Landscape management at home
There are many ways you can get involved in landscape management at home.
Plant a local native garden
Local native species are plants that would naturally occur in your area. These have a range of benefits, including:
- low maintenance
- drought tolerance
- minimal watering requirements
- providing food and shelter for local fauna.
Planting local native species in your garden is a way of increasing bushland connectivity.
Non-native plants in your garden can potentially ‘jump the fence’ and become problematic environmental weeds in your neighbourhood.
Planting information
- Planting native seedlings fact sheet
- Coastal gardens – a planting guide for the Northern and Yorke coastal region
- A planting guide for mid-north gardens
- Native plant propagation
- Native plant identification
- Native plant seed collection
- Native gardens
- Threatened plant species of the southern Yorke Peninsula
- Greening Australia
Planting a fire-resistant garden
Backyards for wildlife
Contrary to popular belief, native plants can be attractive, with various shapes, colours and densities, and with the right species you can have a flowering garden all year round. They are easier to grow than introduced plants and are better for the environment, providing habitat for native birds, butterflies and lizards. They are also naturally adapted to suit our conditions, being low maintenance, drought tolerant, requiring minimal water and no fertilisers or pesticides.
Check out the Creating a wildlife friendly garden booklet and Designing a native garden fact sheet. These resources describe how to create habitat to attract native animals into your backyard.
Alternative native garden design fact sheets are also available for:
Further information
- Native plant nurseries list
- Establishing a native garden fact sheet
- Using landscape elements fact sheet
- Encouraging birds fact sheet
- Bringing butterflies back fact sheet
- Frog friendly gardens fact sheet
- Creating a home for lizards fact sheet
- Sharing the garden with possums fact sheet
- Supporting native fish fact sheet
- Nesting boxes fact sheet
- Environmental weeds
- Local native vegetation maps (requires Adobe Flash Player)
- Common Native Grasses: a South Australian regional guide
Flying foxes
If you notice a new colony of flying foxes (also known as fruit bats) roosting in your neighbourhood during the day for several consecutive days, please email wildlife@sa.gov.au with their location. You can also report any other opportunistic sightings of flying foxes via iNaturalist. To find out more, read this article: Everything you need to know about South Australian flying foxes.
Living with wildlife
Native animals are wild animals, whether they live in natural areas, such as parks and reserves, or in our own back yards. We encourage a living with wildlife approach to sharing your home with wildlife such as birds, lizards, frogs and more.
Be water wise
Check out SA Water for tips on saving water around your home and in your garden.