Making Your Garden Wildlife-Friendly This Spring

When spring rolls around in Australia, creating a wildlife-friendly garden is one of the best ways to celebrate the season of new beginnings. The scent of fresh blooms and the hum of pollinators remind us that this is a time of renewal. With the right choices, your outdoor space can do more than look good; it can become a sanctuary that supports birds, bees, lizards, and other native creatures, while providing you with a thriving, resilient garden to enjoy all year round.

While it’s easy to joke about Australia being home to the ‘scariest creepy crawlies,’ the reality is much more serious. Many of our unique native species are under increasing threat from urban sprawl, climate change, and habitat destruction. This is where our gardens can make a significant difference. Even a small courtyard, when designed with wildlife in mind, can play a crucial role in preserving our native species.

Creating a wildlife-friendly garden isn’t about having a large backyard or fancy landscaping. It’s making thoughtful, simple changes: planting natives, providing food and water, and encouraging habitats that connect your patch of land to the larger ecosystem around it.

At its heart, a wildlife-friendly garden is about biodiversity —the intricate web of plants, animals, insects, fungi, and microorganisms that sustain healthy ecosystems.

In nature, everything has a role: birds control pests, bees and butterflies pollinate crops and flowers, fungi recycle nutrients into the soil, and native vegetation provides both food and shelter. When this balance is disrupted, the entire system struggles.

Unfortunately, biodiversity in Australia has been under increasing strain. Expanding cities have replaced bushland with concrete, lawns, and exotic species that offer little for local wildlife. 

By designing a wildlife-friendly garden, we not only tip the scales back in nature’s favour but also create a more resilient environment.

These gardens, which are more resistant to pests and often use less water, are alive with movement, colour, and sound. Imagine waking up to the call of honeyeaters or watching butterflies flit between flowers on a warm spring afternoon—that’s the magic of biodiversity at your doorstep.

If you want your garden to hum with life this spring, start with native plants. They’re the foundation of any wildlife-friendly garden because they’re perfectly adapted to local soils and climate.

Not only do they need less water and fewer chemicals, but they also provide precisely the right food and shelter our native species have evolved to depend on.

By choosing these plants, you’re actively contributing to the preservation of local wildlife. Some native all-stars include:

Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos): With its bold flowers, this plant is nectar-rich and irresistible to honeyeaters.

Grevilleas: Flowering almost year-round, they’re a magnet for bees and small birds.

Bottlebrush (Callistemon): Their bright, brushy flowers feed birds, bees, and butterflies.

Banksias: Resilient and iconic, they provide nectar not just for birds, but also for possums.

Westringia (Coastal Rosemary): A hardy shrub that makes an excellent hedge and is loved by pollinators.

For the most effective results, think about planting in layers. Groundcovers, shrubs, and trees together create a variety of habitats, mimicking natural bushland. This layered planting provides shelter for smaller creatures, nesting areas for birds, and continuous sources of food. The result is a lush, diverse, and truly wildlife-friendly garden.

Plants are the foundation, but water and shelter are what turn a garden into a genuine wildlife-friendly haven. After all, every creature needs a safe place to rest and a reliable source of water, especially during dry Australian summers.

Providing these features is a way of showing care and consideration for the creatures that share our environment. Structures and garden features include:

Water Features: A birdbath, frog pond, or even a shallow dish of water can serve as a lifeline for local creatures. Place water sources in shaded spots and keep them topped up and clean.

Shelters: Nesting boxes for birds and bats, insect hotels for beneficial bugs, and hollow logs for lizards or frogs all provide safe spaces that are scarce in built-up areas.

Leaf litter and mulch: A little mess goes a long way. Fallen branches, bark, and leaf litter create microhabitats where insects and lizards thrive, which in turn support the entire food chain.

By adding these simple features, you make your garden not just a stopover, but a home for wildlife, providing them with the essentials they need to survive and thrive.

Pollinators are the powerhouses of a wildlife-friendly garden, and spring is when they’re most active.

Without bees, butterflies, beetles, and even moths, many plants wouldn’t reproduce. That includes not only your flowering shrubs but also your veggie patch and fruit trees.

To attract pollinators:

1. Plant in clusters so that they can move efficiently between flowers.
2. Include plants with staggered flowering times to ensure a steady supply of food is available throughout the year.

3. Avoid pesticides, which often harm pollinators as much as pests.

Native bees are particularly valuable in Australian gardens. Many are solitary and nest in hollow stems or small cavities, so leaving natural materials in your garden makes a huge difference. When pollinators thrive, your entire garden becomes healthier, more productive, and more wildlife-friendly.

Lawns may look tidy, but they don’t do much to support biodiversity. They require a lot of water, contribute little to the food or shelter of wildlife, and often rely on chemicals.

To create a truly wildlife-friendly garden, it’s worth rethinking the traditional green carpet. Consider these alternatives:

1. Native groundcovers, such as dichondra or creeping boobialla, are hardy, low-maintenance, and far more beneficial for wildlife.
   
2. Wildflower meadows: A patch of seasonal blooms supports pollinators and adds a splash of springtime colour.
   
3. Permeable paving or gravel paths: Break up the lawn with pathways framed by planting pockets, creating both structure and habitat.

Even reducing your lawn by a third can transform your garden into a more supportive environment for local wildlife, without sacrificing open space for kids or pets.

If there’s one rule for keeping your garden truly wildlife friendly, it’s this: step away from the chemicals.

Pesticides and herbicides may seem like a quick fix, but they kill beneficial insects alongside pests, disrupt soil life, and leave toxic residues that ripple through the food chain. Instead, try these alternatives:

Plant pest-repelling species, such as marigolds, near your vegetables.

Encourage predatory insects, such as ladybugs and lacewings, or small birds that feed on pests.

3. Use organic sprays (such as neem oil, garlic, or soap) only when necessary and target them carefully.

A wildlife-friendly garden isn’t always perfect; there will be the occasional chewed leaf or damaged flower, but those imperfections are signs of a living, balanced ecosystem at work.

No matter the season, healthy soil is the key to a thriving, wildlife-friendly garden. Without nutrient-rich, living soil, plants struggle, pollinators lose their food sources, and the whole system weakens.

Composting food scraps, garden waste, and even cardboard creates a natural fertiliser that feeds plants without harmful chemicals. This keeps nutrients cycling within your garden, rather than being lost to landfill. 

Pair composting with organic mulches, such as bark, straw, or leaf litter, which improve soil health, retain moisture, regulate temperature, and provide habitat for small creatures like worms, beetles, and fungi.

In Australia’s unpredictable climate, with hot summers, sudden downpours, and dry spells, healthy soil gives your garden resilience, helping it bounce back and stay lush. By focusing on the soil, you’re not just helping your plants; you’re supporting the entire network of life that makes your garden wildlife-friendly.

Here’s the thing: being wildlife-friendly doesn’t mean sacrificing style. On the contrary, some of the most beautiful gardens are also the most ecologically rich.

Picture a winding path lined with wildflowers, buzzing with bees, a birdbath glistening in the sun, or a shaded nook under a flowering banksia; it’s as aesthetically pleasing as it is beneficial.

Even the smallest spaces can make a significant difference. A balcony with a few pots of native plants, a courtyard with an insect hotel, or a small birdbath can provide much-needed resources for wildlife.

When multiplied across neighbourhoods, these efforts create wildlife corridors; green highways that link fragmented habitats and help species move, feed, and survive. This spring, consider your garden not just as a private retreat, but as part of a larger living network. Every wildlife-friendly feature you add connects with something bigger than your own backyar