But without expert guidance, it can be difficult to know where to start. The University of Melbourne has just made the process easier by publishing online guidelines. While the 91-page guidelines are largely geared towards those in the public sphere, they are suitable for anyone wanting to grow such shrubby communities at home.
Woody Meadow Guidelines: Naturalistic plantings of Australian woody plants for people and nature by Associate Professor Claire Farrell, Associate Professor John Rayner and Doctor Rachael Bathgate specifies how to design, plant and maintain these native expanses.
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For home gardeners, one of the most confronting parts of their maintenance regime will be the practice of coppicing. Hard pruning each shrub to a height of only 15 to 30 centimetres above the ground every two to four years is a central part of caring for a woody meadow. It rejuvenates the planting by stimulating new foliage and flowers and it helps retain the diversity across the different shrubs.
But it’s not easy to wrap your head around. Take secateurs, brush cutters or even a chainsaw to your entire woody meadow and it feels like you are losing everything.
“People freak out about coppicing,” Farrell said at a recent symposium to mark 10 years of woody meadow research. “Getting them to do it as hard as it needs to be can be challenging.”
But most Australian woody plants resprout after coppicing and the cutback will pay you back in spades. New shoots appear in the first few weeks and there can even be fresh flowers within a month.
As for which Australian shrubs (and possibly also some subshrubs, climbers and small trees) to choose, the guidelines advise a mix of robust species that are “proven performers” in local landscapes as well as a sprinkling of others that are more experimental. Each woody meadow contains two to three layers (the height of each layer will depend on the site) and you will need to choose plants for each layer.
While at least 12 different species are commonly used in public settings, most home gardeners will settle on fewer species because of space constraints and the fact that each different plant needs to be used multiple times to create repetition across the meadow. But you will fit in more plants than you might expect because of the high density of the planting – six to seven plants per square metre – a measure that helps exclude weeds.
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While irrigation is essential during establishment, by selecting only hardy, drought-tolerant plants, you will not need to irrigate after the first 12 months.
You also won’t have to reapply mulch because woody meadows are planted into a 100-200-millimetre-deep layer of crushed scoria or other inorganic, mineral substrate applied over the top of the soil. This acts as both planting medium and mulch and helps ensure that, for all their high-excitement looks, these plantings remain low-maintenance.
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