Failed Meadow to Native Grass Garden

 Gudge and I have been sick which has given me plenty of time to write posts in here as well as Beck's Modern Life. It's been far too long between posts but I have been spending all of that time out in the garden.

A wonderfully warm but rainy autumn was perfect for design and planting.

One part of the yard that had been such a trial for me was on the south west side. I tried it as an orchard with cottage planting, I tried to create a wildflower meadow and in all cases, I failed. But the best thing about gardening, is every failure is a new lesson learnt. 

the empty patch mid-summer

What I knew about this patch was that it was a tough area. It gets scorched all summer. It doesn't retain water. It gets the brunt of the western summer afternoon sun. What I needed was something that was going to not only handle this, but thrive in it.

I looked around my garden at what does well with little to no attention. Absolutely no supplementary water and that still looked good. The answer was staring me in the face. Almost all of my Australian native plants thrive. I hadn't noticed them because they are my fillers, not the plants that draw my eye.

Poa grasses, Eucalyptus, Acacia.

A good friend of mine in Brisbane had only recently begun his gardening journey and had decided on a totally native front garden. I loved hearing about his updates. He's the one that really made me think more and more about natives. And after I started to think about them, I started to take notice of the natives that thrive all around me.

I got it into my head that I wanted Australian Native plants in a Piet Oudolf planting style: naturalistic, matrix style blocks of planting and looks good in every season.

Piet Oudolf Hauser and Wirth Garden Sommerset photo courtesy of houseandgarden.co.uk

I removed the peach and pear trees, the struggling Gleditsia and rehomed all of them. 

The soil needed turning. It was very compacted. I got the mattock and I mattocked and I mattocked. The whole garden was inches deep with twitch grass.

I stopped counting after my 7th wheelbarrow of twitch grass removed. I know it will probably come back and will need attention for years. But it was a good start.

nre.tas.gov.au

Along the fence I had planted 6 Pittosporum 'Green Pillar' to eventually form a hedge to screen the fence and add a bit of height.

I had on hand an Acacia Cognata 'Burgundy Falls' which I wanted in this area. I also had a small sickly Hakea which I thought might do okay here. I then researched some Eucalyptus that would not get too big and have a nice form for some screening from the neighbours as well as some shade and decided on 'Eucy Dwarf' and 'Dwarf Snow Gum' Gregsoniana.

Eucy Dwarf photo courtesy of hellohelloplants.com.au

gorgeous bark of Eucalyptus gregsoniana photo courtesy of panglobalplants.co.uk

And to fill I went to work dividing the grasses I had: Poa or Tussock grass, I have many of these from previous divisions and 2 different forms which I think are labillardierei and poiformis. Pennesetum 'Red Buttons'; although not native, I also used bearded iris that I know will thrive in this area. Calamagostis 'Karl Forster', some lamb's ear I'd been growing from seed and a couple of other grasses I am yet to identify but do well. And over about a week I planted and planted.

And now, about a month later, it's really starting the settle in.

We already find ourselves enjoying sitting up here whenever the sun is out (we call it the Catio as it's Percy Cat's favourite place too for sunning himself). 

I spent a total of 6 x $15 for the Pittosporum

The 3 trees I bought (140mm pot size) were $13 each. 

I worked out there is about 100 individual plantings of grasses etc which were all free through division which would have cost $1000+ to purchase. 

Throughout the garden, the grasses are just starting to reinvigorate for spring and I can't wait to see how this area fills out.