Suburban Sustainable Garden | Sustainable Gardening Australia

Location: Rosanna, Victoria

This garden won the Banyule City Council ‘Best Residential Sustainable Garden’ award for 2003-2004. Sue runs a gardening maintenance and plant-scaping business. She specialises in advising residents of indigenous plant choices that suit the preferred garden style while enhancing the habitat value of the garden. Plants are chosen for the site and watering is not required. Sue also can supply and plant the choices for sustainable and beautiful gardens.

The nature strip
The indigenous nature strip is fast becoming the Sustainable Garden flag.

Recycled crushed concrete
Recycled crushed concrete can be used to great effect to create an informal path.

Recycled concrete pieces
Someone else’s broken up driveway has become my path.

Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames
This is a theme I have borrowed which allows room for both nature and order. Though this area is dry, we now have a brown froglet visiting somewhere in the mess.

Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames (Part 2)

Stepping Stones
“Rock” stepping stones are made from recycled crushed concrete and cement (about 5:1) – with some black pigment added to the top layer.

Einadia nutans
The berries are delicious but small.

Greywater
The pipe comes from the shower / bath outlet, through a diverter to either the drum or further down the garden to the fruit trees.

Excess Greywater
If the drum is full, and I have forgotten to empty or divert, the excess water simply escapes out the inlet hole. It flows into the “river” styled seepage area – again using recycled concrete “river stones”.

Greywater Use
The drum is emptied via one of two hoses which lead to different areas. I move the end of the hose to soak the required area then leave it to empty the drum. The indigenous plants in the garden don’t need watering, but the system allows me to plant new plants, even in summer, and water them once or twice to get them started. I have also had some fun creating ephemeral wetlands with beautiful reeds – because I can! I will be working on an indigenous lawn soon.

Carex iynx
Carex iynx ready for supply to retail nurseries – for the “normal”(!) gardener.

Carex incommitata
Like mondo grass… only smarter!

Greywater Use
The orange tree enjoys the greywater from our showers.

Don’t remove those dead trees!
Dead trees are still art. Apart from looking great, they attract birds who like the view.

The Greywater Source
The shower / bath outlet cut and tape-on wide hose.

The Greywater Source
Water from the washing machine is used too (although a wider hose would be better)

Fungus
Nature’s own recycler.

Indigofera australis

Roof Runoff
All water from the roof goes to this area – it has become our own creek and wetland.

Our Own Creek
The same area as the photo above, but 18 months later. This storm water catchment area draws me out into the garden to watch the creek flowing – it only happens when it’s raining though!.