Have you ever wondered how to create captivating focal points in your garden using native Australian plants? Native garden vignettes are a fantastic way to highlight the unique beauty of Australia’s flora while creating visually stunning and cohesive scenes in your outdoor space.
What is a Garden Vignette?
A garden vignette is a small, curated scene within a larger garden that draws the eye and tells a story. These vignettes often feature a central focal point surrounded by complementary plants and elements. The goal is to create visually appealing compositions that evoke a sense of place or mood, enhancing the overall garden design.
One of my favourite Aussie landscape designers, Daniel Althaus, designed this beautiful native show garden design at MIFGS 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/althauslandscapedesigns_mifgs-2024-mother-ocean-design-althaus-activity-7179277401175056384-YORQ/
A native vignette takes this concept and uses Australian flora, and potentially hard elements that are reminiscent of Australian and/or Indigenous culture.
There’s an art and a science to creating garden vignettes, and I’ve covered how to create them in another article (written for Ozbreed AU website this week, please provide link here). This article is more about discussing an awesome native plant palette than the theory behind creating a vignette.
TANIKA® Lomandra longifolia ‘LM300’
Description: TANIKA® Lomandra is a reliable, tough, and beautiful landscape plant that has been performing in Australian landscapes for over a decade. It features an evergreen, improved compact fine leaf form, making it a low-maintenance option perfect for both landscape professionals and gardeners. It produces small yellow flowers from April to October and has soft foliage that is safe for children.
Size: 50 – 60 cm high x 65 cm wide
Position: Full sun to moderate shade. It tolerates frost and drought and suits sandy, sandy loam to clay soils. However, it should be avoided in low-lying areas in Sydney and north due to the increase of phytophthora in the landscape.
Climate: Suitable for NSW, ACT, VIC, SA, WA, TAS & QLD (only for non-humid regions like Toowoomba with free-draining soil).
Why it’s ideal for a native garden vignette: TANIKA® Lomandra is perfect for creating a focal point in a garden vignette due to its compact size, attractive evergreen foliage, and low maintenance requirements. You don’t need to babysit this plant.
https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/strappy-leaf-plants/tanika-lomandra/
EMERALD ARCH® Dianella tasmanica ‘DT23’ PBR
Description: EMERALD ARCH® Dianella has majestic, deep green, broad arching leaves, and can create a warm tropical feel for cooler climates. This Flax Lily features blue-yellow flowers from September to November and is extremely cold hardy.
Size: 55 cm high x 50 cm wide
Position: Full sun to heavy shade. It tolerates drought and frost and suits well-drained soils to clay soils. Avoid very poor soils. For Sydney and north, it should be planted in light shade to heavy shade (can be used in full sun if near the coast).
Climate: Suitable for NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA & WA.
Why it’s ideal for a native garden vignette: EMERALD ARCH® Dianella is ideal for creating a tropical feel in cooler climates with its broad arching leaves and deep green foliage. Its versatility in various light conditions and low water requirements make it a perfect choice for garden scenes that receive variable sunlight throughout the year. Its arching foliage cascades over elements dramatically.
https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/strappy-leaf-plants/emerald-arch-dianella/
PURPLE FUSION™ Scaevola humilis ‘PFS100’ PBR
Description: PURPLE FUSION™ Scaevola is a ground cover plant with an abundance of purple flowers all year round. It is more drought tolerant and lower maintenance than most Aussie wildflowers. It will flower for the whole year, unless a heavy frost occurs, with its heaviest flowering period from September to December.
Size: 20 cm high x 1.5 m wide
Position: Full sun to part shade. It suits well-drained soils/substrates and is more drought tolerant than other forms.
Climate: Suitable for QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS, SA & WA.
Why it’s ideal for a native garden vignette: PURPLE FUSION™ Scaevola is perfect for creating a vibrant and colourful ground cover in a garden vignette. Its year-round purple flowers and low maintenance requirements add serious visual interest. Allow it to cascade over elements, and when it gets too long, selectively prune larger stems back to a fork to keep its beautiful natural shape.
MUNDI™ Westringia fruticosa ‘WES05’ PBR
Description: MUNDI™ Westringia is a tough, beautiful ground cover Westringia that produces masses of white flowers. It is low growing and requires less pruning, making it ideal for vignettes where minimal care is desired. It is hardy enough to thrive on natural rainfall in most populated areas along the east coast of Australia, and can also tolerate periodic flooding.
Size: 40 – 50 cm high x 1.5 m wide
Position: Full sun to part shade. It suits sandy to clayey soils and tolerates cold and drought.
Climate: Suitable for QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS, SA, WA & ACT (prefers shelter from heavy frost in ACT).
Why it’s ideal for a native garden vignette: MUNDI™ Westringia is perfect for creating a low-maintenance, visually appealing ground cover or cascading plant in a garden vignette. Its masses of white flowers and tough nature make it an excellent choice for biodiverse and attractive garden vignette scenes.
EVERLASTING GOLD™ Anigozanthos hybrid ‘KP02’
Description: EVERLASTING GOLD™ Anigozanthos is a semi-compact form of Kangaroo Paw that repeat flowers throughout the year. It is longer-lived and gets far less black spot compared to other varieties. It flowers all year round, except in colder climates where it won’t flower in the winter months. It’s tolerant of frost and drought.
Size: 30 – 40 cm high x 30 – 40 cm wide. Its flowers reach 70 – 80 cm high.
Position: Full sun open position. It tolerates frost and drought and works well in well-drained soils or raised garden beds. It will work in heavy soils if you avoid regular wet feet.
Climate: Suitable for NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, WA & QLD (in northern QLD it is shorter-lived, approx. 2-3 years; in the south, it is longer-term).
Why it’s ideal for a native garden vignette: EVERLASTING GOLD™ Anigozanthos is perfect for creating a vibrant and colorful focal point in a garden vignette. Its year-round flowering and low maintenance requirements make it an excellent choice for adding visual interest and biodiversity resources to smaller garden scenes.
https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/kangaroo-paws/everlasting-gold/
RUSTIC™ Poa spp. ‘POL11’
Description: RUSTIC™ Poa is a tidy, compact native grass that provides a clear line of sight and lovely green/blue toned foliage that goes brown more quickly. Its rustic foliage offers a unique colour contrast to other plants, which is further enhanced by its seasonal changes. The green/blue-toned foliage turns brown quicker than other Poas, yet it keeps living year after year provided it is cut back every year two.
Size: 45 cm high x 45 cm wide
Position: Full sun to part shade. It tolerates frost and drought and suits a wide variety of soils.
Climate: Suitable for NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, & WA.
Why it’s ideal for a native garden vignette: RUSTIC™ is perfect for creating a low-maintenance, visually appealing ground cover in a garden vignette. Its unique colour contrast and tidy, compact form make it an excellent choice for sustainable and attractive garden scenes. In case you hadn’t noticed, coppery tones are very much in fashion as the bush aesthetic is in vogue.
https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/native-grasses/rustic-poa/
KINGSDALE™ Poa poiformis ‘PP500’ PBR
Description: KINGSDALE™ Poa is a contrasting tussock grass with vivid blue arching foliage. It has beautiful blue colour that contrasts well against the coppers of RUSTIC™ Poa.
Size: 45 cm high x 45 cm wide
Position: Full sun to part shade. It tolerates frost and drought and suits a wide variety of soils.
Climate: Suitable for NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, WA & QLD (only for non-humid regions like Toowoomba with some shade).
Why it’s ideal for a native garden vignette: KINGSDALE™ Poa is perfect for creating a visually striking focal point or ground cover in a garden vignette. Its vivid blue foliage and ability to control erosion make it an excellent choice for sustainable and attractive garden scenes.
OZBREED FLAT WHITE™ Pandorea jasminoides ‘PJ01’ PBR
Description: OZBREED FLAT WHITE™ Pandorea is an Australian native climber with a dense, compact habit. It is perfect for narrow spaces and only needs to be pruned twice a year. Unlike other pandoreas, this plant can both climb and cover ground while staying compact against the surface it’s growing on. It will literally climb up and down a wall if it’s positioned in the middle, something very few plants can do.
Size: 2-3 m high x 40-60 cm wide when pruned; 80 cm-2 m wide when unpruned.
Position: Full sun to part shade. It suits most soil types and has moderate frost tolerance and good drought tolerance.
Climate: Suitable for South QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS, SA & WA.
Why it’s ideal for a native garden vignette: OZBREED FLAT WHITE™ Pandorea is perfect for creating a dense, compact climber in a garden vignette. Its low maintenance and suitability for narrow spaces make it an excellent choice for easy to manage spaces.
https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/native-shrubs-groundcovers/ozbreed-flat-white/
FIRE BELLS™ Correa pulchella ‘COR11’ PBR
Description: FIRE BELLS™ Correa is a compact, dense ground cover that is excellent for small gardens and patios. It features vibrant red/orange flowers in winter and early spring and requires minimal pruning to stay compact.
Size: 25 cm high x 80 cm wide (smaller with pruning)
Position: Full sun to light shade. It prefers reasonably drained soil but is adaptable to most soil types. It tolerates drought and frost.
Climate: Suitable for VIC, ACT, SA, WA, TAS, Southern NSW, and Sydney (in well-draining soils).
Why it’s ideal for a native garden vignette: FIRE BELLS™ Correa is perfect for creating a vibrant and dense ground cover or potted wildflower in a garden vignette.
SWEET BURST™ Callistemon spp ‘CNU15’ PBR
Description: SWEET BURST™ Callistemon is a semi-compact variety that produces a burst of soft baby pink bottle brush flowers in spring. It is a low-maintenance plant that requires little to no pruning to maintain a tidy form.
Size: 90 cm – 1.2 m high x 90 cm – 1.2 m wide
Position: Full sun to part shade. It works in most soil types and has good drought and frost tolerance once established.
Climate: Suitable for NSW, VIC, SA, WA, and South QLD (more testing required for North QLD & ACT).
Why it’s ideal for a native garden vignette: SWEET BURST™ Callistemon is perfect for creating a beautiful feature plant in a garden vignette. If you’re looking for a medium-sized shrub that brings a pop of colour, it’s hard to look past this plant.
https://www.ozbreed.com.au/plant-ranges/native-shrubs-groundcovers/sweet-burst-callistemon/
Conclusion
Incorporating native Australian plants into your garden vignettes not only enhances the visual appeal of your outdoor space but also supports the local ecosystem. By choosing plants that are adapted to your climate and conditions, you can create sustainable and low-maintenance garden scenes that celebrate the unique beauty of Australia’s flora. So why not give it a try and create your own native garden vignette today?