“They’re also really beautiful and we have an incredible array.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Matthew Henderson uses grass and other natives in the gardens he curates. (Supplied: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria)<\/p>\n
Lawn substitutes to try\u00a0<\/p>\n
For those seeking a turf replacement, Mr Henderson suggests weeping grass (Microlaena stipoides), but he warns to adjust your expectations if you’re used to an exotic lawn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It usually doesn’t like a lot of heavy traffic, so that could be a challenge,” he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“But that’s a good one to start with.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Another example of weeping grass used for a backyard lawn. (Supplied: nativeseeds.com.au)<\/p>\n
Weeping grass sold as a lawn replacement thrives in the shade and has fine, lime-green foliage that typically grows 10-15 centimetres tall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Native and hybrid native Zoysia varieties are also gaining popularity as turf replacements, Mr Henderson says.<\/p>\n
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But as with all native plants, he says it’s important to check the grass you plan to grow is suitable for your area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“You’ve always got to be careful \u2026 just because it is native doesn’t mean it can’t be weedy to a new area.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Horticulturalist Tracey Bool, who works in propagation at Yarralumla Nursery on Ngunnawal\/Ngambri country (Canberra), says wallaby grass is another great lawn alternative that is hardy and ideal for harsh climates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“There are various species, but it’s botanically known as Austrodanthonia,” she says.<\/p>\n
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Wallaby grass can be grown from seed as a meadow (pictured) but can also be mowed for a more traditional lawn. (Supplied: nativeseeds.com.au)<\/p>\n
Just like exotic species, native grasses need care and attention while sprouting and establishing, but horticulturalist Erin Nugent says once they get going, they are far less labour intensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“With a native grass lawn, you tend to only need to mow it very minimally \u2026 about once or twice a year,” says Ms Nugent, who works as customer relations officer at Yarralumla Nursery.<\/p>\n
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Tracey Bool and Erin Nugent are horticulturalists at the ACT government-owned Yarralumla Nursery. (Supplied: ACT government)<\/p>\n
The exact mowing needs of native lawns differ between species and can depend on the look you’re going for.<\/p>\n
Ms Bool says while weeping grass and wallaby grass “lend themselves to more of a European sort of look”, they’re going to create a different kind of lawn.<\/p>\n
“So I guess people need to evolve or see its purpose a little differently,” she says.<\/p>\n
Ms Nugent says some native lawns, for example, may not be ideal for children to play on.<\/p>\n
Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney community greening officer Wakkurri (Wokka) Ellis, from the Kamilaroi nation, says native grasses are also better suited than exotic lawns to harsh Australian summers<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n “As long as they’ve got a bit of water, they’re still going to be looking full. They don’t burn as easy as European grass or turf,” he says.<\/p>\n Native grasses have been used in this stunning display at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria at Cranbourne. (Supplied: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria)<\/p>\n Building beautiful landscapes\u00a0<\/p>\n Native grasses are also a smart way to add interest, movement and colour to your garden, and Mr Henderson says common tussock grass is a good plant for these purposes.<\/p>\n “Poa lab [Poa labillardiere\/common tussock grass] is actually a beautiful landscape plant when used in drifts,” he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n A drift is a scattered line of plants that wanders through a landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mr Henderson says when Poa labillardiere planted in drifts goes to seed, the dried-out seed heads can create a wave of colour through a garden.\u00a0<\/p>\n “So you get these beautiful brown and dusky hues through the landscape,” he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Poa labillardiere can be planted en masse or used in drifts, and can help control erosion. (Flickr: Tony Rodd,<\/a> CC BY-NC-SA 2.0<\/a>)<\/p>\n “Ornamentally, they’re really amazing plants \u2026 they’re great to tie landscaping together and also, you can cut them to the ground and refresh them.”<\/p>\n Kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra) can be used in a similar way, and Mr Henderson says it’s a good grass for beginners.\u00a0<\/p>\n “[It’s] fairly widespread across Australia \u2026 and that’s a really easy one to grow,” he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I recommend once a year, cut them back to the ground \u2026 late autumn time, and then they’ll refresh with beautiful green leaves.”<\/p>\n Like poa lab, common wallaby grass (pictured) left to seed can add a rusty wave of colour and movement to your garden. (Supplied: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria)<\/p>\n Waterwise, low maintenance and good for biodiversity\u00a0<\/p>\n Mr Ellis is another fan of kangaroo grass, which he says doesn’t need much water and is “really easy to manage”.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although not true grasses, strappy\/grass-like natives, such as Dianella and Lomandra, also make beautiful landscape features, Mr Ellis says, and attract important insects and bugs that can pollinate your garden and improve soil health.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Dianella has a lovely purple flower on it that can help with pollination,” Mr Ellis says.<\/p>\n Native blue-banded bees approach a Dianella tarda plant. (Supplied: Australian Museum)<\/p>\n “You can plant Dianella pretty much everywhere, same with the Lomandra. A lot of people use that as a centrepiece on their lawn because of how big it is.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Another thing with these \u2026 because they’re so dense, they also hold the insects and bugs in them.”<\/p>\n Wakkurri Ellis lives in the Sydney suburb of Mt Druitt, on Darug land, but his role takes him around the state. (Supplied: RBGS\/Wakkurri Ellis)<\/p>\n Mr Ellis says the leaves of Lomandra can be used for weaving, and if you’re interested in creating a native food garden, parts of the plant are edible.\u00a0<\/p>\n “You can make fishnets and all that type of stuff \u2026 bags,” he says.<\/p>\n “You can make bread from the seeds, and the bottom of it, the white part [of the leaves], when you pull it out, it’s full of starch.”<\/p>\n But before eating any plant from the wild or your garden, it’s important to do your research to make sure you have correctly identified it and isn’t poisonous.<\/p>\n Ms Nugent, from Yarralumla Nursery, says Lomandra longifolia or Lomandra hystrix are good options that are relatively easy to get your hands on.<\/p>\n Lomandra, also known as mat rushes, are classified as a strappy or grass-like plant, rather than a true grass. (Flickr: Plant Right<\/a>, CC BY 2.0<\/a>)<\/p>\n If you are keen to try out some Dianella species, she says Dianella Tasmanica is a good tall option that can grow to more than a metre.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Then you’ve got your medium-sized Dianella Revelation or Kentlyn \u2026 and then your smaller ones, like Dianella Little Rev and Dianella Casa Blue,” she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n These medium and small Dianellas are hybrid\/cultivated varieties of native species such as Dianella revoluta and Dianella caerulea.<\/p>\n Dianella Destiny is a cultivated variety of Dianella tasmanica. (Flickr: Jason Baker<\/a>, CC BY 2.0<\/a>)<\/p>\n Mr Henderson says native grasses more broadly can be used for erosion control and as a living mulch, filling gaps in your garden to keep your soil cool and protect its biodiversity.<\/p>\n What to plant and where to get it\u00a0<\/p>\n Major retail chain nurseries usually stock a few common native grasses and strappy plants, but specialist native nurseries, tube stock growers and online retailers can offer more variety.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before you start planting, Mr Henderson recommends researching the native grasses local to your area, as these are most likely to do well in your garden.\u00a0<\/p>\n Local councils can be a great source of information, and Mr Henderson also suggests visiting community nurseries that specialise in propagating local natives.\u00a0<\/p>\n “You could also check out your local native plant society \u2026 they often hold plant sales,” Ms Bool says.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The Australian Native Plant Society is Australia-wide, and then there are groups within most states.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If mowing the lawn is getting you down, it might be time to ditch your exotic buffalo, couch…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[372707,10235,43,372706,372709,272352,372704,372705,47850,44,41,39,42,40,372710,372708],"class_list":["post-790943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-australian-natives","tag-gardening","tag-headlines","tag-how-to-grow-a-native-lawn","tag-low-maintenance","tag-native-garden","tag-native-grass","tag-native-lawn","tag-native-plants","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-turf-replacement","tag-waterwise"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d9ab1b99b72a4b8c4f7f4fe65c8970b0.jpeg\")
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