Going Native - It's not all that scary to be honest

If you want drought tolerant, highly adaptive plants in your garden that encourage native wildlife, it's not that hard to do. You simply just need a little understanding of the needs of the native ecosystem and to replicate it in your backyard.

Adding some native species of plants to your garden helps to provide shelter, food and a place to call home for many of our threatened native birds and fauna.

Something else that you can do to help native wildlife is to not remove trees that have hollows in them. In Australia many native species need tree hollows, including  17 % of bird species, 42 % of mammals and 28 % of reptiles (Gibbons and Lindenmayer 1997). They include bats, possums, gliders, owls, parrots, antechinus, ducks, rosellas and kingfishers as well as numerous species of snakes, frogs and skinks. http://www.wires.org.au/wildlife-info/wildlife-education/tree-hollows-for-wildlife

Knowing what types of plants to plant is the hard part but it is easily overcome with a number of resources out there from local councils and bush regeneration planting groups.

Sydney resources:
https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/plant_info/Plants_for_gardens/growing_native_plants_in_sydney
https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/plant_info/Plants_for_gardens/plants_for_wildlife

Melbourne resources:

www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/DownloadDocument.ashx?DocumentID=7905

Adelaide resources:
http://www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au/adelaidemtloftyranges/plants-and-animals/native-plants-animals-and-biodiversity/urban-biodiversity

Australia wide resources:
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/native.htm
http://anpsa.org.au/links.html
http://anpsa.org.au/links.html#region

Terrific Terrariums - Stylish and great for living areas

I'm so excited to see that terrariums and mossariums are making a come back!! They really are creativity and greenness combined into a jar.

These cute little decorative plants in a glass bowl are somewhat therapeutic to make and last for ages, even if you don't have a green thumb ;) The benefits of incorporating green space into your living areas stack up to be a lot and it's a whole other blog post that I'll need to talk about the benefit that include and aren't limited to health and psychological benefits.

www.apartmenttherapy.com

You can theme your terrarium to be playful or super stylish. There are many different types that you can make and you're only limited by your imagination and creativity. Insert little animal or character figurines into your terrarium to give it that extra life and to make them even more interesting.

Check out this arid bad boy!

Check out some of these DIY Terrarium kits on Better Homes and Gardens website:
http://www.bhgshop.com.au/collections/terrariumsutm_source=bhgboosted&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_content=terra_test&utm_campaign=terrariums

So what are you waiting for? Get your terrarium freak on!

If you would like to attend a class to make some of these, keep an eye out at local craft workshops like Workshop Australia:

 

Check out this hobbit dwelling inspired bonsai: http://imgur.com/mQ0F3UM

http://petitegreen.com.au/index/
http://www.dhub.org/amy-wong-terrarium-maker/
http://www.work-shop.com.au/event/terrariums/

Ecodownunder - Certified organic cotton sheets and bed linen

Ecodownunder is an Australian brand that has certified organic cotton sheets and bed linen at affordable prices and low ecological impact. 

The natural pastel colours are well suited to give style to any bedroom with lush interior beauty.

QUILT COVER | from $49
The new chevron quilt cover is now in stores. 
Available in sea glass or sky blue.
single $49
double $59
queen $69
king $79
cushion cover $10
euro cover $15
available online and in stores.

100% organic cotton which is a natural, renewable and biodegradable fibre. 

It benefits you and the environment by avoiding the harmful effects of toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde and pesticides. 

Cotton has a crisper feel (similar to hotel sheets).

225 thread count using thicker yarn results in a heavy weight fabric.

You can find out more about the Ecodownunder range here: 

http://www.ecodownunder.com/bed/view/productdetails/virtuemart_product_id/5/virtuemart_category_id/9.html