Gardening and growing food

With Melbourne expected to experience hotter and drier summers with flash flooding, choose plants that can withstand extreme weather events.

Drought and heat tolerance

Many native Australian plants can be a great option for hot and dry conditions. You'll also be saving water and doing your bit for the environment. Plants with white, grey, bluish-grey or silver foliage or bark are, as a rule, very tolerant of heat and drought.

Flood tolerance

It’s a popular myth that native plants do not enjoy excessive water. However, there are thousands of native Australian plant species that have adapted to damp, boggy soils.

Shade provision

Paved spaces and mulched garden beds absorb and reflect heat, increasing temperatures around your house. Planting leafy shrubs and trees provides shade to keep your home cool and reduces water lost through evaporation.

Healthy soil means healthy plants. Whether you’re growing your own food or flowering garden beds, improving soil health will have a big impact on the quality of your plants.

Adding organic matter, like compost, natural wood mulch, leaves and manures, will improve water retention, attract worms, and boost nutrients and microbes.

To learn more about boosting soil health, join our free sustainable gardening program, My Smart Garden.

Creating a pollinator-friendly garden can be a fantastic way to support local biodiversity and see your local ecosystem in action.

With pollinator populations globally in decline, planting flowering natives, exotics and herbs is a great way to support them whilst adding colour to your garden.

You can also support and encourage local wildlife to your garden by:

• Planting dense shrubs to create safe habitat for native birds to nest, forage and socialise.
• Adding water sources like a bird bath or a small pond.
• Using rocks or pavers to create a heated pad for skinks and other small reptiles.

Our changing climate means more water than ever is required in our gardens to combat the hotter, drier weather. Waterwise gardens are designed to use this most precious resource more efficiently.

Here’s how you can create your own at home:

• Install a rainwater tank or downpipe diverter to use stormwater run-off to water your garden. It will also reduce the strain on the stormwater drainage system and the risk of localised flooding.
• Greywater is water from your washing machine, shower or kitchen and can be put to use in your garden. It’s available year-round, the average home generates more than is needed to water the entire garden and it would otherwise be a waste item.
• Adding organic matter to your soil increases its capacity to retain water, reduces the risk of flash flooding and filters stormwater prior to it entering our waterways. Using mulch on top of your soil prevents it from drying out and increases water retention.
• You can also conserve water by choosing drought-tolerant plants, watering in the evening, avoiding over-watering, using drip irrigation and installing wicking beds.

Find out more about creating a waterwise garden with My Smart Garden.

Visit the My Smart Garden website to browse a library of resources including recordings of past events.

Read our Sustainable Gardening in Stonnington(PDF, 8MB) guide for tips on how to create your own sustainable garden.

Visit Which Plant Where, a free resource created by universities which includes information on which horticultural species will survive and thrive in Australian urban landscapes now and into a climate-changed future. You can search at the local post-code level.

Visit the Sustainable Gardening Australia website for inspiration on sustainable garden designs.

Check out our Stonnington Home Harvest(PDF, 6MB) booklet for advice on planning, planting and maintaining your home food garden.

View the Indigenous Plant Use booklet created by Barkandji woman Zena Cumpston. The booklet includes information on indigenous plant species and their cultural, nutritional, technological and medicinal use. You'll also find plant labels that you can print and use in your own garden.

Hear from our very own horticultural team in this handy native planting video. You'll learn tips on how to care for native plants in your garden to support local pollinators and birds.