Giant Rush
The Giant Rush is a colossal, specialized native wetland perennial that forms massive, structural clumps of thick, dark-green reed-like stems growing 2 to 3 meters tall. Uniquely adapted to wet environments, its robust root system thrives in waterlogged mud, permanent standing water, and heavy clay that receive lots of water, making it a critical choice for farm dam stabilization, wetland borders, and large-scale water bird habitats[cite: 27]. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot Watering: Lots Best for: Privacy / Wildlife Height: Very Large (>3m)
Gold-dust Wattle
The Gold-dust Wattle is a hardy, sprawling native shrub that typically grows between 1 and 2.5 meters tall. In late winter and spring, it erupts into a spectacular display of bright golden-yellow, ball-shaped flowers that coat its arching branches, looking like a dusting of gold. It is highly drought and frost-tolerant, thrives in well-drained soil and full sun, and serves as an excellent habitat and food source for native insects and birds. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Pot outside Watering: Minimal Best for: Flowers & colour / Wildlife Height: Large (1-3m)
Golden Wattle
As Australias official floral emblem, the Golden Wattle grows as a small tree or large shrub between 3 and 8 meters tall. It has glossy green, sickle-shaped leaves and puts on an unmatched display of large, fragrant, golden-yellow ball-shaped flower clusters from late winter into spring. It is fast-growing, highly drought-hardy, and excellent for bringing a burst of national color and local pollinators to your garden. Where will it live: Sunny garden Watering: Minimal Best for: Flowers & colour / Wildlife / Fragrance Height: Very Large (>3m)
Gosford Wattle
The Gosford Wattle is a tall, elegant shrub or tree growing anywhere from 5 to 10 meters high, featuring beautiful grey-green foliage with a distinct silvery underside. It flowers heavily in spring, bearing masses of small, sweetly scented, pale-yellow flower heads. Its tall, upright, and bushy form makes it spectacular for establishing a high privacy screen or windbreak on larger blocks. Where will it live: Sunny garden Watering: Some Best for: Privacy / Wildlife / Fragrance Height: Very Large (>3m)
Gossamer Wattle
This fast-growing, heavy-blooming wattle quickly grows into a dense, bushy small tree or large shrub ranging from 4 to 8 meters tall. It produces a massive quantity of pale yellow, cylindrical flower spikes during spring that release a light, pleasant fragrance. Its thick, bushy, and sprawling growth habit makes it a fantastic visual barrier for privacy, and birds love nesting safely within its branches. Where will it live: Sunny garden Watering: Some Best for: Privacy / Wildlife / Fragrance Height: Very Large (>3m)
Grampians Thryptomene
The Grampians Thryptomene is an exceptionally beautiful, fine-textured native shrub growing 1.5 to 2.5 meters tall, heavily prized globally for cut-flower arrangements. Its tiny, closely overlapping green leaves release a sweet spicy aroma when crushed. From late autumn all the way through winter, its long arching branches become completely smothered in a dense, snowy white cloud of small star flowers that mature to a soft pink. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Pot outside Watering: Minimal Best for: Flowers & colour / Fragrance / Wildlife Height: Large (1-3m)
Grass Trigger-plant
The Grass Trigger-plant is a fascinating native perennial herb forming a neat, architectural tuft of narrow, grass-like dark green leaves under 20cm high. In spring and summer, it shoots up tall, dark red flower spikes up to 40cm to 60cm tall, densely packed with bright pink flowers featuring a unique, spring-loaded touch-sensitive trigger mechanism that deposits pollen onto insects. It is perfect for borders or small pots. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot / Pot outside Watering: Some Best for: Flowers & colour / Wildlife Height: Medium (30cm-1m)
Green Mallee
The Green Mallee is a tough, specialized multi-stemmed shrub or small tree growing between 3 and 5 meters tall. It features dark, rough bark at the base and a dense, broom-like canopy of ultra-fine, narrow, dark-green linear leaves that create a dense, fine-textured appearance. In summer, it shoots up delicate clusters of white flowers that attract native bees, offering unparalleled resistance to extreme summer heat and severe drought along fence lines[cite: 23]. Where will it live: Sunny garden Watering: Minimal Best for: Privacy / Wildlife Height: Very Large (>3m)
Grey Honey-myrtle
The Grey Honey-myrtle is an exceptionally beautiful, weeping native shrub growing 2 to 3 meters tall, named for its soft visual texture and color. Its slender, cascading pendulous branches are heavily clothed in tiny, ultra-fine velvet leaves in a shimmering silver-grey color, topped with a profuse spring display of small, soft sulfur-yellow terminal flower clusters. It handles extended dry spells with ease, forming a soft, decorative privacy screen. Where will it live: Sunny garden Watering: Minimal Best for: Privacy / Flowers & colour / Wildlife Height: Large (1-3m)
Grey Tussock Grass
Grey Tussock Grass is a tough, versatile native perennial grass forming neat, compact, fine-textured tufts of very narrow, wire-like grey-green blades up to 30cm to 50cm high. It produces delicate, airy green-to-straw flower spikes in spring. It behaves as an outstanding low-maintenance workhorse for poor, rocky, or shallow clay soils, handling extended dry spells with ease under large trees or on baked embankments. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot Watering: Minimal Best for: Wildlife Height: Medium (30cm-1m)
Hairpin Banksia
The Hairpin Banksia is an exceptionally popular multi-stemmed native shrub growing about 1.5 to 2.5 meters tall. It features fine, narrow foliage and bears striking, golden-tan flower cones highlighted by prominent, hooked, purplish-black styles that resemble old-fashioned hairpins. Flowering heavily through autumn and winter, it thrives in well-drained soils in full sun or partial shade, and makes an excellent container or border plant. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot / Pot outside Watering: Minimal Best for: Flowers & colour / Wildlife Height: Large (1-3m)
Hairy Sweet Bursaria
The Hairy Sweet Bursaria is a hardy, rigid native shrub growing 1.5 to 2.5 meters tall, named for the fine, downy hairs on its small leaves and young stems. In summer, it produces dense, showy clusters of sweetly fragrant white flowers followed by attractive, bronze handbag-shaped seed pods. Its slightly spiny branches make it an exceptional security hedge or privacy screen that provides safe bird-nesting habitats. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot Watering: Minimal Best for: Privacy / Wildlife / Flowers & colour / Fragrance Height: Large (1-3m)
Hairy Wattle
The Hairy Wattle is an incredibly beautiful, weeping shrub that grows up to 3 meters tall and 4 meters wide. It features soft, velvety, downy-haired blue-green leaves and produces long, arching cascading branches loaded with bright golden flowers in spring. Its massive, dense, weeping footprint makes it an exceptional choice for ground cover on steep slopes or a wide privacy screen. Where will it live: Sunny garden Watering: Minimal Best for: Flowers & colour / Privacy / Wildlife Height: Very Large (>3m)
Handsome Flat-pea
True to its name, the Handsome Flat-pea is an exceptionally beautiful native understory shrub growing 60cm to 1 meter tall with a loose, scrambling habit. It features highly distinct, tough, heart-shaped green leaves with prominent wire-like veins, highlighted by a stunning spring display of large, high-contrast pea-shaped flowers in a brilliant mix of canary-yellow and deep crimson-red. It thrives beautifully in partial or dappled shade. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot Watering: Some Best for: Flowers & colour / Wildlife Height: Medium (30cm-1m)
Heath Parrot-pea
The Heath Parrot-pea is a small, rugged, and heavily branched native shrub that typically grows between 30cm and 80cm high. It features highly distinct, tiny, twisted green leaves that have a rough texture, and it bears highly dense, showy terminal clusters of bright yellow-orange and crimson pea flowers in late spring. It is exceptionally drought-hardy, thriving in poor, sandy, or stony soils in open positions. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot Watering: Minimal Best for: Flowers & colour / Wildlife Height: Medium (30cm-1m)
Hill Wallaby Grass
Hill Wallaby Grass is a tough, specialized native perennial grass forming tight, fine-textured tufts of very narrow, wire-like deep green blades up to 30cm to 60cm high. It is highly valued for its elegant, airy spring-and-summer display of fluffy white seed clusters that shimmer beautifully in the sun. Thriving naturally on dry, rocky ridges and sun-baked slopes, it provides excellent erosion control on steep property banks. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot Watering: Minimal Best for: Wildlife Height: Medium (30cm-1m)
Honey-pots
Honey-pots is a small, ground-hugging native shrub that grows less than 30cm high, featuring sharp, dull green leaves. It gets its unique common name from the tiny, translucent, tube-like flowers that cluster hidden along its old wood in winter, which overflow with a thick, intensely sweet, edible nectar. It naturally thrives as an understory plant in cool, shaded, well-drained spots. Where will it live: Shady spot Watering: Some Best for: Wildlife / Flowers & colour Height: Small (<30cm)
Hop Bitter Pea
The Hop Bitter Pea is a robust, erect native shrub reaching 1.5 to 2.5 meters in height, distinguished by its large, leathery, prominently veined green leaves that look like eucalyptus foliage but feature uniquely crinkled margins. In spring, it produces long, showy sprays of bright yellow and reddish-brown pea flowers along its stems. It is highly drought and frost-hardy, adapting easily to poor, gravelly soils in full sun or partial shade. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot Watering: Minimal Best for: Flowers & colour / Wildlife Height: Large (1-3m)
Kangaroo Grass
Kangaroo Grass is an iconic, highly characterful native perennial tussock grass forming structural clumps of soft, linear green blades up to 50cm to 90cm high. It completely distinguishes itself by its seasonal color shifts: in summer and autumn, the foliage and its large, airy arching flower spikes transition into a rich, glowing copper-brown to deep burgundy-red color, providing outstanding texture and habitat for wildlife. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot Watering: Minimal Best for: Wildlife Height: Medium (30cm-1m)
Kangaroo Thorn
Kangaroo Thorn is a heavily branched, extremely dense shrub growing 2 to 3 meters tall, heavily armed with small, sharp spines along its stems. In spring, it is highly decorative as it becomes covered in bright golden-yellow flower spheres. Its thorny structure makes it an unrivaled security hedge or privacy barrier, and it serves as the ultimate protective sanctuary for small native birds looking to escape predators. Where will it live: Sunny garden Watering: Minimal Best for: Flowers & colour / Privacy / Wildlife Height: Large (1-3m)
Kanuka
The Kanuka is a robust, fast-growing large native shrub or small tree growing 3 to 5 meters high, featuring a tight canopy of narrow green leaves and a beautiful weeping form with peeling papery bark. In summer, it puts on an unforgettable, breathtaking display, completely blanketing the entire tree in a massive, snowy white cloud of small honey-scented flowers that drive bees into a frenzy, perfect for privacy screens[cite: 27]. Where will it live: Sunny garden / Shady spot Watering: Some Best for: Privacy / Wildlife / Flowers & colour Height: Very Large (>3m)
Kurrajong
The Kurrajong is a highly resilient, broad-canopied native tree growing 5 to 12 meters tall, featuring a distinctive swollen, water-storing trunk and glossy green foliage. It produces clusters of creamy-white, bell-shaped flowers speckled with red inside, followed by large, boat-shaped woody seed pods. It is exceptionally drought-hardy, famously used as an emergency drought feed for stock, and makes a magnificent, long-lived shade or windbreak tree. Where will it live: Sunny garden Watering: Minimal Best for: Privacy / Wildlife Height: Very Large (>3m)
Lemon-scented Tea-tree
The Lemon-scented Tea-tree is a magnificent, fast-growing small tree growing 4 to 6 meters tall, famous for its intense fragrance. Its long, narrow copper-green leaves are completely packed with essential oils, releasing an incredibly powerful, clean, and intense citrus-lemon aroma when brushed against or crushed. It features a dense canopy and weeping branches filled with white flowers in summer, acting as an elite privacy screen or hedge. Where will it live: Sunny garden Watering: Minimal Best for: Privacy / Fragrance / Wildlife Height: Very Large (>3m)
Lightwood
Lightwood is a long-lived, hardy native tree that grows between 5 and 10 meters tall, closely resembling the Blackwood tree. It produces cream-colored flower balls during summer, a time when most other wattles have finished blooming, providing an important out-of-season food source for insects. It is exceptionally tough, handles harsh, dry conditions well, and is ideal for shade or acreage windbreaks. Where will it live: Sunny garden Watering: Minimal Best for: Privacy / Wildlife Height: Very Large (>3m)