Creating a Littoral Rainforest garden

Soil description: Sandy loam to sandy clay In its natural state, such as at Broken Head, you’ll see a compact forest blown into a wedge shape capable of deflecting salt laden winds and providing a surprising amount of Coastal shelter beneath. Few of us will have Creating a Heath Garden the opportunity to achieve this complexity in our own yards but Locations: Soil description: there are some very useful species to Broken Head, Suffolk Park, Byron Bay, Belongil, Tyagarah, Brunswick Heads, Low nutrient sand and sandy clay employ in the home landscape. Utilise New Brighton, OCEAN SHORES and South Golden Beach the sculptural forms of Pandanus, The heath garden would be well suited Cordyline, Bangalow Palm, Ginger, to a highly exposed site or to frame Dianella and Hoya Vine. You’ll notice a view. The small leathery leaves that these are all lineal , which look or those of us lucky enough On the foredunes, spinifex grass of water table variations, the type of feature in this broad grouping are salt best with similar shaped and textured to live in close proximity to slows and traps the wind-blown sand, predominant vegetation could be lit- tolerant and once established can be plants. Lilly Pillies and other small Fthe sea, gardening on sandy allowing enough security for the low toral rainforest, melaleuca wetland or trained through pruning and require rainforest species can provide useful soils in salt laden winds can be coastal wattle to establish. This in turn fire dependent heath. no irrigation. Small and hedges and background. Few of these challenging - until you learn the provides shelter to the hind dunes and that are fairly nondescript for much of plants flower conspicuously but can secrets of our local plants. a complex root system that secures the The advantages of using local coastal the year will reward you with vigorous put on beautiful flushes of new growth coast against wave attack. In the lee plants in the landscape are salt and flowering in the spring and some of the as opportunity allows. Before our coastline was cleared for of this, small, salt tolerant trees and drought tolerance, and an ability to heath species such as Lemon Scented sand mining and coastal development, leathery vines form a dense barricade thrive in low nutrient sandy soils – a Tea (Leptospermum liversidgeii) a diverse ecosystem thrived in a suc- and beyond a complex littoral rainfor- selection of these plants are detailed in contain natural insect repellents. This Examples: Broken Head Nature Creating a Wetland cession of communities that each est can establish. Depending on the the species list that accompanies this garden will look particularly good with Reserve and Cape Byron lent protection to the next. soil type (sand or clay), and proximity section of your guide. well placed rocks - make them look garden natural in their setting and try to leave a few caves and crevices for our blue- Soil description: Wildlife: tongue lizards. Peaty sands If you live in the low-lying parts of the Pheasant Coucal, bush turkey, swamp wallaby, white bellied sea eagle, osprey, The key species of this garden would Shire, the water table may be close tErn, gull and various reptiles, Australian Pelican, Brahminy Kite, Bush Stone- most likely include the Banksias, to the surface and wet sclerophyll Curlew, Cormorant, Egret, Flying fox, Kingfisher, Spoonbill, Swamphen, Water Casuarinas, Grasstrees, Leptospermum, plants will best suit your garden. If small Melaleucas and local peas. You Dragon, Goanna you have a really boggy section some can even replace the lawn with a low of the plants that will happily occupy growing form of Kangaroo Grass. it and turn it into a feature include: Paperbarks, Banksia robur, Blueberry Examples: Arakwal National Park Ash, Cordyline, strappy grasses, and Tyagarah Nature Reserve ferns and sedges – all can be used to great effect and will require little N.B. It should be realised before maintenance. Plant in groups and use embarking on the heath garden that your taller species in the background many of these plants are volatile; a to maximise the impression of space, buffer zone should be established whilst encouraging the pioneer species and maintained in areas prone to that may volunteer to add complexity bushfire. (Interestingly though, there to the theme. Visit the section on water are heath plants that are non-volatile features and aquatic plants (p32) for and form natural firebreaks. Further more ideas. information can be sourced from the RFS & CSIRO.) Example: The western parts of the Tyagarah Nature Reserve or Coastal Heath (top left) Cumbebin Wetlands boardwalk at Photo: Alison Ratcliffe Butler Street in Byron Bay Wetland West Byron (top right) Photo: Hank Bowers A selection of Littoral Rainforest Bush Stone-Curlew Swamp Wallaby & joey Eastern Water Dragon species (centre) Photo: David Taylor Photo: T Trivett Photo: M Crocker Photo: James Mayson 16 My Local Native Garden My Local Native Garden 17 7 6 5 3 2 1 4 8 flower in winter/spring bright purplepea like Dark, glossyleaves with Wanderer Happy screening scrambler summer –excellent flowers inspring/ large golden-yellow W Guinea Flower pots Suitable forhanging flowers inspring. small white fragrant Thick leaved, stunning Hoya a bottlebrush flower spike resembling trunk anddelicate Grass treewithno T C Butterfly attractant reddish flower heads. tufting grass with Low maintenance GrassKangaroo habit to increasebushy Prune afterflowering throughout theyear. daisy-like flower An elegantwhite Flannel lower white flower delicate purpleand groundcover with Sprawling Native Violet Bushfood & edibleblueberries. dainty purpleflowers Lush, strappy leaves, Great clumpinggrass. Dianella ree oastal Grassoastal ell behaved vinewith Groundco F or morespeciespleaserefertoNative SpeciesPlantingGuidefor Tweed andByronShireswww.byron.nsw.gov.au/native-plants mblers Scra & grasses Epiphytes Shrubs & Vines/ Palms Trees vers 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 11 10 12 5 4 3 7 6 2 9 8 1 oastal Grass TreeCoastal Kangaroo Grass Flannel lower Guinea Flower Hoya Native Violet Pandanus Celery wood Bennetts Ash Blueberry Ash Broad-leaved LillyPilly W Cabbage Palm Plum Myrtle Midgen Berry Snow insummer Swamp Banksia Happy W Dianella Clumping Palm Lily 10 allum Banksia 9 C ommon Name anderer attractive paperbarktrunk flowers borninsummerwith Striking masses ofwhite summer Snow in lasting months fruits inautumn/winter large flower spikesand small tree/shrubwith A dramatic &sculptural Swamp Banksia Coastal Botanic Xanthorrhoea macronema Themeda australis Actinotus helianthi Hibbertia scandens Hoya australis Viola hederaceae Pandanus tectorius Polyscias elegans Flindersia bennettiana Eleaeocarpus reticulatus Acmena hemilampra Banksia aemula Livistona australis Austromyrtus dulcis Melaleuca linariifolia Banksia robur Hardenbergia violacea Dianella caerulea Cordyline congesta ScIENTIFIC Name 18 My Local Native Garden 30m 30m 30m cultivation) cultivation) cultivation) Height 0.5m 0.2m 0.1m 0.1m 1.5m 1.5m 0.8m 1.7m 10m 20m 6m 3m 2m 2m na na na 19 My Local Native Garden (less in (less in (less in spreading spreading spreading Width spreads Clumping Palm Lily 0.5m 0.3m 1.5m 1.5m 10m 6m 8m 8m 8m 5m 8m 2m 2m na na na berries. W Graceful linearplantwith and flowers indrooping sprays ofbright red fruit panicles. Birdattractant in spring/summerwith hedge.. White flowers Low –informal purple spottededible Midgen Berry Sun ildlife attractant ildlife ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Shade ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 12 11 Wet ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ D ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ry M. to lerant M=Medium H=high Protect from L=Low Sal wind M M M M M M M M H H H H H H H H H H H t winter. Smalldark-purple spring/summer, globulous followed by small,round abundant white flowers purple flowers autumn/ blue fruit.Birdattractant 5-winged seedcapsule umbrella-like crown of Attractive red-pinknew spikes insummer. Red Tall, graceful treewith tree withlargeclumps fruit. W with white or pink bell with white orpinkbell An attractive medium distinctive proproots abbage PalmCabbage Blueberry Ash Blueberry n elegant small tree An elegantsmalltree autumn/winter, then Cream-white flower fruit turningblack – Sculptural treewith leaves. Small,dark- fruit. Birdattractant growth habit.Large (female only),large Broad-leaved ornamental woody flowers on panicles flowers onpanicles Bennetts Ash strappy leaves and flowers insummer, Pretty foliagewith small pear-shaped Robust, sculptural C tree withirregular foliage with cream foliage withcream Plum Myrtle Broad fanleaves. large orange fruit of white flowers, elery wood elery ildlife attractant ildlife bird attractant Pandanus Lilly Pilly woody fruit Banksia purple fruit Wallum

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