36 MAY 2019 GARDENING AUSTRALIA
OVER THE FENCE
REALISING A DREAM
Eleanor’s interest in native plants began
in the 1970s. Then, while living in the US
during the 80s, and feeling nostalgic for
Australia, she resolved that she would
one day create her own native garden.
Soon after purchasing her Melbourne
property in 1990, Eleanor joined the
Australian Plants Society (APS) and
began developing her dream. However,
it wasn’t until 2002, after she finally
removed a venerable mature pin oak
(Quercus palustris), that the south-facing
front garden really started taking shape.
“I had struggled with extreme dryness,
very dense shade and hundreds of oak
seedlings that emerged each spring,” she
remembers. Ironically, Eleanor found that
she was able to easily plant into the heavy
clay soil, due to its improvement from
years of fallen oak leaves.
An existing callistemon, lillypilly and a
bushy yate (Eucalyptus conferruminata)
helped set the scene until Eleanor’s
numerous additions matured, eventually
creating the shady haven it is today.
GARDENING BUDDIES
When Debbie and her husband Michael
purchased their home across the road
in 2002, the garden was typical of that
surrounding a California bungalow – lawn,
camellias, Iceberg roses and a pittosporum
hedge. She hated the garden but didn’t
know what she wanted... until that fateful
day! “I’d never considered native plants,
but walking through Eleanor’s front gate,
something triggered in my brain and
I knew that that was what I wanted.”
Debbie asked for Eleanor’s help, but
wasn’t yet ready to commit to the change.
Instead, she too joined the APS, and over
the following years, the gardening buddies
visited many native gardens and nurseries
together. “In the car, Debbie would say,
‘I’m going to do it – I’m going to have a
native garden!’” laughs Eleanor.