When Yolanda Van Rooyen bought a house that backed onto bushland, she wanted to create a garden that would extend the wildlife habitat.
There are some basic ingredients that make a garden wildlife friendly and Tino tours Yolanda’s garden to check them out.
Getting rid of the weeds and reducing the lawn
Yolanda notes: “I spent the first couple of years getting rid of weedy exotics like cotoneaster and a lot of lawn, which doesn’t provide much habitat.”
Birds might love the shiny red fruit of Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster glaucophyllus), but it is an environmental weed that is often spread into the bush by birds dropping its seed.
You don’t have to get rid of all the lawn! Planting dense shrubbery adjacent to the lawn will provide space where birds and other animals can hide in safely.
Go for local
Choose local species where possible. Local plants will flower and fruit at times that are predictable for native species and will help maintain local gene pools.
She has used a lot of indigenous species that are endemic to the area; some are only found in Tasmania. Some are chewed on by visiting local animals, which Yolanda says, ‘can be frustrating but it’s what it’s all about’.
It’s good to avoid lots of showy native cultivars such as hybrid grevilleas and callistemons, which favour aggressive birds, like New Holland Honeyeaters and wattlebirds, that chase away smaller birds.
Plant a variety of habitats
Plant a variety of layers – think of ground layers, understorey shrubs, mid-storey shrubs and trees, and canopy trees.
Yolanda has more than 90 plant varieties in her garden, with different textures, size and shape, which provides a range of habitats.
Logs and rocks are also important sunbathing sites for reptiles and are great fungi habitat.
Yolanda has converted an old bath into a pond* planted with native vegetation, which offers a home to frogs, birds, dragonflies and other insects.
Plant things you love!
Your wildlife friendly garden has to be something you love!For Yolanda, her garden is all about bringing her favourite parts of Tasmania’s wilderness right to her backyard, as well as providing a place for her two children to play.
Don’t be too tidy
A tidy garden isn’t great for wildlife. Leaf little provides habitat for skinks and feeds fungi, which in turn feeds a huge number of insects, then many birds, marsupials and lizards eat the insects. By tidying up you are not only disturbing this cycle, but you are preventing the nutrients released from the breakdown of garden material to go back into your garden.
*Remember to check with your council regarding local laws on fencing requirements for any pond, pool or water feature you have in your yard.
FEATURED PLANTS
Barber’s gum (Eucalyptus barberi)
Heart-leafed silver gum (Eucalyptus cordata)
Southern grevillea (Grevillea australis)
Beaked hakea (Hakea epiglottis)
Bushman’s bootlace (Pimelea nivea)
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