Biodiversity

have a Look around

Some great ways to find out what native plants would have originally grown in your area, are to:

• Look at what types of native plants continue to grow in local parks and conservation reserves in your local area.
• Look at which native plants are growing well in other gardens in your street and suburb. This will also give you an idea of scale and how big particular plants might grow in relation to the size of your garden.
• Take a photo if you see something you like and take it to your local nursery or community environment group and ask for advice on what it is.

The Sunshine Coast Council website has a useful link that may help you find many of the parks in your local area.  Remember when visiting any environmental park, reserve or bushland area, never remove any plants, plant parts, rocks or logs. You may be taking the home of a native animal and it is illegal.

Selecting The right Plant for the Right Spot

One of the most important aspects of garden design and success is the right plant selection for your locality, soil type, drainage and backyard size.  Before you begin buying plants there are a some important things you need to know and understand about your backyard to ensure the survival of your new plants and success of your design and new habitat features.  Use this quick checklist to do a basic site assessment and identify any opportunities and/or constraints for garden design and habitat creation in your backyard. 

When choosing plants to grow in your garden or on a larger property select species that are endemic (native) to your local area, it is important to remember that just because a plant is native to Australia does not mean it may be suitable to grow in your local area.  Some Australian native plants that have been planted outside of their natural location have grown and multiplied in numbers much greater than expected, are now considered as weeds in their new locations.  For example, the umbrella tree from northern Australia is considered an environmental weed on the Sunshine Coast. 

In addition, not all plants endemic (native to) to the Sunshine Coast will grow in every location as they may require a specific environment to grow and survive.  For example, many rainforest species growing in the protection of moist gullies in the hinterland and mountain areas are unlikely to survive or become strong healthy plants if planted in a coastal area where it is exposed to lots of wind, salt spray and sandy or acidic soils.

If you are not confident in your plant selection and matching the right plant for the right location - visit your local native nursery and simply ask what grows well in your area, soil type and backyard conditions.  Check out the Plants and Plant Communities page for further information.

CREATing STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY (PLANT LAYERS)

Structural diversity refers to a mix of plants that grow at different heights which creates layers or levels of habitat within the vegetation structure. Typically these layers can include:

• Leaf litter or natural mulch layer with logs, twigs, spent flowers, seed pods and fallen leaves. This layer is important for invertebrates, worms, fungi, beetles, skinks and lizards. 
• Understorey layer with native grasses, herbs, vines rush and lomandra species, rambling plants and small to medium sized shrubs. This layer provides protection for reptiles, frogs, ground dwelling mammals including antechinus, bandicoots, echidnas and many smaller seed eating birds.
• Midstorey or middle layer with small trees and/or larger shrubs and vines.
• Canopy layer with either small and/or large trees that form a canopy or cover over the lower layers.  Trees are important for providing roosting, nesting and resting spots and provide safe vantage points for wildlife to watch for food and escape from predators like cats, foxes and dogs.

Structural diversity also refers to plants that have either an open habit (i.e. you can easily look through the plant and see the branches) or are closed and have quite dense foliage (i.e. lots of leaves and branches and it is hard to see through to the other side).

Planting areas with a good mix of ground cover species and/or closely planted shrub layers will help to shade out sunlight and reduce weed growth within your garden.  Dense shrub coverage will also contribute to the accumulation of natural leaf litter and mulching which will also assist in weed suppression in the garden.

Common “urban” birds such as noisy miners, magpies and rainbow lorikeets favour open grassy understories with a scattering of trees and the more open structure of high nectar producing grevillea cultivars as found in most backyards and urban parks.

THink about Floristic diversity

Floristic diversity is the availability of a broad mix of plants in each structural layer that produce a range of food and foraging sources, including foliage, seed, fruits, berries, nuts, nectar and insects throughout the year.
The greater your structural and floristic diversity the greater the diversity of wildlife and particularly bird species your garden will be able to support.  Gardens that contain predominantly nectar producing species such as grevillea cultivars can become dominated by more common urban adapted bird species such as the rainbow lorikeet, blue faced honey eater and noisy miner which often become aggressive towards other species.

For ideas on how to create floristic diversity in your backyard check out the Year Round Food Supply page.