Australian native grasses provide stability in the garden landscape, as well as producing healthy, strappy leaves and flowers on longer stems. Native grasses include dianellas and lomandras.

Dianella, also known as flax lilies because they have very tough and fibrous strap-like leaves, form attractive clumps. They produce long flower stems of blue flowers with yellow stamens. Plants can grow up to a metre in height. Dianellas make good garden subjects for rockeries, near water features or in a bush garden. They are also suitable for growing along the edges of paths or driveways. New plants may be obtained from fresh, ripe seeds, or dividing up existing clumps.

Established plants tolerate dry conditions as well as having good heat and cold tolerance.

Dianella caerulea (Paroo Lily) and Dianella revoluta (Spreading flax lily) are two of the more common varieties. Hybridisation has produced more varieties such as D. Explorer, which is ideal for re-vegetation and stabilizing banks.

Lomandras are very tough plants that have strong, strappy leaves above the clumping base. They require minimum maintenance once they are established. Lomandras are drought tolerant.

Lomandra longifolia, commonly known as Spiny-head Mat-rush, Spiky-headed Mat-rush or Basket Grass, is a perennial, rhizomatous herb found throughout eastern Australia. The leaves are 40 cm to 80 cm in long, and generally have a leaf of about 8 mm to 12 mm wide. It grows in a variety of soil types and is frost, heat and drought tolerant.

New varieties of L. longifolia have been developed, including L. Tanika. It has slender, lime green foliage with an arching to weeping habit with age.

Lilly pillies are very versatile Australian native plants. In addition to their use as specimen or general garden plants, they are most suitable for use as hedges or specimen topiary plants. Lilly pillies are evergreen rainforest plants with glossy green leaves. Their growth habits are a major attraction including; flushes of colourful new growth, fluffy white flowers, and long-lasting red, purple or white berries.

Plants can be chosen to suit a wide variety of situations, including those that grow to a height of between three and five metres, through to plants that are less than a metre in height.

Psyllids can attack some varieties, so it may be useful to consider varieties that are resistant to psyllid attack. Psyllids cause numerous tiny bumps to appear on the leaves, causing then to become disfigured.

Taller growing varieties that are resistant to psyllids include Acmena smithii var. minor and Syzygium leuhmannii. Acmena smithii ‘Hot Flush’ (3 metres), Syzygium leuhmannii “Royal Flame” (2 metres), and Acmena smithii ‘Hedgemaster’ (less than 1 metres) are also resistant to psyllid.

The extended hot, dry period that we are experiencing now requires extra vigilance in the garden, particularly with regard to the care of plants in pots.

Because if the limited availability of soil, and, therefore, moisture, regular watering is necessary. However, daily watering may not be having the required effect if the soil in the pot has dried out and become water resistant. It is possible for the water that is being applied to run down the inside of the pot, leaving the soil around the plant’s root system quite dry.

Observation of the plant’s leaves will gradually indicate a problem as they will lose their shiny, green appearance and become quite soft and dull. If this happens it will be necessary to remove the plant from the pot to check that the root system is not suffering from a fungal attack and has begun to rot.

If the soil is obviously very dry, then the plant, and the pot, depending on its size, should be completely immersed in a container of water, preferably for a number of hours, or overnight. Then the soil should be checked to make sure it has absorbed water. A mixture of fresh potting mix and water saving crystals (obtained from a garden centre) should be prepared. The plant can then be replaced into the pot, with some of the potting mix pushed down the sides of the pot. It would be prudent to add some of the potting mix to the soil around the centre of the pot. The plant should be watered well for the next couple of days.

As the days get hotter, and some plants seem to show their intolerance for this type of weather conditions, it might be advisable to think about plant types and varieties that perform well under these conditions. Some plants require little watering, and, once established, they quickly grow into healthy, robust plants that contribute well to the garden landscape.

Some of these plants include abelia, oleander, grevilleas, plumbago, westringia, rosemary, Geraldton wax plant, Choisya (Mexican orange blossom) and mock orange (Philadelphus).

Plants that have small, hairy foliage in green or grey tones generally tolerate heat well. Dusty miller (Senecio cineraria), curry plant (Helichrysum italicum) and catmint (Nepeta “Six Hills Giant”) are plants in this group.

Plants with tough, waxy leaves usually have less requirements for water. These plants include sedums and other succulents.