Enjoy Your Garden

It is estimated that 25 per cent of household water is used in the garden, which makes the garden a great place to start gradually introducing more water conservation practices.

Step 2 - Select Your Plants

Before buying a new plant, it’s worth chatting to your local nursery’s horticulturalist who can suggest varieties to suit your local soil and microclimate. When it comes to plants that will thrive in your local conditions, it is hard to go past indigenous varieties.

Indigenous plants:

• help preserve the local plant ecology and contribute to the distinctive character of the area
• provide habitat, shelter and food for native wildlife
• enhance wildlife corridors and provide links between fragmented and otherwise isolated communities.

You can also look to other parts of the world for plants that suit the climate and add colour and variety to your garden such as:

• Rosemary, Lavender and Thyme from the Mediterranean
• Agave from California, USA
• Bird of Paradise from South Africa.

Brendan's Tips For Successful Planting 

•  Natives and other drought tolerant varieties benefit from deep, infrequent watering. Once established these require little water
• The ideal time to plant is Autumn and early Spring
• Avoid planting in Summer.

Now that you have chosen your plants, learn how to water them effectively in Step 3 - Water Wisely.

• How do you make compost?

  1. Place your compost bin or heap on soil, not concrete, so it drains well and the worms and bacteria can enter the bin to decompose the waste.

  2. All compost bins or heaps need a balance of materials that:

  • are high in nitrogen, such as blood and bone or chicken manure
  • contain carbon, such as dried leaves or shredded newspapers
  • contain both carbon and nitrogen, such as kitchen scraps, pea straw and green garden prunings.

  3. To maintain your compost:

  • add water, but only enough so that the contents are moist but not wet
  • regularly turn the compost to add oxygen
  • put it in a sunny place to keep it warm.