Fast-growing plants for the garden landscape

Gardeners and home landscapers often find themselves with bare spaces that need to be filled quickly to ensure the garden design doesn’t look empty.

For example, you might have removed a ragged old plant and the empty hole left behind is an eyesore. Or perhaps you want to screen an old fence, metal shed, or a utility area where you keep bins and garden equipment. Fast-growing plants are the ideal solution.

It’s important to remember that each climatic zone in the country has its own selection of garden plants that are suited to these conditions. Then there is soil condition and the aspect of the garden design to consider.

What garden plants grow fast?

Unfortunately, the fastest growing plants are often weeds - cleverly adapted to competing in the garden environment - but there are also other plants that grow very quickly.

Bamboo trees are famously speedy in growth, but others are: wattles, eucalypts, tea trees, bottlebrushes and grevilleas. 

A number of Australian native plants grow quite quickly, and these are usually suitable for gardens with well-drained soil. Many don't require much water to prosper. Native trees such as grevilleas, tea trees, melaleucas, bottlebrushes and many eucalypts grow quite quickly and will provide shade and beauty for years.

What kinds of garden trees can I use?

Wattles also grow quickly, provide lovely flower colour and attract birds, but the downside is that they often only last 10 or 15 years.

Exotic trees that grow quickly include jacaranda, virgilia, cape wedding flower and black willow. Whether these trees thrive in your area will depend on local conditions.

What if I can’t use big plants?

Shrubs that grow quickly and fill smaller spaces include lantana, lavender, hebe, plumbago, abelia and daisy bushes. Oleander is another great example - it has lovely, shiny green leaves and bright pink or white flowers and is a popular plant Australia-wide.

Fast-growing ground cover plants that are perfect for hiding bare patches of earth, for binding loose soil or for filling in rock gardens and new gardens include heliotrope, jasmine and star jasmine, ivy geranium, morning glory, snow in summer and creeping thymes.

Alyssum is another popular and fast-growing plant for ground cover, ideal for sunny rockeries. It's also perfect for quickly forming borders and garden edging.

What about hedging?

As for hedges, the ideal method of screening, try lilly pilly, pittosporum, photinimurraya and the old favourite, English box. These all grow relatively quickly and densely to hide an eyesore or protect your privacy.

Contact a nursery in your area to find out how you can get fast growing plants for your garden: