a lot of lawn care including reticulation, regular mowing and edging and fertilising.
Native verge landscape designs are much lower maintenance once established and require less water and nutrient additives.
If you haven’t got a lot of front or backyard area to transform into a native garden, beautifying your verge can be a great option.
When planting native verges, we take care to consider your local council guidelines to ensure your verge garden is compliant. Many councils have specific rules on the types of plants you can choose.
Our favourite verge plants are a mix of dwarf trees, native shrubs, grasses and ground-covers including:
Our Philosophy
The more diverse the native plants, the more biodiversity you create. Different fauna have different requirements, small birds need spiky shrubs they can hide in from larger preying birds and some insects require specific shaped flower petals in order to pollinate.
We take care to choose a mixture of native plants that flower at different times of the year so that your garden is always full of colour. We take into consideration choosing plants and trees that are the right size and correct shade tolerance for your space.
We advocate for native plants that are endemic to the Perth region and go even further to select natives that suit your specific suburb’s soil and climate. Sometimes natives that are not endemic to your zone can be incorporated, but these are likely to require additional nutrient and watering needs so that they thrive.
There is a lot of expert knowledge that goes into creating a native garden design that has the future in mind.
What We Do
In our native garden design Perth services, we offer:
Happy Clients
What Our Clients are Saying
The West Earth Difference
Highly Quality Workmanship
We are a small team of hardworking and professional landscape gardeners. It’s important to us that our clients are happy with our landscaping and garden maintenance services, and feel they are getting value for money.
10 Years + Experience
With 10 years of landscaping and gardening experience, our team is well-equipped to tackle any job efficiently and to a high standard.
Detail-Oriented
Attention to detail cannot be understated when it comes to landscaping and garden upkeep. From planting plants in the right places so that they thrive to perfect edges on lawns, no detail will go missed.
Fully Insured
West Earth Landscaping is fully insured with comprehensive public liability insurance.
Maintaining Your
Native Garden
While native landscape designs are low maintenance, they still require some care to keep them healthy and looking their best. They will need pruning 3 – 4 times a year, and fertilising a couple of times a year and regular weeding.
Our team of Perth gardeners are experts on native gardens and can take care of the maintenance for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Native Gardens Require Fertilising?
When we do native plant outs, we assess the soil to determine if fertiliser is required. We usually add a slow-release native fertiliser for sandy soils. This will give plants a good boost for the first year.
However, good-quality soils do not typically require fertilisers. It’s best practice for the environment to minimise fertiliser use to reduce the impact on natural waterways around Perth.
What are the Retic Requirements for Native Gardens?
Natives are the perfect choice for waterwise gardens. They require much less water than exotics but all plants require water.
If planted during Autumn, you can avoid reticulation due to the winter rain. For the first two summers you will need to hand water roughly 1.5L/per plant twice per week. During heatwaves, increase your watering. After this, you will not need to water except in very hot dry periods.
If you plant natives in hotter months (spring and summer) they will need daily watering.
If you choose to opt for retic, we recommend an individual dripper system for each plant.
Does Anything Need to Be Done to the Soil Before Planting Natives?
It depends on the type of soil you have, if the soil is just builders sand, it will likely need some soil amendments (compost). If the soil is very compacted, it will need to be aerated first to allow the roots to push through.
Should I Remove Weeds From My Native Garden?
Yes, many weeds such as onion weeds and couch grass compete with native plants for nutrients. When weeding, the safest option for the soil and plants is to weed by hand, doing your best not to disturb the soil.
Regular mulching will also keep weeds down, protect the soil and add organic matter to help with plant growth.
Do not place any plastic or cardboard down before planting to stop weeds.
When is the Best Time to Plant Natives in Perth?
The best planting season in Perth is Autumn (April/May).
This is when there will be the most range at nurseries and the best conditions for plants to establish, however, you can still plant in winter for similar results.
