Gardening in Australia has changed dramatically in the last decade due to the prolonged drought and most of us have had to rethink how we garden as a consequence. Drought tolerant plants once rarely thought of are now the principle concept behind not just new gardens but also many established gardens as even the average quarter acre block can consume many litres of water if you stick with traditional European or more specifically the English style of garden that was once so common.
Today awareness of waterwise plants has grown considerably as has the importance of mulching and adding as much organic matter into the soil as possible as this helps to retain moisture and if you have a heavy clay soil, gypsum should be added to help with water penetration, without it much will be lost due to run off and evaporation. Organic matter also makes a plant stronger and healthier thus in periods of stress you'll have a far greater survival rate.
Although organic matter in and of itself doesn't directly fed the plants it improves soil structure and promotes good micro organism that will help abate disease within the soil and once they die release useful nutrients that plants can then feed from although for many plants you will need to add other nutrients.
One the following pages you will see how members of the forum have setup their gardens along with a number of short articles on botanic gardens and notable Aussie gardens which will be added over time. Feel free to write something just click add child page at the bottom or even edit this page :)
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