What does a seaside garden have to do with the film Australia?

Recently, behind the dunes on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, I was shown a new house being built for a young man who intends renting it out. The subject got around to water – as it always seems to around me - and his parents’ belief that he had to landscape wisely, because of budget constraints and also, “Because the tenants won’t water.”

We agreed that a low maintenance, tenant friendly garden was vital. Imagine their surprise when I recommended landscaping for local biodiversity, which is a posh way of saying grow the plants that were growing here before white people came along and bulldozed them to make suburbs. The paths behind the dunes revealed a huge variety of ideal plants which have thrived in the local weather conditions for millenia. His parents were surprisingly unaware of these treasures, even though they had lived in the district all their lives.

Many of these plants are easy to propagate, which is creative, cheaper and fun. His parents live nearby and enjoy propagating, a great solution. A recent foray in my Brisbane suburb yielded a fist full of seeds from a sarsparella vine which had been covered in purple flowers in spring, the very best specimen I have ever seen. I simply tossed the seed pods onto a bare spot in the garden and forgot about them. A few storms later there were a clutch of wee seedlings. It’s that easy.

Of course, no garden is complete without some kitchen herbs. The soil behind the dunes is sandy and won’t retain moisture, so sustainable water management becomes vital. Not to worry, an easy solution is at hand. After a southerly blow there is plenty of pumice on the beach, along the high water line. Ground up into a coarse power, pumice is a wonderful wetting agent, one which has been used along the Nile River in Egypt for thousands of years.

I realized that I was more blessed than his parents, because years ago my awareness was heightened by a walk through this country with Nurden Serico, whose mother was one of the stolen generation from Coolum. Anyone who has seen the film Australia will understand the term “stolen generation”. As we walked, Nurden shared his knowledge of bush tucker, as well as his love for country, and asked, “The earth, She is so beautiful, why would anyone want to harm Her?”

The plants whose names I recall are:
Dianella has tiny blue and yellow flowers followed by vivid blue berries which are great bush tucker.
Midjum is a great bush tucker shrub
Hibertia, or golden guinea flower, flowers all year, is shrubby or will climb.
Carpobrotus, a ground cover, has cerise flowers which contrast beautifully with the hibertia.
Various ornamental grasses, along with the hibertia and dianella, encourage the fairy wrens.
Hovea, a shrub, flowers in late winter and early spring. I collect the seeds in Oct and love to hear them pop on the first really hot dry windy day. They literally explode out of their tiny pods. Good fun, though a bit of a shock the first time it happens.
Swamp lily, or beach lily, has prolific spidery white flowers and is easy to grow from seed.
Iris, 3 different types grow in the region
Leptospermum has white flowers in late winter and early spring
Native violets form a great groundcover in shady spots and the flowers are edible
Mitta vine to attract butterflies
Pandanus palm, or screw palm, to create privacy near the BBQ area, is easy to grow from seed. The big golden seed pods are a delight.
Coastal banksia flowers all year.
Casuarinas and banksias ensure plenty of birdlife, including the yellow tailed black cockatoos.
Wattles

The walk was organized by a community group to celebrate the local wildflowers. Your council will have a list of such groups. Resources on the Sunshine Coast include:
www.Noosanativeplants.com.au or Stephanie Haslam’s book of the same name www.maroochycatchmentcentre.org.au for local species, their nurseries and books
www.fairhill.com.au native plant nursery at Yandina

In the light of climate change and critical water shortages globally, there is so much we can learn from our indigenous people about sustainability. It’s time for us all to be custodians of this beautiful planet. Both my book Creating a culture with a reverence for water and screenplay Liquid Assets, a feature film which goes into production in 2009, attempt to share their wisdom.

Wishing everyone a sustainable and peaceful 2009
Barbara Carseldine
23rd January 2009