Easy-to-grow garden plants for Australian spaces
Looking for some tips on plants that grow easily in Australian gardens? If you want a lush garden without the hassle, then it's important to choose plants that are easy to grow.
If your thumb is more brown than green, but you're keen to get some life happening in your garden, it's best to start with garden plants that don't require a lot of care. Here are 10 plants that are easily grown in Australian gardens and should have your outdoors looking lush in no time.
Bougainvillea: a hardy creeper with sharp thorns and beautiful purple, red, pink or white flowers that appear in spring and summer. It loves full sun, doesn't require much water to prosper, and is perfect for growing on trellises or over pergolas.
Orange jessamine: a tough, evergreen, rounded shrub that may flower all year round, it prefers a warm climate and doesn't like frosts. Jessamine grows best in well-drained soils, grows to about three metres and works wonderfully as a screening hedge.
Citrus trees: whether lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruit, cumquats or mandarins, citrus trees are very popular in Australian gardens and relatively easy to grow. They prefer warm to mild climates and sandy soils, and as long as they receive plenty of water they will tolerate very hot weather.
Frangipani: a small deciduous tree, native to the tropical regions of America, which grows particularly well in warm, coastal climates. This sweet-smelling garden plant has spectacular and fragrant funnel-shaped flowers in white or pink.
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Syzygium 'Cascade': this is a particular cultivar hybrid of the popular Syzygium, or Lillypilly, and is a very hardy tree. It grows best in cooler areas and has lovely glossy leaves with fluffy cream flowers.
Rosemary: one of the most common plants found in Australian gardens, this Mediterranean herb is also one of the toughest. Its beautiful, fragrant, needle-like leaves are wonderful in all manner of Greek and Italian dishes, and the plant thrives on very little water.
Lavender: more Mediterranean garden plants, the many varieties of lavender bring beauty and a gorgeous fragrance to gardens in Australia. Once established, lavender can survive hot, dry conditions, but it does best in well-drained soil.
Roses: available in hundreds of varieties, some roses flower in winter, but most in spring and summer. These plants are tough as old boots and perform best when pruned in winter to direct the roots' energies into the buds that appear in spring.
Fuschsias: these lovely plants with their pendulous flowers are easy to grow from cuttings and prefer semi-shade and a fair bit of water. They grow very well in hanging baskets.
Indigenous grasses: these are beautiful, natural-looking and delicate, and because they are native, will thrive easily. Varieties include Poa, Stipa, Danthonia, Themeda (Kangaroo grass) and Chloris (Windmill grass).
For planting advice on these or other easy–to-grow garden plants, consult your local nursery:
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