Choose the right plants for your garden | Garden design and inspiration | Gardening Australia

There are so many plants to choose from at this nursery and some of them are so hard to resist. But when it comes to buying plants, I think you best make a plan and stick with it so you get the best plants for your garden. So I'm going to share with you some of my top tips for choosing the right plants. Firstly, know your conditions. It's so important to research the conditions that your plants will have to cope with to thrive. Your garden will have a local climate, Now, my garden in the Adelaide Hills experiences severe frost. And while I'd love to buy some of these colourful tropical hibiscus, they're never going to survive through the cold frost of winter in the hills. Of course, Adelaide also has hot, dry summers and my garden in the hills is actually hotter and drier than other parts of the hills. So I'm going to choose plants I know I'll have success with, like Cystis or Rock Rose, Myrtus communis, known as the common myrtle, or Chucreum fruticans, known as Jumanda. So I know it can be tough, but try not to have your head turned by the three Fs. Flowers, foliage and fragrance. Do your research first so you don't waste time and money on plants that won't thrive in your garden. Next, know your soil type. Getting familiar with your soil is just as important as knowing your conditions. If your area is known for having heavy, poorly drained soil and you buy plants that need really free-draining soils, they're unlikely to thrive, unless, of course, you modify the soil. Chamaloceums, which includes Geraldton waxes, are adapted to the sandy soils of Western Australia. So if you plant it into poorly drained soil, chances are it will only survive a year or so in heavy waterlogged clay. So it really is worthwhile doing your research before you go plant buying. My third tip is know your natives. It's a trap to assume that just because it's native, it will grow easily. Australia is large and soil types vary. Like the waxes, Banksias are highly desired but often disappoint, as many prefer free-draining soils. These days, most nurseries have a good supply of local indigenous plants. These are plants adapted to the local soils and conditions in your area. Some natives will grow in a range of conditions, but the best plants to choose are ones that you know will thrive in your area once established without intervention. Healthy plants growing in ideal conditions are less likely to become diseased and stunted and shouldn't require much pampering. My next tip is right plant, right place. Now, this is a mantra that every gardener should chant before they step into the nursery. This is a beautiful fernry, but of course, most ferns will burn in full sun. So keep reminding yourself, location, location, location. And before you buy a plant, make sure you know where you're gonna plant it. Every garden will have many different microclimates. A dry shady spot, a sheltered moist spot, a hot west-facing front wall, a dry area that's all bare under trees, or even a hot front yard. Buying a sun lover, such as a rose, to plant in a shady spot isn't going to work. If you position a plant best suited to full sun in the shade, whether it be a lavender, a rose or a geranium, one of its first responses is to become leggy. As the plant's growth stretches for the light, the cell walls become thinner, and that makes the plant more susceptible to pest and disease problems. And finally, don't forget to do your research. Labels are a great place to start, and they do contain valuable information. But bear in mind that the labels are often generic and written for the whole of Australia. So always check your plant choices with the staff at your local nursery. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to ignore the height and width requirements of their plant. Do you have your heart set on citrus in your backyard but only have limited space? Well, there are a number of citrus grafted onto dwarf fruit stalks, but varieties like this Wolfe Valencia still get to 2.5 metres high. Well, I've seen some pretty tempting plants here today, but I've stuck to my plan. I reckon I've got the right plants for the right places in my garden. So do your research, and you'll end up with plants that not only survive, they thrive.