YEAR-ROUND COLOUR WITH NATIVES

You'll feel right at home - and so will the birds - when you plant local!

- GRAHAM ROSS

When you're looking for flowering plants in winter, you can't go past Australian natives. Grevilleas are renowned for their year-round flowering, but so many others, including wattles, some banksias, correas, croweas and fluorescent lechenaultias, put on a glow in the dim light. So when you combine these extraordinary plants with spring-, summer- and autumn-flowering natives, you can be indulged with different and vibrant colours all year round, with the added bonus that they never lose their foliage. Here's how to do it! When you're looking for flowering plants in winter, you can't go past Australian natives.

1 IT'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY... AND AUGUST

Many banksias are winter wonders, and the small B. spinulosa 'Coastal Cushion' packs a punch with its bright, upright yellow flowers coming out like a chorus in autumn and lasting until the end of winter.

2 SO HOT WHEN IT'S HOT!

Continue the shot of colour with vibrant B. ericifolia. Its uniformly neat yellow and red curls give an orange glow in spring, summer and autumn.

3 KOOKABURRA JOINS THE KELLY GANG

Art in your outdoor space is a personal thing, but for a native garden you can't go past the appeal of original artisan work - like this kooka.

WILDLIFE BONUS

• The prickly nature of many leaves - evolved to reduce water loss during dry periods - makes native shrubs a haven for wildlife and keeps them safe from predatory cats.

• Many native flowers - grevilleas and banksias in particular - have no petals, so there's no navigating involved for birds and insects to reach the sweet nectar-laden flowers. Heaven sent in winter!

5 BEAUTY BOTTLED