Gardening

Environmentally friendly gardens

Indigenous plants

Attract native birds and animals to your garden and enhance our natural vegetation by planting indigenous grasses, rushes, lilies, trees and shrubs. Indigenous plants are adapted to local conditions because they have grown in the local area for thousands of years.

List of local nurseries

Sustainable Gardening booklet(PDF, 9MB)

For more information and to obtain a copy of the Sustainable Gardening booklet, contact our Environmental Services team on 9747 7200.

Composting and mulching

Using mulch on your garden beds helps your garden retain moisture. Mulch along with other water-saving techniques can cut outdoor water use by up to 50%.

Growing your own vegetables

Vegetable growing has good impacts on our health and the environment. Community education sessions on vegetable growing, worm farming and related topics are provided by Council as part of the Community Education Programs.

For current sessions or more information, contact our Environmental Services team on 9747 7200. The Learning Directory is available at customer service. There are also several garden groups that are active in City of Melton.

Raingardens

A raingarden resembles a regular garden except that it has a layer of sandy soil beneath. A residential raingarden is a garden that receives stormwater (rainwater) from hard surfaces such as a roof (via a downpipe) and paved areas. The raingarden is planted with a combination of native shrubs and grasses that filter the pollutants from stormwater (rainwater) that would otherwise flow to our rivers and creeks.

For more information visit Melbourne Water or contact our Environmental Services team on 9747 7200.