Now I was enjoying today's sunshine that Melburnians hanker for, after, what for us has been a real winter (with nights where it's got down to four degrees or less... ouch - that is cold for us, and our houses weren't designed to take such low temperatures). I was out there planting a new grevillea, and I noticed how the Libertia peregrinans is simply taking over the garden (and will post a photo here shortly). It's a strappy plant found commonly in nurseries, emanating from New Zealand, that is drought tolerant, and pretty, but not being native to this country, one needs to bear in mind that these exotics have a habit of taking over! I also read that this species is under threat in New Zealand, so may be it's encoded in its genes that when it gets to a new country that it should go forth and populate. Don't ever rely on nurseries to be mindful of weedy plants unless they are certified with someone like Sustainable Gardening Australia! Weedy plants are for sale and widespread in nurseries.So, it pays to look up the weediness habit of exotics before you plant them (in more extreme cases they are known as invasive species), because you will end up paying with all the cutting back you will need to do, and also the constant digging up of those self-seeded stalks, as I'm finding all over the blooming garden.
And weeds are not supportive of bio-diversity as they compete for water, soil, nutrients and light against all the good guys, which means the plants that would help sustain the wildlife may be placed in jeopardy. Indeed, I was watching the 7.30 report and the wombat is dying out in this country merely because the onion weed has spread and is outnumbering the natural grasses, so it's diet is disappearing. A good cause to support.
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