Norris Native Garden, Capalaba, Queensland
Open garden
The Norris garden is open this weekend (1-2 November) under Australia’s Open Garden Scheme (AOGS).
Date: 1-2 November, 1997
Time: 10-4.30pm
Address: 3 Timbertop Court, Capalaba, Queensland
Phone: 1900 155 064 (AOGS open line for further details)
Native plants haven’t received the support recently which they deserve. However, with the desire to have a garden that is attractive to native wildlife and insects these days, native plants are worth a second look.
Don recently travelled to Queensland to see a superb native garden belonging to Gwen and Ray Norris at Capalaba on the outskirts of Brisbane.
This knowledgeable couple, who have an outstanding native garden which they maintain at a very high level, talked to Don about how to achieve a first class native garden.
Regular pruning
The secret, according to Gwen Norris, is to regularly prune native plants. Most of Gwen’s plants get two prunings per year. In summer the plants have a rather savage reduction to their growth, with up to a metre being pruned depending on the plant. This allows them to send forth new shoots and also develop a compact growth.
The second pruning takes place in April. This should be only a light trim, with about 5-10cm (2-4″) being removed. Hedge shears can be used for this job if it is done regularly.
The benefits of pruning are:
- plants retain a neat, compact shape.
- encourages new growth which may be differently coloured for example the new foliage of Melaleuca incana is an attractive grey.
- controls plant growth.
- to encourage flowering (as pruning encourages new growth).
- to repair damage caused by wind or pests.
Most native plants respond well to pruning. When you buy a native plant that you have not used in the garden before check on its tolerance to pruning with your local native nursery.
Plants growing in the Norris garden that respond well to pruning include:
- Callistemon citrinus
- Correa pulchella
- Leptospermum ‘Pacific Beauty’
- Melaleuca bracteata ‘Golden Gem’
- Melaleuca incana
- Melaleuca linariifolia
Other tips for a successful native garden
Most native plants need good drainage. To achieve this in the Capalaba garden, where the soil is clayey, Gwen and Ray brought in loads of a gravelly soil which was contoured to provide raised garden beds that drain well.
Natives in a garden situation can be fertilised and benefit from the addition of organic fertilisers (such as Dynamic Lifter) and mulching.
New grevillea variety
Gwen and Ray ‘discovered’ their own grevillea while living at their last home in Burbank, also in Queensland. Grevillea ‘Orange Marmalade’ as they have named it, is a hybrid between Grevillea venusta and Grevillea glossadenia. It has orange spider flowers for most of the year with a peak show in spring. It grows to 2.5 metres tall and 3 metres wide (8-10′). Grevillea ‘Orange Marmalade’ is useful for screening and windbreak plantings, and can be grown in tropical, subtropical and temperate gardens.
Finding native plants
If you are interested in ‘Orange Marmalade’ or other native plants for your garden why not visit a specialist nursery in your local area or perhaps one of the following nurseries:
New South Wales
Annangrove Grevilleas Native Nursery
98 Annangrove Road
Kenthurst 2156
Phone: (02) 9654 1380
Wirreanda Nursery
169 Wirreanda Road
Ingleside 2101
Phone: (02) 9450 1400
Queensland
Fairhill Native Nursery
Fairhill Road
Yandina 4561
Phone: (07) 5446 7088
Western Australia
Zanthorrea Nursery
155 Watsonia Road
Maida Vale 6057
Phone: (08) 9454 6260