Small native plants can do big things.
They can add colour, feed insects, make seeds, and help create little patches of habitat at home.
These plants can grow in pots, garden beds, habitat gardens, and some nature strips where planting is allowed.
There are different ways to plant. Please check your council rules, local native plants nursery, do your own research and choose a method that works for you.
Before You Plant
- Choose a sunny or partly sunny spot.
- Use soil that drains well.
- Water new plants while they settle in.
- Watch what visits.
You might see bees, butterflies, hoverflies, ladybirds, beetles, tiny spiders, or other small insects.
Blushing Bindweed
Convolvulus angustissimus
Blushing Bindweed is a gentle native creeper with soft pink trumpet flowers.
It can trail along the ground or twine through other small plants.
The flowers open in the morning and close later in the day.
Kids can look for:
- Pink trumpet flowers
- Twining stems
- Seed pods after flowering
- Bees visiting the flowers
Growing notes:
- Likes sun or part shade.
- Grows in well-drained soil.
- Can grow in pots, garden beds or hanging baskets.
Try this:
Watch one flower in the morning and again in the evening. Has it opened or closed?
Little Bluebells
Wahlenbergia gracilis
Little Bluebells have small blue flowers on fine stems.
When lots grow together, they can make a grassy patch look sprinkled with blue.
The flowers often open in sunny weather and close later in the day.
Kids can look for:
- Tiny blue bell flowers
- Fine stems
- Small seed capsules
- Butterflies visiting the flowers
Growing notes:
- Can grow in sun or part shade.
- Can handle different soils if they drain well.
- May die back in dry weather and grow again after rain.
Try this:
Collect dry seed capsules in a paper bag. Shake gently and see how many tiny seeds come out.
Tufted Bluebell
Wahlenbergia capillaris
Tufted Bluebell grows in little clumps.
It has slender stems with soft blue flowers at the ends.
It can grow in sunny spots or under light shade.
Kids can look for:
- Small blue flowers
- A little clump of leaves
- Flowers opening and closing
- New shoots after rain
Growing notes:
- Likes moist, well-drained soil.
- Can grow in sun or shade.
- May rest during hot or dry weather, then grow again.
Try this:
Take a photo in the morning and another in the evening. Do the flowers look different?
Wild Geranium
Pelargonium australe
Wild Geranium is a soft native plant with rounded leaves and pink flowers.
The leaves can feel velvety.
Some people notice a gentle scent when the leaves are rubbed.
Kids can look for:
- Soft leaves
- Pink flowers with darker lines
- Seeds after flowering
- Small insects visiting the plant
Growing notes:
- Likes sun or part shade.
- Grows best in well-drained soil.
- Can grow in pots, garden beds and habitat gardens.
Try this:
Gently rub a leaf and smell your fingers. What does it remind you of?
Golden Billy Buttons
Pycnosorus chrysanthus
Golden Billy Buttons look like tiny yellow pom-poms on long stems.
Each round flower head is made of many tiny flowers packed together.
They are bright, cheerful and fun to watch.
Kids can look for:
- Round yellow button flowers
- Tall upright stems
- Narrow leaves along the stems
- Bees, hoverflies and butterflies visiting
Growing notes:
- Likes full sun.
- Grows in well-drained soil.
- Can grow in heavier soils too.
- Flowers mostly in spring and summer.
Try this:
Look closely at one flower head. Can you see the tiny flowers that make up the button?
What Can Kids Do with Native Plants?
- Watch insects visit the flowers.
- Draw the plant.
- Take a photo each week.
- Collect seeds with an adult.
- Press flowers or leaves for art.
- Make a mini habitat diary.
Ask:
- What changed this week?
- What flowered?
- What insects visited?
- Did the plant make seeds?
A Quick Note About Eating Plants
Some native plants have edible parts, but only eat plants if a trusted adult knows the plant is safe, clean, correctly identified, and has not been sprayed.
When in doubt, do not eat it.
Grow a Mini Habitat
You do not need a big garden.
A pot, a small garden bed, or a nature strip patch can still help.
Plant it.
Care for it.
Watch what visits.
See our Contact page to get in touch.