sustainablegardening IN STONNINGTON This booklet was produced by the City of Stonnington. The original booklet was produced for the City of Darebin with kind permission to modify. Text by Sustainable Gardening Australia. www.sgaonline.org.au Photographs by Helen Moss, Scott Watson, Elaine Shallue, Mary Trigger, Viridans & Flickr. The City of Stonnington is Original design by Judy Watson, Thumbprint. committed to sustainability Editing by Ralph Spethmann, Migawa Design. and promoting sustainability to others. Printed on Cyclus 100% recycled paper. Vegetable dyes used. Printed in 2009. Disclaimer: Although precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, the publishers, authors and printers cannot accept responsibility for any claim, loss, damage or liability arising out of the use of the information published. © City of Stonnington 1 Contents Introduction 2 Sustainable Garden Design 3 Plant Selection 8 Stonnington Local Plant Guide 9 Sustainable Plant List 15 Stonnington Garden Escapee Guide 16 Habitat Gardening 22 Lawn Alternatives 28 Vegetable Gardening 29 Pesticides, Herbicides and Fertilisers 31 Caring For Your Soil 32 Compost 34 Worm Farming 36 Saving Water In The Garden 37 Rainwater Tanks 38 Greywater 39 Sustainable Product Selection 40 For Further Advice 41 2 Sustainable Gardening in the City of Stonnington 3 Introduction Sustainable Garden Design The City of Stonnington’s Sustainable Environment Plan aims to progress Many gardens still maintain the traditional layout, which came from English the municipality to a sustainable future. A main component of this is gardens many years ago. This includes a paved sitting area, large open lawn engaging and inspiring the community to participate in reducing our everyday and flowerbeds of exotic plants around the outside. However these gardens environmental impacts. This includes the improvement in the extent and often take too much time and precious resources to maintain. On the other quality of native habitat. hand sustainable gardens, once established, are much less resource intensive. The City of Stonnington is a highly To design a sustainable garden you need to work out how to create a space urbanised municipality and although you feel comfortable with, enjoy and that suits your local soil and climate. it only contains minor pockets of indigenous vegetation and habitat, Garden Design Tips Council is sourcing significant 1. Find a style you like which suits your garden so all the paving, pots, opportunities to enhance and protect water features and plants match, especially in a courtyard garden. biodiversity within open space and 2. Do a site analysis. Focus on soil quality, sun, shade, privacy and fire along natural corridors such as risk potential. This will tell you what your site will let you do. Gardiners Creek. 3. List what you need (shed, washing line, kids’ swings, entertainment In addition to creating large areas area) and what you want (vegie garden, shade area, pond, fruit tree/s). of habitat in parks and reserves 4. Develop a scaled plan or mark out in the garden what will go where. sustainable gardening can contribute Consider locations that are practical and look good. to increasing habitat value and reduce 5. If your block is on a slope consider building a retaining wall or our carbon footprint. contouring your garden to prevent water and mulch runoff. Gardening can have a positive benefit 6. Make garden beds bigger and lawns smaller. to the health of our environment when we; • Use local plants to provide food and shelter for native mammals, birds and insects Raingardens • Conserve water in the garden to help maintain water levels in our You may want to consider installing a raingarden near a down pipe to reservoirs collect and filter stormwater and slow down rainfall during a rain event. • Reduce chemical use in the garden and reduce chemicals in our creeks and streams For further information visit the City of Stonnington website at: www.stonnington.vic.gov.au • Compost household and garden waste and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and therefore reduce the amount of greenhouse gas produced It is easy to create beautiful gardens that suit our local climate and have a low impact on our natural environment. This booklet has been designed to Further Information provide information and inspiration to create your own sustainable garden in the City of Stonnington. www.sgaonline.org.au/design 4 Sustainable Gardening in the City of Stonnington Garden Design 5 Following are some design ideas that will help you to have Formal Garden the latest garden styles and utilise indigenous plants for a Some local plants can be grown into neat clipped sustainable garden. hedges and shapes to complement the straight lines Cottage Garden of a formal garden. These gardens require a bit more 1 maintenance but at least the plants chosen can be The cottage garden look is easily achieved with local drought tolerant. The local shrub Tree Violet (Melicytus plants and the addition of a few other native plants. dentata), for example, can be pruned to create a Unlike the traditional cottage garden, this garden formal hedge. In front, Rosemary Grevillea (Grevillea can look interesting and colourful all year round, and rosmarinifolia) forms a lower hedge, to create a tiered it’s drought tolerant. Tufted Bluebell (Wahlenbergia effect. communis) looks delightful growing with the grey-leaved 2 Common Everlasting (Chrysocephalum apiculatum). 2 3 3 3 4 1 Birdbath path 3 1 4 wall 4 5 2 2 5 1 7 Brick 1 4 2 path 5 3 2 5 6 3 1 Common Everlasting (Chrysocephalum apiculatum) 6 4 2 Black-anther Flax-lily (Dianella revoluta) 1 Tree Violet (Melicytus dentata) 3 Tufted Bluebell (Wahlenbergia communis) 2 Rosemary Grevillea (Grevillea rosmarinifolia) 4 Cut-leaf Daisy (Brachyscome multifida) 3 Hop Goodenia (Goodenia ovata) 5 Common Correa (Correa reflexa) 4 Common Correa (Correa reflexa) Rock Correa (Correa glabra) Running Postman (Kennedia prostrata), 6 7 5 5 7 Common Tussock Grass (Poa labillardieri) growing in an urn 6 Sustainable Gardening in the City of Stonnington Garden Design 7 Japanese-Styled Garden Informal Natural Garden The sculptural and minimal look of a Japanese Garden The famous Australian bush garden has a relaxed easy- creates a quiet, thoughtful place. There are many local care feel about it. Here, a meandering path crosses a and native plants that work very well and sit beautifully dry creek bed. These gardens are a haven for wildlife with Japanese sculptural elements. Clumps of the and a great refuge for humans. With a bit of planning, 1 Common Tussock Grass (Poa labillardieri), for example, you can ensure there is something in flower almost all look dramatic in a gravel garden with feature rocks, year round. such as shown here. Whilst a Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata) growing in a lawn of Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra) can be a sculptural element. 2 2 3 3 2 3 1 5 5 water feature 1 4 raked sand large 6 or gravel 4 5 stepping 1 stone 8 stepping gravel path stones 2 dry 5 deck 1 4 creek bed 7 1 Drooping Sheoke (Allocasuarina verticillata) 3 2 Gold Dust Wattle (Acacia acinacea) 6 3 Black-anther Flax-lily (Dianella revoluta) 4 Common Tussock Grass (Poa labillardieri) 1 Common Tussock Grass (Poa labillardieri) 5 Austral Indigo (Indigofera australis) 2 Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra) lawn 6 River Bottlebrush (Callistemon sieberi) Silver Banksia (Banksia marginata) Tufted Bluebell (Wahlenbergia communis) 3 4 7 7 4 Rock Correa (Correa glabra) 8 Common Everlasting (Chrysocephalum apiculatum) 8 Sustainable Gardening in the City of Stonnington 9 Plant Selection Stonnington Local Plant Guide Factors that will guide plant selection for your garden include soil type, The following list of species are a selection of ideal plants for gardens in the drainage patterns, aspect (i.e. full sun, part shade and shade) and local City of Stonnington as they are local (indigenous) to the area and provide climate. Plants need to be grouped together according to their sun/shade, habitat for native wildlife. Indigenous plants are also the most waterwise water and fertiliser needs. Visit a nursery for advice on plants to suit the plants for your garden as they have adapted to the local climate and soil poistion you have in mind. conditions and therefore require less maintenance. See the list of nurseries stocking plants indigenous to Stonnington at the back of this booklet. It is best to use local (indigenous) plants wherever possible because they are well suited to the local soil and climate. They do not require large Some of these plants provide habitat for amounts of nutrients and, once established, little water. There are many = Full Sun = Part Shade = Shade beautiful plants local to the City of Stonnington, refer to the Stonnington birds butterflies = Drought Tolerent = Needs seasonal water Local Plant Guide on page 9 of this booklet. frogs lizards = Height = Width = Suitable as hedge You should always avoid GROUND COVERS & WILDFLOWERS using plants that are known environmental weeds. Two thirds Austral Stork’s-bill of the weeds found in Victoria’s (Pelargonium australe) natural environment (parks, and Requirements: 50cm 80cm. along waterways and coasts) are Well-drained soils, tolerating dryness once established. actually ‘garden escapees’. Their Features: Attractive rockery plant. seeds are spread from gardens by the wind, birds and animals or by people dumping garden cuttings Bulbine Lily into the bush and waterways. (Bulbine bulbosa) Weeds compete with our local Requirements: 40cm 30cm. plants for light, nutrients and water. Well-drained soil. Before too long they can replace Features: Beautiful in mass plantings. local plants, leaving native animals Plants die back to tuberous rootstock without food or habitat. in dry weather to re-shoot in autumn. As gardeners we need to know which plants can escape and destroy our unique natural Chocolate Lily environments.