Whittlesea's native vegetation

Rural landowners should retain existing locally native vegetation and pastures to preserve habitat and biodiversity links.

There are a large range of plants that are indigenous (locally native) to the City of Whittlesea, and have evolved over thousands of years to suit the local environment.

These indigenous plants provide food and habitat for native animals and contribute to the aesthetics of our rural landscape.

Our city is very diverse in its physical characteristics, which influences the types of vegetation that can occur naturally in any given area. For example, many plants are restricted by their environmental requirements such as soil type, climate, rainfall and topography.

Indigenous plants chosen for your local area can be hardy and reliable and can be used for gardens, habitat and for shelter belts on farms.

If you are interested in planting native vegetation in the City of Whittlesea, download our Indigenous plant list.

Benefits of native pastures

Native pastures, while often overlooked or regarded as inferior quality compared to exotic grasses, provide comparable food value to exotic grasses and tolerate grazing well.

Native pastures also offer the following benefits:

They are drought-resistant, deep rooted and can draw on moisture reserves from deep within the soil profile.
Minimal or no fertiliser is needed by native grass species.
They provide competition against weed invasion and spread.
Many native grasses are summer growing.
They have evolved to tolerate the soil types and environmental conditions of the area.

Wattles of Whittlesea

We have produced a 'Wattles of the City of Whittlesea' booklet to help residents learn about wattles found in the City of Whittlesea.

Over a dozen species of wattle are indigenous to the City of Whittlesea and many other wattle species are commonly grown in gardens.

The booklet covers:

interesting facts about wattles
a detailed identification guide
plenty of photos
plants which are indigenous and those considered environmental weeds in Whittlesea

You can also request a hard copy by calling 9217 2042 or email sustainability@whittlesea.vic.gov.au.

For more photos of wattle species found in the City of Whittlesea, visit the Natureshare website.