A wildlife garden for the space you have

A small paved courtyard can still help wildlife. A climber on a trellis, a few large pots and one narrow bed give bees and butterflies flowers to feed on and plants to lay eggs on, and a shallow bowl gives them a drink. The pots can move with you.

• Native Sarsaparilla on a trellis: winter flowers for blue-banded bees
• Native Violet in a pot or hanging basket, for the damp, shady corner
• Native Plumbago in the bed: host plant of the Plumbago Blue butterfly
• A shallow water bowl with a few pebbles, where butterflies can drink

Half the lawn has become layered beds along the fence. A Native Mulberry gives height and fruit, Currant Bush gives small birds spiny cover, and Kangaroo Grass and Flax Lily fill the front. A bird bath sits in dappled shade, near the shrubs.

• Native Mulberry: a small tree with fruit for birds (on female plants)
• Currant Bush: spiny stems where small birds and lizards can shelter
• Kangaroo Grass: host of the Common Brown and Evening Brown butterflies
• A bird bath in dappled shade, with dense shrubs close by for cover

A sunny front yard can trade its lawn for low planting along the path. Swamp Banksia flowers from autumn to spring, Kangaroo Grass and Flax Lily soften the edges, and Native Sarsaparilla runs along as a groundcover. Birds, bees and butterflies may stop to feed.

• Swamp Banksia: a shrub to 2 m with autumn-to-spring flowers for birds and bees
• Kangaroo Grass: tussocks to 1 m that cope with dry spells once settled
• Flax Lily: blue flowers for native bees, then berries for birds
• Native Sarsaparilla as a groundcover, with winter flowers for native bees