Native Gardens

Native gardens not only look beautiful, but also help wildlife to thrive by providing habitat and a source of food. Native gardens also use less water once established and have a reduced risk of invading bushland areas. 

Nowadays, there is an array of native plants available from specialised nurseries to help you establish your own native garden.

The first step to establishing a native garden is to assess the landscape features of your garden including soil type, topography, shade and water availability. These factors will influence the type of plants appropriate for certain areas of your garden.

The second step is to visualise the appearance of your garden. Consider using plants of different height, colour and growth forms such as climbers, creepers, shrubs, herbs or trees to add interest and structural diversity to your garden. Gardens with greater structural diversity are more inviting to the City’s native wildlife such as dragonflies, birds, lizards, frogs and maybe even small marsupials. You can make your garden more wildlife friendly by installing bird baths, ponds, logs and nesting boxes.

For a start, you may wish to consider the plants listed below, all of which can be found locally in the City's bushland, river or wetland environments.

Trees:

Jarrah – Eucalyptus marginata

Marri - Corymbia calophylla

Small trees:

Firewood Banksia - Banksia menziesii

Slender Banksia - Banksia attenuata

Shrubs:

Aniseed Boronia - Boronia crenulata

Honey Bush - Hakea lissocarpha

Swan River Myrtle - Hypocalymma robustum

Herbs:

Grey cottonhead - Conostylis candicans

Purple flag - Patersonia occidentalis

Rushes:

Bare Twigrush - Baumea juncea

Pale Rush – Juncus pallidus

Sea Rush - Juncus kraussii

Climbers  and creepers:

Native Wisteria - Hardenbergia comptoniana

Scarlett Runner - Kennedia prostrata

Snake Bush - Hemiandra pungens

For further information, download the Grow Local Plants Brochure for your suburb below:

Central: Bentley, Canning Vale, Ferndale (part), Leeming, Lynwood, Parkwood, Riverton, Rossmoyne, Shelley, St James, Welshpool (part), Willetton and Wilson (part).  

East Coastal: Cannington, East Cannington, Queens Park, Wilson (part), Ferndale (part) and Welshpool (part).

There are a few plants you must avoid using in your garden, however. For more information, download the Common Garden Escapees in the City of Canning brochure.