stellar echo

It’s been just over a year since the last Native garden post. A very long summer followed after the last big planting in 2008. Had a few casualties, a few surprise success stories and a fair amount of satisfaction.

It’s been 10 months since we purchased the house, but I’ve only added to the native garden during winter. Over the next few posts i’ll list some of the introduced species.

Name	Common Name	Quantity
Boronia alata	Winged Boronia	1
Boronia megastigma	Brown Boronia	2
Boronia heterophylla (and crosses)	‘Lipstick’ x 1, Jackos Special x 2, Purple Jared x 2	5
Eucalyptus torquata	Coral Gum	1
Banksia hookeriana	Hookers Banksia	1
Kunzea baxteri	Solomans Pink	1
Westringia dampieri		1
Hakea laurina	Pincushion Hakea	1
Grevillea trifida		1

We had a Boronia megastigma in one of my childhood gardens and I can distinctly remember the wonderful spicy smell. I don’t believe I have enjoyed the same aroma since my childhood. Consequently, these were pretty much the first plants that I put in. Hopefully by spring the whole street will be able to enjoy the scent!

The Coral Gum is being planted towards the front corner of the garden, on the same side as the existing established Jacaranda tree. My front yard is divided into two pretty distinct sections. Full-Sun, on the western side and part-sun/full-shade on the eastern side under the Jacaranda. From my experience over last summer, the full-sun side gets absolutely baked and i personally worry that even plants labeled for “full sun” wont survive those conditions easily. My plan is to get a fast growing shrub up as quick as possible on the western side to provide some shade.

With the exception of the Boronias, all these plants are pretty hardy and once established shouldn’t require much management, I hope.

The Boronias on the other hand will be given the utmost TLC. They have been heavily mulched and have even had river pebbles mixed into the soil to help in keeping it cool over summer. A rudimentary “sheet mulching” technique was used with all my spare cardboard boxes flattened out and layered across the existing ‘jungle mulch’. A new layer of black mulch was then thickly layered over the top. Since the Boronias require consistent cool and moist conditions, I hope this heavy mulching approach will pay off come summer.

Nurseries used:
Lulfitz
Western Flora
Guildford Town Garden Centre

These are the species that came with the property, they had only been freshly planted as part of the ‘home improvements’ the previous owners did. I didn’t mind because they are all ‘water wise’ and will fit in for my grander plans of a native garden.

*Species marked with an star are exotic and not native.

Name	Common Name	Quantity
Acacia Cognata	Limelight	7
Anigozanthus	Dwarf Kangaroo Paw	6
Calocephalus	Silver Nugget	8
Dampiera diversifolia	Kangaroo Lobelia	2
Darwinia citriodora	Lemon Scented Darwinia	4
Pimelea ferruginea	Pink Rice Flower	3
Westringia fruiticosa	Australian Rosemary	2
Scaevola striata		2
*Convolvulus cneorum	Silver Bush	6
*Variagated Flax	Dianella ‘Border Gold’	8
*Dietes vegetata	Iroides	4
*Lavendula ‘Belle Purple’	Dwarf Lavendar	8