Snippets
and tips: Bush
in the suburbs
Flora
for a fauna-friendly Sydney garden
To attract
the greatest variety of wildlife to your garden you need to provide
a habitat with structural diversity as well as plant diversity.
What does this mean? This means that a garden with only trees, shrubs
and mown lawns is not very inviting for most small creatures. What
you must provide is a well developed shrub and herb layer.
You need to
provide an area into which small birds can escape from aggressive
bigger birds - this means an impenetrable thicket which offers both
refuge and nesting sites. Also you need tufting and clumping plants,
climbers, groundcovers and grasses. Finally you need a mulch of
twigs and leaves for insects and lizards The presence of permanent
water will increase the number of visiting birds.
Get the picture!
Lots of layers!
Listed below
is just a small selection of native plants to help you get started
with turning your garden into a haven for native wildlife. For reasons
of ecological integrity remember to plant only native species which
occur in your area of Sydney.
Let's start
from the ground layer and work up..
Grasses
| Themeda
australis |
Kangaroo
grass |
a
tussock grass, with beautiful bronze highlights, provides
seed for birds and butterflies. |
| Danthonia
spp |
Wallaby
Grasses |
provide
seeds for birds, attracts butterflies. Some moth larvae feed
on the roots |
| Dichelachne
spp |
Plume
Grasses |
butterfly
attracting |
| Microlaena
stipoides |
Weeping
Grass |
an
excellent habitat plant |
The Common
Brown Ringlet Butterfly's caterpillars as well as Finches feed on
native grasses.
Tufting
and clumping plants
| Crinum
pedunculatum |
Swamp
Lily, River Lily |
the
bases of the thick fleshy leaves provide frog habitat |
| Dianella
spp |
Flax
Lilies |
their
beautiful blue berries provide fruit for birds, attract
butterflies and insects |
| Gahnia
spp |
Sword
Grass, Saw Sedge |
all
gahnias are excellent habitat plants
Gahnia
sieberiana is the host plant for Sword-grass Brown Butterfly
larvae They lay their eggs on the plant, the larvae hatch
and feed on the foliage. |
| Junus
spp |
Rushes
|
offer
great habitat, attract seed and fruit eating birds and butterflies
|
| Lomandra
spp |
Mat
Rushes |
offer
refuge & nesting sites. Attract butterflies, insects,
seed & fruit eating birds |
Climbers
| Billardiera
scandens |
Apple
Berry, Dumplings |
bird
and butterfly attracting. The green fruits are edible on turning
purple! |
| Clematis
aristata |
Old
Man's Beard, Traveller's Joy |
very
good nesting site for birds and the masses of white flowers
attract butterflies and insects |
| Cissus
antarctica |
Watervine
|
offers
shelter & nesting sites; birds like its berries; attracts
moths and ringtails |
| Hardenbergia
violacea |
False
Sarsaparilla |
attracts
seed & fruit eating birds, offers refuge and nesting sites,
attracts butterflies, moths, bees and small insects |
| Kennedia
spp |
Coral
Peas |
attract
nectar, seed & fruit eating birds, butterflies, moths,
small insects and bees |
| Smilax
glyciphylla |
Native
Sarsaparilla |
provides
nest making material, birds and possums like its bunches of
black berries |
Groundcovers
| Carpobrotus
glaucescens |
Pig
Face |
the
purple fruits provide bird food |
| Centella
asiatica |
|
shelter
for small lizards |
| Commelina
cyanea |
Scurvy
Weed |
shelter
for ground dwelling small lizards and frogs |
| Correa
spp |
|
their
tubular flowers are rich in nectar which attract both birds
& butterflies |
| Dampiera
(D. stricta, D. purpurea) spp |
|
the
insect attracting flowers provide food for small birds |
| Goodenia
spp |
|
the
bright yellow flowers attract insects and butterflies which
provide food for small birds |
| Hibbertia
(dentata, linearis, scandens)
spp |
Guinea
Flower |
offer
food for insects, moths, butterflies birds. Native bees collect
the pollen to feed baby bees |
| Scaevola
spp |
Fan
Flowers |
butterflies
and insects love their nectar supplied over many months of
the year |
Ferns
| Blechnum
spp |
Water
Ferns |
shelter
many small birds |
| Cyathea
spp |
Treefems
|
native
bees nest in the broken trunks |
| Doodia
aspera |
Rasp
Fern |
will
mass to form a low thicket offering shelter |
| Gleichenia
spp |
Coral
Ferns |
form
thickets providing bird refuge |
| Pteridium
esculentum |
Bracken
|
nesting
and shelter for Fairy Wrens, Silvereyes and other small birds
|
Shrubs
| Acacia
spp |
Wattles
|
any
of the small local wattles provide seed for birds, and nectar
for butterflies. The ones with dense foliage give shelter
and nesting sites for small birds, attract moths, bees,
and ants |
| Breynia
oblongifolia |
|
the
fruits resembling tiny apples provide food for birds and
butterflies |
| Bursaria
spinosa |
Blackthom
|
great
wildlife habitat. Its prickly foliage gives safe refuge.
The sweetly scented flowers attract butterflies. It is the
host plant for the larvae of many butterflies and in particular
the Eltham Copper Butterfly. Double-barred finches feel
safe nesting here |
| Pultenaea
spp |
Bush-peas
|
attract
native bees, butterflies moth and seed eating birds |
| Zieria
spp |
|
a
wide range of butterflies and many small insects visit these
plants |
Trees
| Allocasuarina
spp |
She-oaks
|
attract
seed and fruit eating birds |
| Angophora
hispida |
Dwarf
Apple |
one
of the best plants for attracting a wide range of insects
|
| Banksia
spp |
|
very
important genus of plants for wildlife being a food source
for birds, animals and insects as well as providing nesting
sites |
| Callistemon
spp |
Bottlebrushes
|
attract
nectar feeding, seed, insect and fruit eating birds plus
butterflies and they are pollinated by native bees |
| Callitrix
spp |
Cypress
Pines |
attract
insects, birds and butterflies |
| Eucalyptus
spp |
|
all
species attract a wide range of wildlife |
| Grevillea
spp |
Spider
flowers, Toothbrush flowers |
attract
nectar and insect eating birds and butterflies |
| Hakea
spp |
|
the
prickly ones of this genus are great for nesting and refuge
|
References
Elliot,
Rodger ( 1994 ) Attracting wildlife to your garden Thomas
C Lothian Pty Ltd., Melbourne
Robinson,
Les ( 1991 ) Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney Kangaroo
Press, Kenthurst
Information
provided by ABBR's Newsletter Fauna Corner editor, Danie Ondinea.
Many thanks!
Compiled
by Lyn Hulme, Friend of Lane Cove National Park Inc. , Bushcare
volunteer and member of ABBR
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