Interesting Australian native plants to add to your garden in winter

The plants that carry an Australian native garden through winter aren't necessarily because of their flowers. They may hold structure when everything else has retreated, produce berries that bring birds in, or release scent into the air.

This guide is organised by climate zone as winter means something entirely different in Darwin than it does in Hobart or Perth. The plants below are chosen for what they do specifically in winter, whether it be to bring texture, fragrance, structure, sound or wildlife value, and that they're not the usual winter contenders often seen.

Cool temperate: Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra

Winter in cool temperate Australia is long and genuinely cold. In Hobart and the ACT highlands, it regularly drops below zero. In Melbourne, the combination of grey skies, short days and persistent rain creates a garden that needs plants capable of holding their own through the dormancy happening around them.

Fuchsia heath (Epacris longiflora)

0.5–1.5m · Part shade to full sun · Upright heath shrub · Red and white tubular flowers winter to spring

VIC · NSW · TAS · ACT · Cool temperate · Moist, acidic, free-draining soil

Fuchsia heath is the most visually striking of the eastern Australian heaths. The long tubular flowers are red with white tips and are carried in dense rows along arching stems through winter and into spring. This display runs for months and is visited constantly by eastern spinebills.

In dappled light, humus-rich soil and consistent moisture at the roots, it's long-lived and rewards minimal maintenance with an annual display that improves as the plant matures.

White sally wattle (Acacia floribunda)

3–6m · Full sun to part shade · Weeping small tree · Pale yellow flowers late winter · Year-round structure

VIC · TAS · NSW · SA · ACT · Cool to warm temperate · Wide soil range including clay · Frost tolerant

White sally wattle has a willowy-weeping form quite different from most wattles. The pale yellow rod-shaped flowers appear heavily in late winter through early spring, arriving when little else has started. The grey-green bark on older stems develops a smooth, mottled surface that adds texture through the colder months.

Tangopaso, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

It tolerates clay, waterlogged positions and shade — a combination that makes it useful where other small trees struggle. It's a nitrogen-fixer, improving the soil as it grows. Plant with adequate space for the weeping canopy to develop and trim lightly after flowering with secateurs to maintain shape.

Common beard-heath (Leucopogon virgatus)

0.3–1m · Full sun to part shade · Open heath shrub · White berries winter · Fine texture

VIC · TAS · NSW · SA · Cool to warm temperate · Well-drained, low-nutrient soil

Common beard-heath forms a wiry, fine-textured shrub with narrow leaves and small white berries that persist through winter into spring, providing food for silvereyes, thornbills and other small birds. The texture of the plant contrasts well when placed with broader-leaved plants.

Murray Fagg, CC BY 3.0 AU, via Wikimedia Commons

It grows in low-nutrient, free-draining soils without amendment and declines in enriched conditions. See our guide to native plants with berries for birds.

Warm temperate: Sydney, Adelaide, coastal NSW and SA

Warm temperate winters are mild enough that the garden rarely fully stops. Plants continue growing, birds remain active and the conditions that make autumn planting so effective carry on through June and July. The challenge is less about surviving winter than finding plants that add something specific to it.

Silver banksia (Banksia marginata)

1–8m · Full sun · Shrub to small tree · Yellow cylindrical cones autumn through winter · Year-round structure

NSW · VIC · TAS · SA · Coastal and inland · Frost tolerant · Well-drained soil · No phosphorus fertiliser

Silver banksia is the most widely distributed and climate-adaptable banksia in Australia. The cylindrical yellow flower cones appear from autumn through winter and persist long after the flowers have finished. The foliage is dark green above and the silver undersides give the species its common name.

It is available in a wide range of sizes depending on provenance, from a compact 1m shrub to a small tree. See our guide to growing banksias for companion species.

Sandfly zieria (Zieria smithii)

0.5–2m · Part shade to full sun · Open aromatic shrub · White flowers late winter · Fragrant foliage year-round

NSW · VIC · QLD · Cool to warm temperate · Well-drained, acidic soil · Sydney sandstone

Zieria smithii foliage is strongly aromatic with a sharp, resinous scent and on still winter mornings the fragrance carries clearly. The small white four-petalled flowers arrive in late winter in clusters along the stems, providing early nectar before the spring flush begins.

Mark Marathon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Plant it in a shaded courtyard or beside a path where it can be brushed as you pass. It responds well to light tip pruning after flowering with secateurs to maintain compact growth.

Slender rice flower (Pimelea linifolia)

0.3–1m · Full sun to part shade · Compact shrub · White flower clusters late winter to spring · Fine foliage

NSW · VIC · SA · QLD · TAS · Coastal and tablelands · Well-drained, low-nutrient soil

Slender rice flower produces tight rounded clusters of small white flowers with a light fragrance in late winter through spring. The plant has a fine, delicate appearance that works well at the front of native beds or along pathways.

John Tann from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It grows in low-nutrient, free-draining soils without amendment and declines if over-fed. The combination of fragrant flowers and fine-textured foliage that holds its form through winter makes it one of the best small shrubs on offer.

Mediterranean: Perth and southwest WA

Perth and the southwest of WA have wet, mild winters which marks the growing season. Rain arrives reliably from May through August and the endemic flora responds by flowering, setting seed and putting on its most active growth.

Blueboy (Stirlingia latifolia)

1–2m · Full sun · Upright shrub · Silver-blue stems and papery dry heads · Year-round sculptural form

WA endemic · Southwest sandplain · Well-drained sandy soil · No phosphorus fertiliser

Blueboy is one of the most architecturally distinctive plants in the WA flora. The stems are upright and branching, a silver-blue in colour and through winter they carry papery dry flower heads. The effect is sculptural, dry, silver and pale against the clear blue of Perth's winter sky.

Ilena, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It's best suited where its specific soil requirements are most naturally met — sandy, free-draining and phosphorus-free.

Red pokers hakea (Hakea bucculenta)

2–5m · Full sun · Upright shrub · Orange-red flower spikes winter · Striking structure

WA endemic · Murchison region · Well-drained soil · Full sun · No phosphorus fertiliser

Red pokers hakea produces dense, upright spikes of orange-red flowers along its branches through winter. The flowers are tightly packed and cylindrical, standing away from the branches. The foliage is divided and fine, contrasting with the density of the flower spikes.

It performs reliably in Perth gardens in free-draining conditions with no phosphorus fertiliser and attracts honeyeaters throughout winter. The structural form holds its value after flowering through the dried seed pods that follow. See our guide to growing hakeas.

Albany woolly bush (Adenanthos sericeus)

1–3m · Full sun · Soft, mounding shrub · Silver-grey silky foliage year-round · Winter light

WA endemic · South coast · Well-drained sandy soil · No phosphorus fertiliser

Adenanthos sericeus has the finest and softest foliage of any shrub in the WA flora. Each needle-like leaf is covered in dense silver-grey hairs that give the whole plant a silky quality.

Photographs by Gnangarra...commons.wikimedia.org, CC BY 3.0 AU, via Wikimedia Commons

It requires excellent drainage and no phosphorus fertiliser. Established plants handle dry summers and the winter rains of the southwest. Protect from strong frost in colder inland positions.

Subtropical: Brisbane, southeast Queensland

Subtropical winters are dry, mild and bright. The wet season has ended, temperatures rarely dip below 10°C overnight and the wildlife pressure on food sources increases as migratory species arrive and resident populations adjust to reduced fruiting. The three plants below address what the subtropical winter garden actually needs: winter berries of exceptional wildlife value.

Muttonwood (Myrsine howittiana)

3–8m · Full sun to full shade · Small tree · Dark blue-black berries autumn to winter · Dense canopy

QLD · NSW · VIC · Subtropical to warm temperate · Coastal and hinterland · Wide soil range

Muttonwood produces dense clusters of small dark blue-black berries through autumn and into winter. The berries are taken by figbirds, bowerbirds, silvereyes and a range of other fruit-eating birds through the dry winter months when alternatives are scarce. The tree has dark, glossy foliage and a naturally dense canopy that provides shelter year-round.

Melburnian, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It's adaptable across a wide range of soils and aspects and tolerates the clay and humidity of southeast Queensland gardens well. A genuinely useful small tree for wildlife corridors, screening and shaded positions.

Native ginger (Alpinia caerulea)

1–3m · Full shade to part shade · Clumping perennial · Vivid blue berries winter · Bold tropical foliage

QLD · NSW · Subtropical to warm temperate · Shade garden · Moist, humus-rich soil

Native ginger is the plant for the difficult shaded position in a subtropical garden. Through winter the stems carry vivid, metallic blue berries in clusters — one of the most intensely coloured fruits produced by any Australian native. Birds including pigeons, figbirds and bowerbirds take them readily.

Martin Hannan-Jones, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It grows in moist, humus-rich soil and benefits from a generous organic mulch layer. Divide clumps every few years with a hori-hori to maintain vigour. See our guide to natives for deep shade.

Blueberry ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus)

5–15m · Full sun to part shade · Small to medium tree · Blue drupes autumn to winter · Fringed flowers spring

QLD · NSW · VIC · Subtropical to warm temperate · Moist, well-drained soil · Coastal and hinterland

Blueberry ash produces vivid blue drupes from autumn through winter into spring, ripening over an extended period so the tree carries both unripe green and ripe blue fruit simultaneously. Satin bowerbirds are particularly drawn to the blue fruit.

Tatiana Gerus from Brisbane, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The tree has a naturally elegant form with pendulous branches and distinctive fringed white flowers in spring. It tolerates clay and a range of soil types, grows in sun or shade and can be kept to a manageable size with light pruning.

Tropical: Darwin, Cairns, tropical north

In the tropical north, winter is the dry season. May through September brings clear skies, low humidity and no meaningful rainfall. Growth slows, migratory birds arrive and the landscape takes on a drier, more open quality as deciduous trees drop their leaves and grasses bleach to gold.

Northern penda (Xanthostemon paradoxus)

3–8m · Full sun · Small tree · Vivid red flower clusters dry season · Top End endemic

NT · Top End · Seasonal tropical · Well-drained lateritic soil

Northern penda is one of the most visually spectacular dry season flowering trees in the Top End flora. The flower clusters are vivid red, dense and pom-pom shaped, appearing in the dry season against dark foliage.

John Tann from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It performs best in free-draining, seasonally dry conditions with full sun. It's not widely available outside the Northern Territory but worth seeking out for Darwin gardens.

Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana)

4–10m · Full sun · Deciduous tree · Yellow-green fruit dry season · Cultural and ecological significance

NT · WA (Kimberley) · QLD (Cape York) · Seasonal tropical · Sandy, free-draining soil

Kakadu plum is the richest known plant source of vitamin C in the world with concentrations in the fruit up to 100 times that of an orange. The tree is deciduous, dropping its leaves in the dry season and producing small, oval yellow-green fruit through the middle of the dry season.

Allthingsnative, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the garden it provides dry season fruit for birds and mammals and the sculptural quality of bare branches against the dry season sky is a winter visual quality quite different from the evergreen density of most tropical plants. Plant in full sun in sandy, free-draining soil.

Soft spinifex (Triodia pungens)

0.3–0.6m · Full sun · Hummock grass · Silver-green mounds year-round · Dry season light

NT · WA · QLD · SA · Arid to tropical · Sandy, free-draining soil

Soft spinifex forms dense, rounded silver-green hummocks. The resinous leaves make each hummock critical habitat for small reptiles, insects and birds — spinifex pigeons, grasswrens and a range of lizards shelter within and forage around the base of established plants.

Mark Marathon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Full sun, excellent drainage, no amendment, no fertiliser. In a large garden or naturalistic planting, a drift of spinifex hummocks looks beautiful in a dry, exposed position.

All states and territories

Some plants earn their place in the winter garden regardless of where in Australia you are. The three below work for different reasons — one for the sound it makes in winter wind, one for berries that appear when the garden most needs them and one for seed heads that hold their silver form for months after the flowers have gone.

Drooping sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata)

4–10m · Full sun · Pendulous tree · Year-round structure · Winter wind sound

VIC · TAS · NSW · SA · WA · Cool to warm temperate · Wide soil range · Frost tolerant

Drooping sheoak does something no other plant in the Australian flora does quite as well: it makes the sound of wind audible in winter. The fine, needle-like branchlets create a soft, continuous sigh when moved by even a light breeze. This is most pronounced in the clear, cold air of winter mornings.

It provides year-round structure through its weeping form. Its dense canopy shelters birds through cold weather and the woody cones provide food for yellow-tailed black cockatoos. It grows in clay, poor sandy substrates, tolerates frost, coastal exposure and moderate drought once established.

Common apple berry (Billardiera scandens)

Climbing to 3m · Part shade to full sun · Twining climber · Orange-red berries autumn to winter

QLD · NSW · VIC · TAS · SA · Wide temperate range · Well-drained soil · Frost tolerant

Common apple berries ripen from green through orange to deep red through autumn and persist into winter, hanging from twining stems in clusters that attract silvereyes, thornbills and other small birds. They're technically edible — fleshy, with a mild slightly sweet flavour — though the name apple berry reflects their appearance more than their taste.

It scrambles through the understorey, climbs a simple trellis or fence and weaves through larger shrubs without causing damage. It needs no more than a pair of secateurs for occasional direction rather than any structured pruning.

Small-leaved clematis (Clematis microphylla)

Climbing to 5m · Full sun to part shade · Scrambling climber · Silver seed heads winter · Nesting material

All mainland states · TAS · Wide climate range · Well-drained soil · Frost tolerant

Small-leaved clematis is grown more for what it does after flowering than during it. Through autumn and winter the seed heads develop into feathery silver plumes. The mass of silver catches winter light and moves in the slightest breeze, creating a living texture that few other plants provide through the cold months.

Melburnian, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The fluffy seed material is used as nesting material by birds through late winter and spring. It scrambles through other plants and along fences without causing structural damage and needs only occasional guidance. Widely adaptable across climate zones, soils and aspects.

Further reading

This guide focuses on plants for winter interest beyond flowering. For winter-flowering natives across all climate zones, see our guide to Australian native plants that flower in winter. For plants that add colour and interest through berries, foliage and structure, see Australian natives for winter colour and interest. For winter watering by climate zone see our winter watering guide, and for what to do in the garden this season see our maintenance guide by climate zone.