Jane visits a garden which is immediately recognisable as the home of an ardent Australian native plant lover. This intriguing garden has hundreds of native plants thriving on 1/4-acre block at the foothills of Melbourne’s Dandenong Ranges. Subscribe 🔔 ab.co/GA-subscribe
Bev Fox has planted natives in every space available, including the verge. She grows Isotoma from seed and has a very rare white-flowering one. “They're just potluck what colour comes up. I got a surprise when I saw that one.” Dotted throughout the garden is brilliantly blue Veronia which Bev propagates by cuttings in autumn. Paper daisies and a broad mix of other colourful flowers make a lovely entrance to the home.
Flowering mugga ironbark and peppermint gums tower over the garden and are loved by the birds. They are the only original plantings from when Bev began re-designing in 2003. “Apart from the trees, it’s all new... It was a bare palate,” says Bev. The new garden is designed to attract wildlife to the property, but also provides Bev with solace of her own. “I lost my husband in 2000, my brother in 2001 and my mother in 2002. In between all those my two dogs died, and I just thought I need something new in my life. I decided a new garden would be helpful and that's what keeps me really happy all the time.... You get into your own happy place in a garden, I love it. Even when the birds are noisy.”
It's easy to appreciate the bushland that Bev has created. The variety and repetition of species in her garden gives it a natural feel, which Bev hopes recreates the ambience of the Australian bush. The back garden is shaded and there are enticing curved paths made of gravel with large gums casting cool shade over the many shrubs and pots. It's a very spacious backyard but it’s filled with plants. Bev says she’s achieved this through layering. “I’ve got very small things right along all the edges, then (the next layer is) up to about a metre high, and then (the next layer) a bit higher. The big tree at the back, I’ve cut the lower branches off to give these room to grow and keep it nice and bushy looking.” The layering lets light in and creates interest all year.
Bev says, “I think it's a stroll garden. It’s a garden to be in, not to sit back and look at.” Her favourite plants to visit include the native mint family Prostanthera and oak-leaved Thomasia. Being an avid plant collector, Bev likes to propagate through seeds and cuttings to fill up her garden.
To strike a cutting of Westringea ‘Violet Skies’, Bev says, “It’s easy.”
1. Choose firm healthy stems to take your cutting from.
2. Strip the bottom half of the leaves off the stem and pinch out the soft tip. Eliminating leaf material helps the stem focus on root growth.
3. Ensure the base of the stem has a clean cut, then dip into a rooting hormone.
4. Fill a small clean pot with propagation mix. Buy in stores or mix 1/3 perlite: 2/3 peat.
5. Tap soil firmly and create a hole for the cutting to go into.
6. Place the cutting in, press down. Keep moist and warm in a greenhouse for several weeks.
This garden really celebrates the diversity of Australian native plants and shows what can be done when devoted to experimenting. Bev says, “Going out and seeing these plants in the wild is one of the greatest things to do - and I think, ooh, I can grow that at home. It’s lovely.”
Featured Plants:
SHOWY ISOTOME - Isotoma axillaris
PAPER DAISY - Xerochrysum bracteatum cv.
MUGGA IRONBARK - Eucalyptus sp.
- Veronica arenaria
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