Going Native

Across Australia natives are springing up everywhere, some in the most surprising of places. While gardening purists might be up in arms at this intrusion into garden styles such as formal or contemporary, a new twist on natives is transforming backyards

- Carrol Baker

We are still seeing traditional native gardens, filled only with indigenous plants, but newlook native gardens are widening the appeal of native trees, plants and shrubs.

Landscape designer Natalie Watts from Branat Designs says these days you can find natives in both contemporary and formal gardens, as well as a must-have range for the Aussie garden. “I think in the past many people had the image of straggly looking natives from the 1970s that were planted in backyards and forgotten about,” she says.

Not anymore. Natalie says keen gardeners are mixing it up and using natives in other styles. “We are currently working on a formal garden project with native grasses, and we’re turning grafted grevilleas into topiary, incorporating these natives instead of the exotics as we’d have done in the past,” she says.

In English or formal gardens, tightly clipped hedges are often part of the garden landscape. But you can also hedge lilly pilly, acmena and callistemon. Landscape designer Sean Dowling from Bayon Gardens says you can also topiary other plants like westringia, clipping them into a tight ball, for a more formal look. “In my own backyard I have a formal setting with natives I’ve clipped into topiary,” he points out.