A book on Noosa’s native plants, ‘Flowering Now’, written by Stephanie Haslam will assist local residents to create gardens that reflect the natural environment and encourage native wildlife and all proceeds from sales of the book will go back to conservation.
The publication highlights the natural vegetation on the Sunshine Coast, from coastal beaches, wallum heathland to mangroves protecting the estuary, up the rivers, through paperbark woodlands and eucalypt forests, to patches of shady rainforest and bare rocky mountains.
In her book Stephanie, a Noosa Integrated Catchment Association member, guides readers to find different plant groups, set out in 10 broad vegetation communities, in different conditions of climate, aspect and underlying geology.
The book covers some of the more common plants, but by no means all. It is an overview of the more obvious ones – those you might recognise in your own garden, notice in local landscaping or see in the bush.
Learning the plants and where they occur naturally will help gardeners make choices for their own gardens.
And don’t forget the birdbath, out of reach of the cats. Water at ground level, food and shelter are the essentials of a wildlife friendly garden.
Stephanie says big trees such as eucalypts may be too large for small urban gardens but they are essential for our wildlife, providing food and shelter and nesting hollows that form as they age. They can be enjoyed in the bush and their protection supported by the community
Flowering Now can be purchased from Noosa Integrated Catchment, via #noosariver.com.au, at Berkelouw Books, Annies Books and the Pomona Hub.
Noosa Integrated Catchment Association, a not-for-profit community group, is dedicated to conservation and the sustainable use of the Noosa River Catchment.
