Sydney International Airport is one of the most difficult areas in Australia for plants to grow because the plants have to survive the aviation gas and fuel emissions, pollution from the nearby cars and salt air from Botany Bay. There is much to learn from the area, because whichever plants can survive there, will survive in your garden.
Plant Details
The landscape is almost entirely Australian native plants. A spectacular native plant is the Gymea Lily, Doryanthes excelsa. It has a tall flower spike with red flowers which are bird attracting. There are dwarf banksias, including Banksia integrifolia the Coastal Banksia, in both a shrubby and prostrate form. These are complemented by the beautiful native Cabbage Tree palms, Livistona australis and She-oaks. The small yellow flowers of Hibbertia scandens provide an excellent ground cover and can be a wonderful climber. Also planted in the area is Lomandra longifolia, a native grass-like plant and Grevillea ‘Superb’ closely related to Grevillea ‘Robyn Gordon’. It was bred by Merv Hodge and is an excellent performer which should be available at local nurseries. Another good performer which flowers virtually the entire year is a bottlebrush Callistemon citrinus ‘Splendens’, often sold as Callistemon ‘Endeavour’. All these plants would be an excellent choice for the backyard.
Further information
These native plants should be available at your local nursery or try the following:
Tim’s Garden Centre, Mount Annan, NSW, 2567
Phone: (02) 4647 3788
Fairhill Native Plants, Yandina, QLD, 4561
Phone: (07) 5446 7088
Zanthorrea Nursery, Maida Vale, WA, 6057
Phone: (08) 9454 4540
Wirreanda Nursery, Ingleside, NSW, 2101
Phone: (02) 9450 1400
Nellie Nursery, Mannum, SA, 5238
Phone (08) 8569 1762
