Episode: 10
Title: Native Garden
Broadcast: Oct 21 2017
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane

If you’ve ever moved into a mature garden environment, or maybe there’s a distinct change in environment once the trees mature around a building, there are a few different options you should consider.

• The first is accept the shade will change your environment and you need to use exclusively shade loving plants in future under it. That can be problematic for some.
• The other is under prune the branches lifting the canopy and ideally thin the canopy out. Then mulch all the trimmed wood and lay it thickly across the top soil.
• Varieties we’ve included in this planting plan involve predominantly perennial species such as big red kangaroo paws but also the delicate miniature paws known commonly as cats paws. These sweet hearts are already producing flowers in the first few months in the garden and will form dense little clumps and be smothered in flowers next spring.
• Leschenaultia is a uniquely West Australian with the most brilliant of blue flowers through winter and well into spring. This plant grows well in pots and in a rocky soil will thrive, in a sandy free draining soil these delicate little plants will establish well and fill out to get to about 25cm high with a similar spread.
• Annual species are popular in European style gardens but nowhere on earth is there such incredibly beautiful annual flowers as the wildflowers found in WA’s south west corner and the star of them all is the pink everlasting, something that establishes easily by sowing seed ideally in late autumn when the first rains arrive.
• The woodland effect looks amazing and provides a new microclimate for birds and bees to thrive in whilst providing shade and shelter from the heat in summer. This retains the mature trees, creates a better habitat for wildlife and humans and it looks great.

The Garden Gurus
W: www.yourlifestyle.tv