Even if you only have an indoor garden, you can still go native. In fact, two of our favourite indoor plants are Aussie classics – the Kentia Palm (native to Lord Howe Island) and the native bird’s nest fern, Aspleniumaustralasicum, which is native to the east coast of Australia. There is a native Maidenhair fern (Adiantum aethiopicum) which grows well in brightly lit spots inside or shaded outdoor areas. Other natives worth growing indoors are the Moreton Bay Chestnut (Castenospermumaustrale) sometimes sold with its ‘bean’ sitting proud in the pot, and Staghorns – the fabulous epiphytic fern that’s right on trend and perfect for kokedama balls or mounted on wooden rounds on the wall like living trophies.
If you have a sunny balcony, you can’t go past grevilleas. Grevilleas are flower non-stop, attract birds and bees (even up high – naturally bees live about three storeys up), and are great in containers. They also are beautiful cut flowers, so you can enjoy them indoors for up to a week in a vase.