local plants launched

Early last week I went along to the launch of the Local Plants of the Shire of Yarra Ranges at Lillydale Lake. Although the directory was completed in early February, the bushfires set back the official launch date.

The online directory is very easy to use with a very useful link to the Shire's mapping system to work out what vegetation community you live in and what plants are indigenous to your area.


It is an amazing body of work covering over 900 plants in Yarra Ranges, with photos for most of them, an extraordinary effort in itself. Marilyn Gray (ex Curator of Karwarra Gardens) has spent many years compiling the work, tracking down photos of rare species and tirelessly walking around Yarra Ranges to track down various species.

Peter Kinchington photographed most of the plants in the directory and has done a marvellous job capturing plants whilst flowering, their leaf form and their growing habits.

It is a great online resource for anyone wanting to seek out more information about plants in Yarra Ranges, what plant community you live in and what is a suitable street tree for you. For more details including a link to the directory visit my earlier blog entry.

new slant on plants

The Shire of Yarra Ranges is releasing three fantastic online publications on local plants of the Shire.

Yarra Ranges Local Plant Directory
This is a great resource featuring fact sheets for more than 900 species of plants occurring in the Shire. The fact sheets are easy to read with lots of useful information and photos of most plants to allow for species identification. The directory makes it very easy to select the right plant for your garden and contains useful links to plant communities across the Shire.
Click here.

Yarra Ranges Plant Communities Directory
If you want to know what used to grow in your area or what still does grow in your area, this is the directory for you. It contains descriptions of the vegetation communities in the shire and includes a list of plants which occurred in that region as well as a list of generally available plants.
Click here.

Street Tree Directory
A handy directory of fact sheets on reliable trees for streetscape and landscape planting. Information in this directory includes likelihood of damage to drains and impact on overhead cables, it even includes advice on which trees may hold up to strong winds better.
Click here.