How to make a portable native garden that's perfect for renters

Two years ago, Darren Partridge took up gardening as a way to honour the memory of his recently deceased great aunt. Knowing little about gardening and growing, Darren decided to pop in some petunias, a plant his great aunt was very fond off. Darren quickly developed a bit of a collection of these plants, as well as a passion for the process. As his collection grew, so did his frustrations – “keeping a huge number of petunias became a challenge, the constant dead-heading was beyond tedious”.Having been bitten by the gardening bug but no longer loving his petunias, Darren was at a bit of a loss as to what to plant next... until his then housemate came home with a struggling Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos sp.). “I’d never seen anything like it” gushes Darren “I was mesmerised, and I knew that I had to learn more about Australian native plants”. While he couldn’t save the kangaroo paw, it set in motion an enduring obsession, and transformed his inner-city courtyard into a native haven.When you step into Darren’s backyard, the first thing you notice is the layers and the ‘staging’ of the plants. They are clustered together, and throughout much of the year there is a riot of colour and texture. There are over 50 different species of plants in Darren’s garden, and it’s naturalistic, playful, and incredibly well put together. For a young garden, everything is very established, and much of it looks like it has been there for a long, long time. What isn’t immediately apparent is that almost every single plant in this courtyard garden is potted, which is what makes this native landscape so extraordinary.“Pots are controllable” says Darren “They are movable, relocatable. And if I ever have to leave here, I can take my garden with me”. Many of the plants thriving in this garden are Western Australian, which Darren finds do exceedingly well in pots for the most part. Kangaroo Paws (Anigozanthos sp.), Lechenaultia sp., Paper Daisies (like Rhodanthe chlorocephala subsp. rosea, Rhodanthe manglesii and Xerochrysum bracteatum which Darren says are “great filler plants”) and Hardenbergia are all thriving, and are incredibly established for the age of the plants. “The potted Hardenbergia has literally covered the fence in under a year and a half – they are great potted plants as long as they get enough sun".Some of Darren’s more unusual plants include an unusual grafted Yellow Bells (Geleznowia verrucosa) and clustered trigger plants (Stylidium graminifolium). In the shadier area under the existing tree canopy, Darren has had great success with a stunning Acacia pravissima 'Kuranga Cascade', Conostylis sp. and some native mint bushes (Prostanthera sp.). “I’ve also found that Brachyscomes in hanging baskets have boomed under here”.His Boronias are exceptional, and they are often a really challenging one to grow at home. Darren’s tips are pretty straightforward – “use lots of mulch, inorganic mulch seems to work well for me. Give them a small drink regularly, but don't overdo it. Unfortunately, once symptoms of root rot begin to show, it's almost impossible to get them back. I find underplanting with a ground cover like Wahlenbergia or Swan River Daisy helps mop up the excess water”.When potting up, there are a few tips that Darren has picked up that help his collection thrive. “I use a good quality native potting mix, and I’ll often mix through some sand or perlite to lighten the mix and ensure the drainage is spot on”. He finds that some of his plants, especially the Anigozanthos are hungry, especially when they “start flowering their heads off”. To keep them humming, he top dresses his pots with aged cow manure, and supplements this with a liquid seaweed feed. “I love this stuff, it gives the plants a good boost, but without burning, and it’s fine for natives”.All his plants are mulched – those in the garden beds are mulched with wood chippers mulch, while most of the pots are mulched with inorganics, like scoria. “The rocks in the pots, just like the concrete surface of the courtyard, reflects heat onto the plants, and isn’t dissimilar from what would occur with these Western Australian plants in nature” says Darren. “They seem to absolutely thrive, especially in the cooler Melbourne winter, and I reckon the rocks are part of that”. Deep pots or containers help as well - “I’ve had great success growing some trickier things, like Billy Buttons (Pycnosorus globosus) as long as the pot is deep and they’re out in full sun”.Renting and a challenging backyard shouldn’t be a barrier to growing any sort of garden, and it is easy to see what can be achieved in a relatively short time. “Gardening for me is meditation, it’s stress relief from my job and it’s an absolute passion” Darren says. Is he obsessed? “You bet – you’ll often find me outside pottering about with a headlamp on, looking for pests”.



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