Plants

Brisbane-friendly Green Choice plants

Here are a few selections from the hundreds of beautiful Brisbane-friendly plants, just to get you started. They are mainly native plants, but some non-invasive, subtropical exotic favourites are included. The tree heights provided in the following tables are for garden-grown specimens, which generally reach lower mature heights than specimens in natural forest conditions.

John Hawkins also has a number of useful gardening fact sheets available on his website.

Grass

Everybody loves a soft patch of grass to lie on and for the kids to run around on. But in this time of drought, it’s important to accept that your lawn may look a little brown during dry times. It will soon become green with a fall of rain.

What grass grows best in Brisbane’s climate and with less water than traditional varieties? Sir Walter is one grass variety that requires less water and grows well in shady conditions. It is more expensive than other varieties but may be worth the investment at your house as it is easy to maintain and needs less attention.

Read about other turf varieties.

See our directory for lawn and turf supplies.

Fruit, vegetables and herbs

You don’t need a huge amount of space to grow some vegetables and herbs for use in your kitchen. Most herbs, such as parsley, chives or basil grow well in containers or pots. The main tips are to keep them moist and use a good quality potting mix with fertilisers and water saving crystals added. If you put the pots near your kitchen you are more likely to remember to water them and use them too. Some fruit trees, such as citrus, fare as well in pots as they do in a larger garden.

It is becoming popular again to grow vegetables at home. You’ll be rewarded with fresh veges, grown without lots of chemicals. If starting out, begin with a small patch and fast growing vegetables such as beans, lettuce, cherry tomatoes or zucchini. The DPI has factsheets about growing popular vegetables.

Poisonous plants

To prevent injury and poisoning, Queensland Health has developed a website identifying common poisonous plants and fungi in Queensland complete with photos, common and botanical plant names, plant descriptions and basic first aid advice.