A lush garden with various green plants, purple flowers, and a gray rock, with a house and wooden fence in the background.

Planting layers of a wild garden

A healthy wild garden is multi-layered, creating:

  • rich biodiversity

  • habitat for insects, birds, and other wildlife

  • year-round flowers for food & colour

  • natural weed suppression

  • cooling shade and sheltered microclimates

  • beauty and seasonal change

  • greater resilience and ecological health

Some favourite plants used by Tended Earth are shared here. To help visualise the structure of a wild garden, these plants are grouped according to their layer:

  • Ground-Hugging

  • Low

  • Mid-Storey

  • Canopy

Many, but not all, of these plants are native to Australia. Tended Earth also likes to include some exotic species that are well-adapted to our climate and conditions. Of note, hardy deciduous trees such as the good old Crepe Myrtle are wonderful summer shade-providers! Importantly, it is best to understand how a plant grows and ensure that we avoid planting any invasive species.

Ground-Hugging Plants

Groundcovers & Prostrate Shrubs (0-20cm)

These plants stay low and spread across ground to protect the soil, suppress weeds, and provide food and shelter for insects. Note, some of these plants, such as Chrysocephalum apiculatum, could also be grouped as a ‘Small Flowering Plant’, depending on its growth form.

Close-up of a fern-like Banksia plant with green and newly developing orange-yellow leaves, growing in dark soil in a garden bed.
Photo of pink flowers called Karkalla (Carpobrotus rossi) growing among green leaves in a native groundcover setting.
A native groundcover plant with silvery-green leaves and small yellow button-shaped flowers, identified as Chrysosephalum apiculatum.
Close-up of kidney weed (Dichondra repens) plants with small, round, green leaves.
Close-up of Ruby Saltbush (prostrate form), Enchylaena tomentosa, with green leaves and small red and orange berries.
A photo of a native Prostrate shrub with small yellow flowers and green foliage, surrounded by mulch and other plants.
Native groundcover plant with green, rounded leaves and red flowers, identified as Running Postman (Kennedia prostrata), with dry soil and dead leaves on the ground.
Close-up photo of Creeping Boobiia, a plant with small green leaves, in a native groundcover setting.
A lush green cushion grass groundcover with small rocks and fallen leaves, labeled as Scleranthus biflorus, with specific height and width dimensions mentioned at the top.
Close-up of a succulent plant called Eremophylla 'Kalbarri Carpet', with grayish-green leaves. The plant is growing in soil next to a concrete edge.
Close-up of a native low-spreading kangaroo fern with green fronds, some with darker green veins, growing among rocks.
Close-up of a native prostrate shrub with small, rounded, dark green leaves and a yellow flower. The shrub is identified as Gastrolobium 'Lemon Drops'.
Close-up of a native prostrate shrub with dark green, triangular ivy leaves and small purple flowers, with dark soil on the ground.

Low Plants

Graminoids, Small Flowering Plants & Low Shrubs (< 1m)

These grasses, grass-like plants, and small flowering plants bring colour, texture, and seasonal change to the garden. They also provide food for wildlife.

A lush, green, spiky grass plant called Lomandra 'Tanika' with long, narrow, reed-like leaves growing in a dense, rounded mound on soil with small rocks. The plant is part of a botanical display or plant label with scientific information at the botto
A plant with long green spiky leaves and multiple yellow and dark red flower spikes. The image is from a plant identification guide labeled 'Lomandra Frosty Tops,' with measurements indicating height 0.3 meters and width 0.5 meters.
Close-up of a lush, green clump of native Lomandra 'Little Lime' grass, with long, narrow, grassy leaves. The plant height is 0.3 meters and width is 0.5 meters.
Photo of Velvet Tussock Grass with thin, tall, wispy green and tan blades and seed heads, set against a ground covered with fallen leaves. Label information indicates this is a native grass, height 0.3 meters, width 0.3 to 0.5 meters, scientific name
Close-up of kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra) with reddish-brown seed heads and green stems, on a natural ground background.
Close-up of Orange and pink Bracteantha 'Kimba Gem' flowers with green foliage, some buds, and a blurred background
A yellow flower called Everlasting 'Daisy Fields Lemon' blooming among green leaves in a garden.
Yellow flowers of Conostylis 'Silver Sunrise' plant with silvery-gray leaves and green background.
A dense ground cover of Veronica perfoliata, also known as Digger's Speedwell, with small green leaves. The plant grows low to the ground, about 0.6 meters high and 2-3 meters wide, on soil with some dead leaves. The image appears to be taken outdoor
Close-up of native violet ground cover plant with green leaves and small purple and white flowers, with garden tools visible.
A patch of Tufted Bluebell flowers with purple blooms and green foliage.
A plant labeled as Sticky Everlasting (Xerochrysum viscosum) with yellow flowers growing in dry, mulch-covered soil.
Photo of Billy Buttons (Pycnosorus globosus) plant with yellow, rounded flowers in a garden bed with mulch ground and other plants around.
Purple daisies with yellow centers (Brachyscome multifida) growing in soil.
Close-up of pink bell-shaped Correa 'Pink Mist' flowers with green leaves.
Close-up of a salmon-colored shrub with small, tubular flowers and dark green leaves, labeled 'Native Shrub,' 'H 1m W 1m,' and identified as 'Salmon Correa, Correa pulchella.'

Mid-storey Plants

Shrubs (1-2m tall)

Shrubs provide important structure, shelter/habitat, and flowers in a wild garden.

Close-up of grey saltbush plant with green, elongated leaves.
Close-up of Coastal Saltbush (Atriplex nummularia), a sprawling native shrub with silvery-green, rounded, and crinkled leaves, in an outdoor natural setting.
Close-up of Banksia 'Little Eric' plant with green, needle-like leaves and a vibrant orange, spiky flower.
Close-up of Geraldton Waxflower with white petals and dark maroon centers, surrounded by green leaves and grass.
Close-up of dense green leaves of White Correa shrub, with small, round, waxy leaves.
Close-up of a native shrub rock Correa with green elongated tubular flowers hanging downward among dark green leaves, height and width approximately 1 to 2 meters.
Pink flowers and green needle-like leaves of Rosemary Grevillea plant.
Close-up of Australian Indigo (Indigofera australis) shrub with green leaves and small purple flowers.
Close-up of bush basil plant leaves with green, textured, serrated edges and pale veins.
Close-up of a flowering shrub with purple round-leaf mint bush flowers and green leaves.
Close-up of Fragrant Saltbush plant (Rhgodia parabolica) with green and gray leaves
Close-up of a dense patch of creeping saltbush (Rhegodia spinescens) with green leaves and stems.
Close-up of Westringia 'Smokey' plant with variegated green and white small, star-shaped leaves, growing among dried leaves.
Close-up of Coastal Westringia plant with small white flowers and green pointed leaves.

Canopy-providing Plants

Tall Shrubs & Trees (>2m)

Tall shrubs & trees create shade - helping cool the garden & surrounding area - and provide habitat for birds and other wildlife. They also provide long-term structure and character in a wild garden.

Close-up of a native tree, Coarse-leaf Mallee, Eucalyptus grossa, with green leaves and red stems, outdoors on a sunny day.
Pink Crepe Myrtle 'Tuscarora' flower with green leaves, blue sky, and other flowering plants in the background.
Image of a lemon-scented tea tree, with white flowers and green foliage, labeled as Leptospermum petersonii.
Close-up of a Deciduous Tree with purple Jacaranda flowers and green fern-like leaves in a garden.
A cluster of vibrant pink Crepe Myrtle 'Tonto' flowers with green leaves.
Close-up of a Crepe Myrtle 'Natchez' flowering tree with white blossoms and green leaves.
Close-up of green eucalyptus leaves with pink stems, identified as Eucalyptus leucoxylon 'Euky Dwarf'.
Close-up of a native shrub with small, elongated green leaves and yellow, curly flowers. The label indicates it's Olive Grevillea (Grevillea olivacea), showing small flowers and foliage.
Close-up of a Silver Banksia flower, a cylindrical orange flower with spiky texture, attached to green, needle-like leaves, in natural habitat.
Close-up of a Banksia 'Sentinel' plant with a yellow cylindrical flower spike surrounded by green leaves.
Close-up of a Lightwood Wattle (Acacia implexa) tree with long, narrow green leaves.
Close-up of narrow-leaf Bower Wattle 'Lime Magik' plant with long, slender, light green leaves.
Close-up of green leaves and branches of a plant identified as Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) under a plant height of 8-10 meters and width of 4-6 meters, on a native shrub background.
Close-up of a Cinnamon Wattle 'Scarlet Blaze' (Acacia leprosa 'Scarlet Blaze') with pinkish-red fluffy flowers and long, green slender leaves, with a blurred background of similar foliage.