Leschenault Catchment Council releases one-stop gardening guide to ‘keep it local’ for South West region

A brand new guide all about the native plants local to the South West area was released last week, giving gardeners a better understanding of native gardening.

The Leschenault Catchment Council launched its Keeping it Local gardening guide on Thursday, with a celebratory party at the Old Lyric in Bunbury.

The booklet contains information about hundreds of native plants from across the South West, giving tips for gardening success.

The LCC developed the guide with the cities of Bunbury and Busselton and shires of Harvey, Capel, Collie and Dardanup, as part of the Estuary Connect Program with funding from Lotterywest and Water Corporation.

LCC community engagement officer Rachel Allan said the group had been working with local governments, ecologists and nurseries to develop the guide over the past year.

“This booklet is packed with additional resources to help you create a beautiful, biodiverse space for the benefit of yourself and the environment,” she said.

LCC biodiversity program manager Katrina Zeehandelaar-Adams said she was honoured to bring the new resource to the community.

“This booklet is really all about highlighting the importance of native vegetation and how we can benefit our local biodiversity by planting natives into our own backyards and properties,” she said.

Ms Zeehandelaar-Adams said the booklet contained more than 350 native plant species all of which were local to the South West, giving gardeners a “one-stop-shop” when wanting to develop a native garden.

She gave special mention to the individual environmental officers from the six local governments who gave their expertise developing the resource.

Australian botanist Professor Kingsley Dixon presented at the launch event and spoke about the importance of native plants in local environments.

“We now just have 30 per cent of the South West’s flora remaining,” he said.

“Working in the bush is always a humbling experience. You always walk away reminded why growing local is so important.”

Digital copies of the Keeping it Local gardening guide can be found on the LCC’s website.