You wake up greeted by a stunning view and are lulled to sleep by the gentle sound the sea makes when it caresses the beach. Is it too much to ask for a blooming garden?

Almost all coastal property owners will tell you that gardening is like a losing battle. Simply put, the elements that make a coastal property appealing are the same elements that make seaside gardening difficult. You’ve got to deal with sandy soil, a huge amount of salt and heat, and onshore winds.

These elements combined can burn leaves and inhibit the growth of plants. But rather than accepting and being resigned to your fate as a shoreline property dweller, you can take a few steps in order to make your dream of having a beautiful coastal garden come true. The key here is to find suitable plants and make do with the available conditions.

One of the first things that you need to deal with is the soil quality. For example, if you live along Perth’s coastal area, it is highly likely that the soil on your property is more alkaline.

This requires improving soil quality through the addition of both organic matter and wetting agents. These will improve the structure of the soil as well as its capacity to hold water.

In adding organic matter, make sure that you dig this into the ground instead of simply spreading it on top of the soil. This will help prevent the growth of weeds.

It is also advisable to apply a thick layer of mulch at least once a year in order to contain evaporation and serve as a cushion for the ground against the wind.

And speaking of winds, you have to minimise the effects of these on the growth of your plants. The best way to do that would be to create windbreaks by using strategically positioned trees and shrubs around the garden.

In building windbreaks, you can try to combine trees and shrubs with any material you have on your property. You may also use fences and screens, but be sure to leave a gap to prevent turbulence. Keep the harsh wind and intense sunlight away from your plants.

When it comes to selecting plants for your coastal gardens, opt for native plants instead of having a lawn and a garden of flowering plants. Native plants can easily handle the conditions in your area and can provide both food and home for local birds and animals. Plus, these plants are more tolerant to drought and require little water.

For professional assistance with your garden planning and design, planting and maintenance, please don’t hesitate to call Jim’s Mowing & Gardening on 0800 454 654 or book online today!

Gardeners are in the front line of the battle to preserve nature. These simple measures will help provide food and habitats for a healthy eco-system in your back yard.

Guidelines for Drawing Wildlife to Your Garden

Australian gardeners have a brilliant opportunity to experience the pleasures of our exceptional flora and fauna. Vast areas of suburbia are within range of bushland corridors that are frequented by a wide range of fascinating wildlife. With some attentive landscaping and suitable plant selection, we can attract many of these captivating creatures as well as generate habitats and corridors to help regenerate and sustain breeding populations for future generations.

The types of wildlife that can flourish in your garden will depend on numerous factors:

• The proximity of adjoining bushland areas
• The presence of predators such as cats, dogs and foxes and your actions to counteract them,
• Whether you design your garden as a habitat where wildlife can not only visit, but also make it their home.

Nesting boxes for birds and marsupials make a good substitute for tree hollows which are usually hard to provide in urban areas. Trees or other tall perches provide spots where birds can survey your garden and decide whether they can find food and shelter in safety. Rockeries, logs and piles of sticks will provide a habitat for reptiles such as blue-tongue lizards

Unfortunately, bringing wildlife into your garden will create a risk if you also have fruit trees and favourite roses. A framework covered with netting can be erected at times of the year when damage is most likely, or throw over a large piece of bird netting. Sometimes birds, bats and snakes and larger lizards can get caught in netting, so it should be inspected from time to time so the unfortunate creature can be cut loose.

Birds and window collisions. If a bird sees what it perceives to be a clear flight through a house, then injury or death can result when it impacts an intervening window. Blinds, curtains and decorative objects placed behind the window will help to discourage this accidental problem.

Do not use chemicals in your garden. As well as the possibility of causing acute toxicities to wildlife that could result in immediate death, there is also the problem of a long term build-up of toxic substances in local wildlife. In many cases birds and reptiles will provide adequate control of pests such as snails and aphids without the need for chemical measures.

Supplementary feeding can be provided at times of year when natural supplies are scarce, however, it should never become more than that. The healthiest course is to try to provide natural food sources for as great a part of the year as possible. Nectar feeders, seed trays and tables can be provided in locations that provide a safe haven from any unintended predators that may be lurking nearby.

Enticing Butterflies to your Garden

Butterflies and moths have a special beauty that makes them such a delight in the garden.  Most species feed on nectar from the base of flowers that is part of their role as pollinators of a wide range of plants. A few tips to get your butterfly garden started are- 

Everlasting and Brachyscome daisies not only provide nectar but the daisy flower heads provide a great landing platform

Do not automatically destroy caterpillars in your garden unless they are doing major damage. Caterpillars are the larval stage of butterflies and moths.

Other plants that are particularly attractive include Grevilleas, Pimeleas (rice flowers), Lomandras (mat-rushes) and Dianellas (flax lilies).

Attracting Reptiles and Frogs to your Garden

Frogs and small reptiles will be attracted by ponds that have a natural feel with suitably placed rocks and water plants. They will also control mosquito larvae and other insect pests as a side benefit. Such a pond will also benefit birds and any mammals that find their way into your garden. A log or large rock in the water can provide a perch for birds to drink and bathe in safety from predators such as cats.

The pond can be as simple or ambitious as you like. A cheap and simple pond can be made from a solid styrofoam box or old kid’s paddling pool, a great project to share with the children. Be aware though that care will be needed with young children, as they can drown in even shallow bodies of water. A netting overlay can be made to cover the pond for peace of mind. Larger pools can be made with commercially available plastic ponds, or plastic or rubber linings used for excavations. Once the family swimming pool has outlived the chore of daily maintenance, it can be converted to the ultimate home wildlife sanctuary, inviting water birds as well as frogs, dragon flies and other lovely insect life.

Attracting Native Birds to Your Garden

Nectar feeding birds are one of the simplest groups to entice as there is a wealth of appropriate plants such as eucalypts, angophoras, banksias, grevilleas, waratahs, kangaroo paws and many others. Look for tubular shaped flowers as this indicates plants that are pollinated by nectar feeders such as spinebills, honeyeaters and wattlebirds. The remarkable parrot family also includes lorikeets and rosellas which also feed on nectar as well as seeds from eucalypts, acacias, casuarinas and tea trees as well as many other easy to grow natives.

Rainforest plants including Lillypillies and blueberry ash have colourful berries that appeal to parrots as well as various species of native pigeons. Finches such as red-browed firetails and zebra finches will feed on the seed of native grasses such as wallaby and kangaroo grass while superb fairy wrens, fantails and thornbills are insectivorous and will greatly aid in controlling pest insects in your garden. Small birds such as these will appreciate spiky leafed plants such as Grevillea rosmarinifolia, Acacia oxycedrus and Melaleuca styphelioides to enable them to have a safe haven within your garden.

Winter Food Sources for Garden Wildlife

A number of Australian plants can offer winter sustenance such as most correas (also known as native fuchsias), various banksia species and ever blooming grevilleas such as Robyn Gordon, Superb, Moonlight and Misty Pink. Autumn flowering wattles such as Acacia iteaphyla, linifolia and terminalis along with native grasses such as kangaroo and wallaby grass will provide seed through the winter months.

Many exotic garden plants such as camellias, red hot pokers, fuchsias and members of the hibiscus family and abutilon will provide food sources for a number of native bird species.

In addition, a number of hostile species such as jasmine, ivy and even blackberries can and do provide nesting and sheltering sites for birds and possums.  Other less apparent weed species such as winter grass also provide seed that supplements the diet of smaller birds. If you intend to substitute these weedy species it is a good idea to gradually remove them and replace with more environmentally friendly plants, rather than leave gaping holes in the landscape.

If you want to add a professional touch to your wildlife sanctuary, call Jim’s Mowing for their landscaping expertise on 0800 454 654 or book online now!

Nothing can guarantee that your home will be safe in a bush-fire but you can make the area around it less flammable by planting fire retardant plants and trees. 

If you live in an area which is prone to fire, then you need to make a decision about what to keep near your house and what to remove. The most flammable trees are Cyprus, pines, eucalyptus, and some other natives, some of which have been known to explode once engulfed in flames. Tree selection around your home is a crucial factor as the right ones may slow and/or cool the fire down.

There are three core reasons that we put fire resistant trees around our house to make them safer;

1. The fire retardant tree is a physical heat barrier to the heat blast coming through.
2. The fire retardant tree acts as a green shield in front of your house and stops the embers from getting to your home. As the fire comes through fine embers fly up, and the trees that resist fire will help stop those embers from getting through.
3. Many trees will actually stop the fire from moving through because the amount of moisture in the leaf tissue of the plant is enough to stop the fire.

While fire buffer zones are customarily cleared with sweeping lawns and sprinkler systems, there are also many fire-retardant trees and shrubs that can be comprised in garden and farm plantings. They are usually plants with high salt or moisture content and low volatile oil content in their leaves.

Preparation begins with recognizing fire threats on your land, taking into account slope, aspect, the accessibility of water and the build-up of fine fuels (dry mulch, fallen twigs, bark and leaves). On the whole, the steeper the slope, the faster a fire moves, so houses on steeper land need wider buffer zones.

A simple test to gauge the fire vulnerability of the trees and shrubs in your garden (when fire restrictions permit burning off), throw a small sample of foliage from each tree and shrub onto a fire and see how much it flares up. Consider removing plants with foliage which flares fiercely.

Maintaining your garden

It is vital to keep on top of growth and foliage. If you have huge amounts of leaf litter, particularly from eucalypts or from things like melaleucas, you creating a build-up of a fuel source for fire. It’s important to prune your native shrubs, to rake up the undergrowth. If you need to mulch, use things like gravel or pebbles rather than woodchips as wood chips just keep the fire going and actually invites it in to your house.

All plants will burn if the fire is hot enough but fire-retardant plants are less likely to transfer fire. In windbreaks and garden plantings, they contribute to slowing fire by decreasing wind speed, burning less eagerly and thwarting the spread of embers

Recommended Trees, Shrubs and Ground Cover

Provided below are charts of recommended fire resistant plants, intended as a guide only, check with your local council for information more specific to your area.

Brachychiton aecerifolius (Flame tree)

Magnolia Little Gem

Nerium (Oleander)

Photini

Dampiera

Carpobrotus (Pigface)

Living in or near the Australian bush has many lifestyle benefits. It also brings the need to plan bush-fire defenses for your property. During extreme bush-fire events none of these nor other plant types will protect your property although a good design and use of the plants listed will, however, reduce the chance of being burnt out.

Fire is a fundamental part of the Australian environment and many native plants are adapted to fire. Some recuperate well after a fire, re-sprouting from buds on their trunks and lignotubers or they are protected during fires by dense bark. Others need fire for seed germination as it opens woody cones or heats seed stored in the ground.

While acknowledging the good things about fire, it is imperative to plan fire protection zones around your property so that you can enjoy living near the bush without feeling threatened by fire.

Tips for Preparing a Safe Home

• Plant trees at least 5 m from house to allow clear access. Have paved sections such as paths and barbecue areas and/or a pebble garden with herbs near to the house.
• Position pools, tennis courts, etc., between house and direct line of fire threat. A lawn is a clear space that can be used as a fire break.
• Space trees and shrubs to avoid continuous canopy that may carry fire. Careful arrangement of plants is essential. Don’t have trees that overhang the house.
• Use plants around the house that can be pruned when fire threatens. Trees and shrubs with lignotubers will re-sprout and recover quickly if it is necessary to cut them back hard in the face of threatening fire.
• Monitor the growth of trees and shrubs so that pruning is maintained, dead limbs removed, leaves put into compost bins with lids.
• Avoid combustible door mats and brush fences. Use draft sealers around doors and screens on windows.

It is important to note that even with all of these safe guards put into place, in the face of extreme bush-fires, EVACUATION is still the safest means of survival.

If you need help ensuring your properties best chance of survival during a bush-fire, feel free to contact Jim’s Mowing on 0800 454 654 or book online for a free quote.