Gardening in Perth: everything you need to know

It's hot, it's sandy, it's incompatible with life... but don't let that stop you!

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It’s the end of February and the end of summer. And it’s time for us to get one thing clear:

If you are a gardener living in Perth, you are a bloody trooper. And, look, I may be biased, but I think you deserve respect, a pat on the back, a week of autumn thunderstorms and probably a trailer load of free manure.

The fact is, gardening in Perth over summer is hard. Our soil is sandy, the sun is harsh and there’s no rain or moisture to speak of. I say this not to discourage you (and actually, none of these environmental factors needs to stop you from growing an amazing garden) but rather to let you know that feeling overwhelmed, despondent, confused or frustrated by your garden in January and February is totally normal. It’s one of the things I hear most often from gardeners at this time of year, and something I’ve felt myself repeatedly too.

But. Just as rocks must be melted to extract their precious metals, and just as extreme pressures are required for the formation of diamonds, the harsh conditions we face every summer are, ultimately, what will make us really excellent gardeners.

When faced with dry, coastal sand, we learn how to build good soil.

When the mercury rises, we are forced to reevaluate our plant choices, selecting only those can survive and thrive in our region.

And, each time we confront crisp, burnt and wilting plants we learn humility, patience and the courage to keep trying in the face of adversity!

So today, my Perth friends, this newsletter is for you. Because autumn is coming goddamnit, and hopefully - along with it - a resurgence of optimism, of motivation and inspiration to get back out there. Get your fists in the dry earth, rip back the skeletal, crispy remains of your spent spring blooms, throw cow dung and chicken manure willy nilly, unearth forgotten packets of seeds and fling them around too and wait…

For the clouds to gather.

For the air to cool.

And for those first few drops of autumn rain to hit the dry earth and bring it back to life.

Yes, gardening in Perth has its challenges. But done right your garden can be healthy, abundant, tough and resilient. Here’s everything I know about growing a garden in Perth, I hope it helps you in your garden too.

Perth’s climate

First things first. What exactly are we dealing with here?

To successfully grow a garden in Perth we need to appreciate its specific conditions. Currently, Perth is considered to have a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. I say ‘currently’ because global warming is already beginning to change things. In fact, according to predictions made by the WA agriculture department, in the next 10-70 years we will see changes including an increase in the number of >35˚C days (they are expected to jump from ~28 days per year to ~36 days in 2030, and to between 40 and 63 days in 2090), fewer frost days in winter, more intense periods of rainfall (but less rainfall overall), and an increased risk of bushfires and drought.

Whoops! I said I was going to help you feel more optimistic didn’t I!

Well, if that stuff scares you like it scares me, one thing we can all do today is redouble our efforts to grow gardens that help cool our homes (reducing our need for air-conditioning), rebuild insect diversity and provide us with a little bit of our own seasonal produce. So let’s do that!

Mediterranean gardening

For the time being at least, we have a mediterranean climate. Which means that our best chance of growing really successful gardens is to grow plants that have evolved to thrive in such a climate. This includes plants from the Mediterranean (duh) but also plants from South Africa, California and parts of the Middle East, which roughly share our growing conditions. Plus, of course, Australian natives endemic to our part of WA.

It’s also worth noting that although we have tough summers, Perth gardeners are lucky to have really mild winters. This means we can ‘overwinter’ (i.e., leave in the ground) plants like chillies and even sometimes basil or cold-tolerant tomatoes, enabling us to grow these plants as short-lived perennials (plants that live for 2+ years) rather than as annuals (plants that live just for one season). And because we rarely get frosts, we can grow tropical plants like bananas, mangoes, avocados and papayas that would not survive in a cooler climate. Our mild winters and long summers also mean we can enjoy an extended growing and harvesting season for a lot of our most delicious fruits and vegetables. See!? It’s not all bad!

My biggest piece of advice for growing a garden in Perth is to play to these strengths.

Pay attention to what plants are optimally suited to our conditions and plant as many of them as you can. You might love the plants you see in mild and misty English cottage gardens or hot and humid Chicagoan yards, but no matter what your ideal garden style is, a healthy garden will always be more satisfying to grow than one that is struggling against environmental pressures it can’t withstand.

If you’re wondering where to start selecting plants that will thrive in our environment, start by having a read of these previous articles I’ve written:

A guide to spring bulbs for Perth gardens

13 plants that are (almost) impossible to kill

The Umbels - a great family of plants for Perth gardens

Salvias: the best plant for a Perth cottage garden

6 tropical trees for a Perth garden

Perth’s soil

For any of us living in the Perth metropolitan area (especially those in Fremantle, Mosman Park, Cottesloe, Swanbourne, Scarborough, City Beach, Trigg, Rockingham, Cockburn, Hillarys and Coogee) our gardens are essentially plopped right on the coastline. We have strong, salty winds and sandy, alkaline soil.

So instead of trying to grow things like peonies or cherries (which almost always require a winter frost to flower or set fruit), or blueberries and azaleas (which like acidic soil) your time is much better spent focusing on plants that LIKE our natural conditions.

There are a wide range of plants that will quite happily tolerate our climatic conditions, but if you want to increase the range of plants you can grow the first step is to improve your soil.

The benefits of healthy soil

Healthy soil holds onto moisture longer and it provides plants with the nutrients they need to grow strong and robust (it also makes them more resilient to the so-called ‘pests’ that might want to nibble them).

There are three things I add to my soil to keep it healthy. And 99% of the time these are the only three things I add to my soil. If you find the ‘soil improvement’ shelves at Bunnings intimidating, my biggest piece of advice is: focus on just these three things and ignore the rest.

By the way, none of the companies or outlets mentioned in this post have sponsored me or given me anything (I frequently find myself wishing I had the prescience to ask them for some sort of reward for singing their praises so often, but never mind!).

1. Clay counteracts dry, sandy soil and improves its ability to absorb and retain moisture (I use Soil Solver clay and I add it to counteract my sandy soil - if your soil isn’t sandy you won’t need it). You can order bulk bags of clay delivered to your house, or if you’d like to buy smaller bags there is a list of WA retail outlets on their website. It’s not a silver bullet - you can’t just take crappy sandy soil, add clay and be done with it - but it will go a long way to helping turn sandy soil into soil that can hold onto moisture and nutrients for longer.

2. Animal manure adds macronutrients that are vital for growing healthy, strong plants. These are Phosphorus, Potassium and Nitrogen and are often lacking in thin, sandy soil. I use a pig manure/compost mix from DSATCO and I get it delivered by the pallet load. It’s stinky and grizzly (there are even chicken bones in it!) but it’s dark, rich, crumbly and the plants love it. DSATCO recommends adding a 10-15cm layer of the stuff in a garden bed if you want to create a long-lasting improvement, but I tend to add thinner layers more often - I use one pallet load per season and fling it around the place (don’t worry about digging it in, you can just chuck it on as a top layer). Although I mostly rely on DSATCO manure these days, other good products I’ve used in the past are:

   • Aussie Organics blended manure - they also have sheep manure and cow manure, I don’t think there’s a great difference between the varieties

   • Neutrog Australia Rooster Booster pellets (for sale at Bunnings) - good for hungry plants like citrus and roses and easy to chuck around the garden as a natural slow-release fertiliser…just make sure your dogs don’t try to eat it all like mine do

   • I use this potting mix (I’ve tried others but I currently think this one is the best quality)

   • When I sow seeds, I use whichever best quality seed raising mix I can find. To save money I fill most of the pot with a good quality potting mix and then I fill the last 1/3 of the pot with my seed-raising mix.

   • Finally, I’ve not ordered from Green Life Soil Co myself (I balked at the prices!) but if you’re looking for a really good quality soil mix and are happy to invest in it, I’ve heard great things, so you might like to give them a go. But remember that without replenishment and improvement, even the best quality soil will degrade over time. So don’t feel like you have to spend heaps to get your soil off to a good start, the more important thing is to continue adding to it over time and to keep it well watered in summer.

3. Mulch acts like a sunscreen on your garden, protecting your soil from the sun’s harsh rays (especially in summer) and helping lock in moisture so it doesn’t dry out so fast on hot days. I like to add lupin mulch (also from DSATCO, also by the pallet-load) in spring, summer and autumn. I hold off on adding mulch in winter (especially around my veggies) because it brings in lots of slaters, which then try to nibble my plants. I prefer lupin mulch to basically all other mulches as it breaks down quickly, holds onto moisture and helps to build a heathy topsoil layer in my garden much faster than the chunkier, woodier mulches. It also adds nitrogen into the soil as it decomposes, making it a valuable source of plant food.

As far as soil goes, that’s really it.

I don’t believe the hype around rock dust, foliar sprays or most of the other products for sale at garden centres. Gardening is a massive industry and - like any other industry - exists to convince people to buy a near-infinite list of products that may or may not make a difference to the health of their plants.

For the last 3 or so years, all I’ve added to our garden is clay, manure and mulch (and, of course, a fiscally irresponsible number of plants) and I’m convinced those are the three things that give you the biggest bang for your buck.

Perth’s best garden centres

So. Your soil is now healthy, you’ve got a good picture of Perth’s climatic conditions and what plants best suit them, now you need to actually get your hands on those plants! Here are my favourite garden centres in our salty little city. No doubt there are countless others that don’t appear on this list, but these are the ones I’ve personally been to and liked, and I hope you like them too!

Advanced Plant Nursery: Looking for trees for your garden? The advanced plant nursery has a pretty good range and is worth checking out if you’re in the market for something big and leafy!

APACE WA: A plant nursery specialising in native tubestock with plenty of great endemic species.

Boyanup Botanical: Another one to visit if you’re in the south west - they sell a nice range of native plants.

Creation Landscape Supplies: Nice range of indoor plants and a great place to go for hard landscaping materials, edging and less expensive soil products (I’ve previously bought their soil mixes when needing to fill up large sections of garden, but I usually add more manure to it as I suspect it needs a bit of boosting for really healthy plants)

Ezi-Gro Orchids: Such a cool place with an incredible range of orchids and a beautiful koi pond. Well worth a visit!

Guildford Garden Centre: This is my favourite of all of Perth’s garden centres. Such a good range of plants, especially for cottage gardens! They also have a great range of bare rooted fruit trees in winter.

Hillview Garden Centre: If you find yourself in the southwest (more specifically, near Bridgetown) you HAVE to visit this garden centre! They have an ever-changing and endlessly interesting range of semi-rare plants (especially salvias) which I haven’t found anywhere else.

Miaflora Garden Centre: Has a lovely range and a gorgeous gift store and cafe!

Poste Garden Design Centre and Cafe: A really cute little garden centre/cafe with pretty plants and (possibly even more importantly) delicious cakes! Right next to Guildford Garden Centre too, so if you’re in the area be sure to visit both!

Zerascapes: A great nursery in North Fremantle specialising in succulents.

More Plant Shopping (Online)

In addition to spending all of your savings at garden nurseries, you also have the option of spending anything that remains online! These are the websites I regularly buy seeds and bulbs from (careful - they are highly addictive!!!)

The Seed Collection: These folks sell smaller quantities of seeds in little plastic pouches. The pouches are kind of annoying because once you cut them open you can’t seal them up again, but these are all ways that the owners have found to help sell the seeds at much lower prices, and I do appreciate the bargain.

Happy Valley Seeds: These guys have a fab range and are very affordable (they also sell fewer seeds per packet, enabling them to offer lower prices)

The Diggers Club: Old faithful Diggers club obviously needs a mention! Although their seeds cost a little more I do love the informative packaging. They have a brilliant range (especially if you’re a member) and they’ve always served me well. You can buy plants as well as seed from Diggers, but it’s a bit hit and miss and sometimes the plants can be fatally damaged during shipping and quarantine. I stick mostly to ordering seeds.

Tesselaar: Although Tesselaar sells a range of different plants (like hydrangeas, daisies and other cottage garden perennials) I only use them for ordering bulbs that won’t get damaged during shipping.

Eden Seeds: Similar to diggers - another good one with plenty of varieties!

Where to next?

To your garden, of course! I hope this guide has left you with a sense of hope for your garden. I promise you that with the right ingredients for your soil, some reliable irrigation, a whole lotta manure, wisely chosen plants and a bit of good old fashioned patience, even sandy dry Perth can produce some absolutely glorious gardens.

Get stuck in, and yours will be one of them.

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