All about habitat

Mara Ripani shares her passion – and tips – for a garden aesthetic that supports habitat through the seasons.

There are so many ways to garden, and so many garden styles and aesthetics to choose from. Garden design movements can lead you in one direction or another, but there is one particular garden trend that is completely timeless: an aesthetic that supports wildlife habitat and ecosystem services (such as clean air and stormwater) through the seasons.

By embedding biodiversity values in the garden design process, homeowners can cultivate gardens of enormous beauty that allow nature to thrive year-round. Here are my favourite tips for a garden focused on habitat.

Grow lots of perennial plants
Perennial plants are extremely important for every garden, and can include woody or herbaceous perennials as well as groundcovers and shrubs. Unlike annuals, which are dug out and replanted every year, perennial plants provide an uninterrupted soil profile where mycelium, insects of all types, birds and other wildlife can create permanent undisturbed homes. [Ed note: see Mara’s article ‘Plants that keep on giving’ in Sanctuary 61 for more on growing herbaceous perennials.]

If left uncut until early spring, herbaceous perennials will also provide habitat through the seasons. In winter, when cold, frost and wind create a harsh environment, spent flowers, decaying stems, grasses and seed heads can continue to provide a food source or shelter. Insects may insert themselves into dry hollow stems, spiders build webs between grasses, and birds feed on the seeds still trapped in spent flowers from summer’s bounty.

Include a tree
If you have the space, include at least one large tree in your garden. Like other perennials, trees provide permanent shelter for a range of animals and give much needed shade in summer. Trees with large canopies help to reduce our contact with airborne pollutants, as the leaves act as umbrellas intercepting particulates (I can’t wait for the cleaner air that will come with electric vehicles). Old trees create hollows that make excellent homes for owls, gliders, bats, kingfishers, frogs and skinks.

Some trees to consider are spotted gum (Corymbia maculate) with its stunning smooth mottled bark, lemon-scented gum (Corymbia citriodora), swamp gum (Eucalyptus ovata), silky oak (Grevillea robusta), or one of the species known as Tasmanian oak (Eucalyptus regnans, Eucalyptus obliqua and Eucalyptus delegatensis). But any tree suited to your climate and garden size will add enormous ecological value.

Embrace climbers
Take every opportunity you can to grow climbing plants in your garden. Imagine how incredibly beautiful each urban and regional street would be and how full of the sounds of nature, if our homes were cloaked in the green of climbing plants. From house and shed walls to fences, pergolas and carports, there is a climbing plant for every occasion and climate: orange trumpet creeper (Pyrostegia venusta), creeping fig (Ficus pumila), star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), passionfruit, Banksia rose and climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris) are a few examples. They create an insulative layer protecting walls from hot summer sun, and among the tendrils and leaves, one can often find nesting birds and pollinating bees.

Go for garden instead of concrete
One of the most valuable things you can do is to use as much of your block as possible for the establishment of a garden instead of paving. If you need a driveway or car parking space, design it to use minimal amounts of impermeable surfaces such as concrete. Some of the best driveways use only two car-tyre-wide strips of concrete to support the weight of the car, allowing for maximum permeable surface and garden. This allows water to soak into the soil, reducing stormwater runoff and thus the pollutants that enter our creeks and rivers. [Ed note: see ‘Saving stormwater’ in Sanctuary 71 for more on permeable landscaping options.]

Avoid pesticides and herbicides
Not using pesticides and herbicides becomes an easy thing to do once you fully devote yourself to it, and start to find other solutions for mitigating pests.

For example, everything from possums to insects can be prevented from eating your fruits and vegetables with the use of physical barriers – in other words, netting or wire. White netting is designed to provide protection while still giving your plants access to plenty of light. Apply netting only after flowering has finished and once pollination has occurred (fruit is clearly set), otherwise the netting will greatly decrease fruit and vegetable production.

Netting can be supported easily with lengths of poly pipe, the ends of the pipe threaded onto steel rods inserted into the ground. This versatile combination of materials can protect everything from a low garden bed to small fruit trees. Be sure to secure the netting to the ground with netting pegs to prevent larger animals and birds from getting inside.

Instead of using herbicides, slow down the growth of weeds by planting flowers, vegetables, herbs or perennials densely, followed by mulching around them heavily to cover exposed soil. Be prepared to do some hand weeding where mulch isn’t quite enough to suppress all the weeds. You can use a hoe or mattock for more easily accessible areas. I use a mattock once every three months to dig out large weeds on my paths; I feed the weeds to my hens or place them in a hot compost.

Get in the habitat habit
There are so many ways to create a garden, and with each year or so that passes a new garden trend emerges and then disappears. But for gardeners passionate about clean air and water, biodiversity and wildlife habitat, there is one trend that remains timeless: a garden aesthetic that prioritises nature through the seasons.