12 Australian native garden plants you probably haven't heard of
The twelve plants below can all be sourced from indigenous nurseries and growers who work beyond the mainstream catalogue. They make brilliant garden plants but are often passed over in favour of more familiar names. Many are subtle and delicate and in some ways look less local than many plants we mistake for Australian.
All of them are worth trying if they suit your climate zone as they will deliver something a bit different to your garden. These are the plants that make a native space feel like more like a discovery.
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12 Australian native garden plants you probably have not heard of
Swan River pea (Brachysema celsianum)
Swan River pea is one of the most visually striking small shrubs in the WA flora. The flowers are crimson pea flowers produced against silvery-grey foliage. It flowers in winter and spring and the silver leaves catch the low light of the season. The sprawling, spreading habit makes it useful as a groundcover or front-of-border plant in a sunny, well-drained position.
It requires excellent drainage and will not tolerate heavy clay or waterlogged soil. Prune lightly with sharp secateurs after flowering to keep the plant dense. It is moderately frost-tolerant and performs well in Mediterranean and temperate climates.
Chocolate lily (Arthropodium strictum)
The chocolate lily is named for its scent — a genuine fragrance of warm chocolate. It is indigenous to the basalt grasslands and grassy woodlands of south-eastern Australia. It was once a common feature of the grassland communities that have since been almost entirely cleared. The flowers are produced on slender stems above strap-like leaves.
It grows from a small tuber and handles Canberra and Melbourne frosts, clay soils and summer drought. Plant in full sun to part shade in well-drained clay or loam and leave it undisturbed. Dividing is possible using a hand fork or garden knife once clumps are congested, but the plant establishes more reliably from tubers left in place.
Brown boronia (Boronia megastigma)
Brown boronia has one of the most intensely fragrant flowers of any plant in Australia. The small bell-shaped flowers are an unusual combination of deep chocolate-brown on the outside and soft yellow-green within. It flowers in the depths of winter when fragrance is rarest and most welcome.
It requires moist, well-drained, acidic soil and a sheltered position in part shade and can be grown in pots. A terracotta olla buried beside new plants through their first two summers maintains the consistent root zone moisture it prefers without surface waterlogging. Prune by up to one-third immediately after flowering with sharp secateurs. Brown boronia is short-lived if not pruned regularly after flowering.
Digger's speedwell (Veronica perfoliata)
Digger's speedwell is one of the most architecturally unusual plants in the SE Australian flora. The blue-grey leaves clasp the stem completely — each pair fused around the stem so the plant appears to be threaded through its own foliage. The overall effect is unlike any other native plant in cultivation and makes it immediately identifiable in a garden. It is found in moist, sheltered positions from the tablelands to the alpine zone and is entirely frost-hardy.
Donald Hobern from Canberra, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It performs best in part shade with consistently moist, well-drained loam and benefits from a sheltered position. Cut back spent flower stems with sharp secateurs after flowering to encourage a second flush and keep the plant compact. It spreads slowly by rhizome and can be divided in autumn with a hand fork.
Native ginger (Alpinia caerulea)
Native ginger is the most architecturally useful plant available for shaded subtropical and tropical garden positions. The glossy, lance-shaped leaves form upright clumps and in summer small white flowers appear followed by vivid blue berries. The berries are edible with a mild ginger flavour and are eaten by birds. The leaves and rhizomes have a long history of use in Aboriginal communities across subtropical Queensland.
Martin Hannan-Jones, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It handles deep shade, moist soil and humidity. Cut old canes back to the base with sharp secateurs or a pruning saw as they die. Divide established clumps in spring with a hand fork to extend the planting.
Fringe lily (Thysanotus tuberosus)
The fringe lily produces what are arguably the most intricate flowers of any small native plant in Australia. Each flower has three petals fringed with fine purple filaments that look hand-cut. The flowers last only a single day, but are produced prolifically over several weeks in spring and early summer.
It requires good drainage and full sun to part shade. The foliage dies back after flowering and the plant is dormant through winter. Mark its position with a stake so it is not accidentally disturbed with a hori-hori during winter garden work.
Sourcing specialist natives
When sourcing plants, try specialist indigenous nurseries, native plant society sales (the Australian Native Plants Society runs sales in most states), and "Friends of" conservation groups which often grow genuinely local provenance material at very low cost. See our guide to sourcing native plants on a budget for more.
Purple apple berry (Billardiera longiflora)
Purple apple berry is grown for two seasons of interest: the pendant tubular flowers that appear in spring and early summer and the vivid purple to deep violet berries. The berries are edible with a pleasant sweet flavour and are eaten by birds — particularly silvereyes — as well as people. The plant twines lightly through existing shrubs or over a low trellis and is entirely at home in a shaded, cool-climate garden.
Nolesie, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It performs best in moist, acidic, well-drained soil and a sheltered position. It is frost-hardy once established. Prune lightly with sharp secateurs after fruiting to keep growth tidy.
Rock isotome (Isotoma axillaris)
Rock isotome produces vivid blue-to-purple star-shaped flowers that look striking in the garden for a plant of its modest size. It grows naturally in rocky outcrops, cliff faces and well-drained soils across a wide range of eastern and central Australia. The milky sap is an irritant so handle with care and wear gloves when pruning or dividing.
It requires excellent drainage and full sun and performs well in raised beds and containers. Cut back by one-third after each main flowering flush with sharp secateurs to keep the plant compact and extend the season. It can be short-lived but self-seeds in suitable positions.
Rice flower (Pimelea ferruginea)
Rice flower is a compact WA coastal shrub that produces dense, rounded heads of deep pink flowers in winter and spring. It is one of the most floriferous small shrubs in the WA flora and performs reliably in Mediterranean-climate gardens in well-drained soil and full sun. The small, glossy leaves are attractive year-round and the plant maintains a naturally neat, rounded form that requires minimal shaping.
C T Johansson, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It handles sandy coastal soils, salt exposure and full sun well. Prune lightly by up to one-third with sharp secateurs immediately after the main flowering flush to maintain density and encourage next season's buds. Do not cut back into old wood.
Bluebell creeper (Sollya heterophylla)
Bluebell creeper is a WA native that deserves far wider use in temperate and Mediterranean-climate gardens across Australia. The small, sky-blue bell flowers are produced almost continuously from spring through autumn. It is light enough to thread through other shrubs without overwhelming them or damaging structures. It is one of the most floriferous small climbers available for Australian gardens.
Хомелка, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It handles a range of well-drained soils in full sun to part shade and is moderately frost-tolerant once established. Prune lightly with sharp secateurs in late winter to encourage dense new growth and a strong spring flowering flush. For more on native climbers for fences and structures, see our guide.
Morning iris (Orthrosanthus multiflorus)
Morning iris is named for the habit of its flowers opening in the morning and closing by afternoon. The flowers are a soft blue-to-lavender iris form on slender stems above strap-like foliage. It is one of the most refined small perennials in the WA flora and performs reliably in well-drained gardens across temperate and Mediterranean-climate zones.
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It requires good drainage and handles dry summers well once established. Remove spent flower stems with sharp secateurs after the flowering season ends. Divide congested clumps in autumn with a hand fork to rejuvenate the plant and extend the planting.
Dampiera (Dampiera diversifolia)
Dampiera produces a flower colour that is almost unmatched in the native groundcover palette. The small flowers are produced prolifically across a low, spreading plant that covers ground efficiently and suppresses weeds. It spreads by underground stems to form a dense mat, making it genuinely useful as a living groundcover.
mrpbps, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It requires good drainage and handles dry conditions well once established. It spreads reliably and can be divided by lifting sections with a hand fork in autumn to extend the planting. For more on native groundcovers, see our guide.
Establishing specialist natives
Many of the plants in this article have more specific establishment requirements than the standard native palette. The fundamentals still apply: plant in autumn, mulch deeply, water in well — but pay close attention to drainage for the WA species and moisture for the cool-climate and subtropical ones. A terracotta olla buried beside each new plant through the first dry season delivers targeted moisture to the root zone without surface waterlogging. See our guide to first-year plant failure for more on getting establishment right.
Australia's flora is vast enough that a lifetime of gardening would not exhaust it. The plants above are a starting point from a catalogue of thousands that rarely make it into suburban gardens. Each one brings something to a garden that is a little different to the more familiar names.
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A Guide to Australian Native Gardening
How to plan, plant and care for a thriving native garden, whatever your experience level.
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