Blogs

Did anyone watch Gardening Australia a few months ago when Millie Ross made those beautiful herb baskets? Well I did, and I have thought about that idea for ages. I loved the idea of creating something that was alive and beautiful! But also portable, maybe rather than herbs, it could be natives? 

When I was asked for our regional gathering to be part of decorating the room, I thought it would be the perfect place to showcase what our local community and landcare nurseries are growing. Of course, the issue is how to display what they are growing in a way that is easy to transport but also looked good. Then I realised it was the perfect opportunity to create baskets showing all the local plants grown at our local community and landcare nurseries! 

I wanted them to mimic what you might see on a bushwalk (because that's something else I love to do!). So I rumaged through our garage and pulled out all my cane baskets from past events. I picked up 100 tubestock natives from our local community nursery at Lithgow and drove home to get creative. 

How I made them:

• A cane basket (approx. 200–300mm deep)
• Plastic liner (with drainage holes)
• Good quality potting mix for Native plants
• A mix of native plants suited to our local environment

Method:

• We lined each basket with plastic to prevent soil from washing out. 
• Cut drainage holes in the liner - otherwise, you’ll waterlog your plants. 
• Fill your baskets with a good native plant potting mix. 
• Arrange your plants with the taller species in the back and lower-growing or spreading varieties around the edge. 
• Once planted, water them in. 

I am not keeping them in the baskets forever; I am now in the process of planting them in my garden! 

Here is the list of what I planted:

• Grevillea arenaria – Spider Flower
• Callistemon citrinus – Crimson Bottlebrush
• Callistemon linearis – Narrow-leaved Bottlebrush
• Acacia decora – Western Golden Wattle
• Telopea speciosissima – NSW Waratah
• Allocasuarina nana – Dwarf She-oak
• Lomatia myricoides – River Lomatia
• Leptospermum macrocarpum – Lithgow Flower
• Chrysocephalum apiculatum – Common Everlasting / Yellow Buttons
• Brachyscome sp. – Native Daisy
• Celmisia sp. aff. longifolia – Snow Daisy
• Dianella revoluta – Flax Lily
• Lomandra longifolia – Spiny-headed Mat-rush
• Ficinia nodosa – Knobby Club Sedge
• Prostanthera saxicola – Mint Bush