Apartments can become wildlife habitat; all you need to do is to plant a native garden and the creatures will come and live there.
Most apartments have some outdoor space: you might have a front yard, a driveway, a carpark, or an area for clothes lines. You can garden these spaces, plant trees to make your home cooler, add habitat for wildlife, improve the beauty of your home, and contribute to biodiversity in your neighbourhood.
One of our MVS members, Nell Butler has identified common problems with establishing native gardens in apartments, and how to overcome them.
Nell Butler is a keen wildlife gardener, a Moonee Valley resident, and a member of Moonee Valley Sustainability. She works in communications and owns almost every Agatha Christie paperback ever published.
When I started planting my garden, I very quickly realised there was no dirt to plant in: what I had instead was compacted building rubble and clay. It had no friability; this means no air and no living things. No worms or little bugs and no bacteria or fungi.
The answer to this problem is to start small. Dig up a section of weed (in my case this was cooch grass), and make holes for your plants, removing the bad soil. Plant small plants in the holes using better soil to bed them in. You can use native potting mix or buy a $5 bag of cheap potting mix with no fertiliser in it and mix in some native fertiliser.
Over time you can add mulch, coffee grounds, old exotic potting mix, anything you have to improve the whole garden, but your little plants deserve a decent start in life and making them a pocket works well. Keep in mind that in this sort of garden your soil is likely to be using mostly fungi, not bacteria, to break down organic matter, so using lots of compost is not advisable.
A neighbour asked me early on if I was planting a fairy garden, as the planting was so small. But planting this small not only makes it possible to plant in very bad soil, but it also means any large trees will not be disturbed.
The solution to this problem is the same as the solution to bad soil. Start as small as possible. Small seedlings are called tube stock. These are cheap, usually around $5 or $6 each, and you can find them at most nurseries. Sometimes they are tucked down the back of the nursery, so if you do not see any, ask the staff. Planting small prevents you from disturbing any large trees, and you will find space between the roots for your small seedlings.
If you are planting a driveway with narrow troughs of dirt on the sides, you will need trees that are compact and have roots that will not pull up concrete. There are plenty of native trees that work in this situation, as well as hybrids specifically grown to be compact.
The trees I planted were mostly hakea and callistemon, both of which have beautiful flowers and grow to around five metres high in a restricted space. CVO1 callistemon hybrid is very compact, and I planted that on the building side of my apartment driveway.
Stake trees loosely, use thin stakes that hold the sapling up but still let it move in the breeze. This helps the tree develop strong roots.
Do not forget vertical spaces! A wall or fence covered in purple Hardenbergia is a glorious sight and will lower summer temperatures as well. Here’s a driveway fence I planted with purple and white Hardenbergia in between Hakea saplings
The great thing about natives is that they will not need much watering once established, especially if you keep your garden mulched with pine bark. You will need to water new trees and shrubs in summer for two to three years. You can do this with a watering can, but even the cheapest hose will save you labour, and it means the shrubs and groundcover can get some water too. Over time I have found that less and less water is needed, and I now only water in very dry periods.
Water infrequently but deeply. If the soil is very dry, water for five minutes, leave it for half an hour, and come back and water it again. You want the water to sink in deeply, and it is worth checking the soil to make sure its soaking through.
An established garden can raise the sale price of an apartment by up to $30,000, so your gardening is a gift to all owners. However, they do not always see it this way, so to head off potential problems here are some things you can do.
Keep the garden neat and beautiful. Trim any dead branches, remove plants that are not thriving, remove any rubbish immediately. If you start small, non-resident owners will not notice the garden until its already there. When they do notice it, you want them to see a neat, orderly improvement to their property.
You need to make judgements here based on your knowledge: do you need to topiary all your native shrubs to keep people happy, or will a more natural look be tolerated?
Consider carefully whether or not you need to ask for permission. I did not ask for permission when I started, and I have not had any serious objections. One apartment owner gave me seeds and thanked me for my work.
If there is an existing gardener employed by the Owners Corporation, you may need to talk with them and come to an understanding. Always work safely and ensure you leave all shared areas safe and tidy each day.
Plant native and indigenous plants that will thrive. It is a good idea to plant some rocks and logs for insects, geckos, and skinks to live in too. You can use tree branches, old bricks, bluestone pavers and old ceramic pipes.
Enjoy your garden and all the creatures that you have made a home for. My apartment garden is very small, but Ringtail Possums and Marbled Geckos live there, along with many interesting insects. The creatures arrive as soon as you start planting.
The following list of plants are widely available in Melbourne. To save money and plant small, always ask if the nursery has the plant in tube stock.
Hardy native plants
Small Trees
Hakea Laurina
Callistemon Kings Park
Callistemon viminalis CV01, a hybrid for narrow spaces.
Lemon Scented Myrtle
Melaleuca nesophila
Large shrubs
Banksia ericifolia
Westringia fruiticosa
Waxflower (philotheca myoporoides)
Round Leaf Mint bush (prostanthera rotundifolia) This shrub is great for shady spots.
Eutaxia obovata
Climbers/trailing plants
Hardenbergia violacea, purple and white pea flowers.
Snake Vine (Hibbertia scandens)
Ground cover
Brachysome multifada, purple and white flowers.
Guinea Flower (hibbertia obtusfolia) bright yellow flowers.
Cushion bush (leucophyta) for silver foliage.
Myoporum fine leaf version
Grevillia Mt Tamboritha
Banksia Blechnifolia
Melaleuca Incana Nana
Chocolate Lily (arthropodioum strictum)
Dianella grasses
Poa grass