Every plant in the Sandy Soil Survival Kit collection is chosen to suit sandy soil. Add a few that share your conditions and group them for the strongest effect.
Sandy Soil Survival Kit
Sandy soil drains fast and holds little. These plants are adapted to exactly that — thriving where thirstier plants would struggle.
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Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' · Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' · from $4.50 One of Australia's most popular garden hybrids — a low-maintenance native shrub producing red toothbrush flowers almost year-round to feed the birds. -
Waratah · Telopea speciosissima (Sm.) R.Br. · from $4.95 The floral emblem of New South Wales — a striking evergreen shrub crowned in spring by vivid red flowerheads, prized as a feature plant and cut flower. -
African Milk Tree · Euphorbia trigona An upright branching succulent with three-sided green ridged stems lined with small paired spines and teardrop leaves, exuding an irritant milky sap. A fast architectural feature, often mistaken for a cactus. -
After Dark Peppermint · Agonis flexuosa 'After Dark' A striking small weeping tree with deep burgundy-purple aromatic foliage and tiny white flowers in spring. A dramatic, colourful feature and screen for coastal gardens. -
Aloe Vera · Aloe vera A clumping rosette of thick fleshy grey-green leaves with toothed margins, filled with the soothing gel long used on burns, and sending up tall spikes of tubular yellow flowers. A practical pot staple. -
Amber Velvet Kangaroo Paw · Anigozanthos 'Amber Velvet' A tall kangaroo paw with rich amber-orange velvety paw flowers on dark stems through spring and summer. A dramatic, bird-attracting cut-flower and feature. -
Arizona Sun Blanket Flower · Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' An award-winning, compact blanket flower bearing red daisies tipped with golden-yellow all season. Heat- and drought-hardy, flowering in its first year and loved by bees and butterflies. -
Aussie Crawl Fan Flower · Scaevola 'Aussie Crawl' A vigorous prostrate fan flower forming a dense mat covered in mauve-blue fan-shaped flowers through the warmer months. Excellent for groundcover, banks and hanging pots. -
Autumn Joy Stonecrop · Sedum 'Autumn Joy' Fleshy grey-green clumps topped with broad flower heads that open dusky pink and deepen to rusty-red in autumn. Bees and butterflies cover the blooms; seed heads stand through winter. -
Avonview French Lavender · Lavandula dentata 'Avonview' A vigorous toothed-leaf French lavender flowering for most of the year in mild climates, topped with showy purple bracts. Tough, coastal-tolerant and quick to establish. -
Baby Orange Flowering Gum · Eucalyptus 'Baby Orange' A grafted dwarf flowering gum producing large clusters of vivid orange blossom through summer that attract nectar-feeding birds. Compact enough for small gardens and large containers. -
Baxter's Banksia · Banksia baxteri A rounded WA shrub with deeply lobed holly-like leaves and squat lime-yellow flower domes nestled among the foliage. A drought-hardy feature and long-lasting cut flower. -
Beetroot · Beta vulgaris · from $3.50 A cool-season root vegetable yielding sweet, earthy red roots and edible nutritious leaves. Reliable and easy from seed, with each knobbly cluster producing several seedlings. -
Bell-fruited Mallee · Eucalyptus preissiana A spreading WA mallee shrub bearing large bright yellow flowers and distinctive bell-shaped gum nuts. A hardy, showy small feature for dry, sandy gardens. -
Big Red Zonal Geranium · Pelargonium x hortorum 'Big Red' Bold ball-shaped heads of vivid scarlet flowers smother this zonal geranium for most of the year over rounded, faintly aromatic leaves. Sun-loving and drought-hardy, perfect for pots; toxic to pets. -
Billy Buttons · Craspedia globosa A clumping native perennial sending up slender stems topped with perfectly round golden flower balls in spring and summer. A quirky, long-lasting cut flower beloved by florists. -
Birthday Candles Banksia · Banksia spinulosa 'Birthday Candles' A compact dwarf banksia with fine green foliage and gold and burgundy candle flowers through autumn and winter. A neat, bird-attracting feature for small gardens. -
Bishop's Cap Cactus · Astrophytum myriostigma A distinctive spineless cactus shaped like a star of broad ribs, dusted with tiny white woolly scales over a grey-green body, opening yellow flowers from its crown. An elegant, geometric collector's plant. -
Black Rose Aeonium · Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop' A standout cultivar with large rosettes of glossy near-black burgundy leaves on branching stems, the colour deepening in full sun before yellow flower cones appear. A dramatic dark feature plant. -
Blue Barrel Cactus · Ferocactus glaucescens A handsome barrel cactus with a powdery blue-green ribbed body armed with golden-yellow spines, opening a ring of pale yellow flowers at its crown in summer. A striking, slow sculptural specimen. -
Blue Chalksticks · Curio talinoides var. mandraliscae A spreading groundcover succulent of upright finger-like blue-grey leaves with a chalky bloom, forming a cool silvery carpet ideal for mass planting and erosion-prone slopes. Tough and water-wise. -
Blue Fescue 'Elijah Blue' · Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' A compact evergreen tufting grass forming tidy hemispherical mounds of fine steel-blue foliage. Excellent for edging, rockeries and containers in well-drained, sunny spots. -
Blue Flax Lily 'Little Jess' · Dianella caerulea 'Little Jess' A compact, clumping strap-leaved flax lily with airy sprays of blue starry flowers followed by glossy purple berries. A tough, low-care mass-planting and border grass for sun or shade. -
Blue Point Juniper · Juniperus chinensis 'Blue Point' A dense, broadly pyramidal juniper with steely blue-green foliage that holds its shape with little pruning. An excellent blue feature, container plant or informal screen. -
Blue Rug Juniper · Juniperus horizontalis 'Wiltonii' A flat, ground-hugging juniper forming a dense silver-blue carpet that trails attractively over walls and rocks. One of the best conifer groundcovers for slopes, banks and erosion control. -
Blue Spruce Stonecrop · Sedum rupestre A hardy creeping groundcover succulent with needle-like blue-green foliage resembling tiny spruce shoots, lighting up with flat heads of bright yellow star flowers in summer. Tough and frost-tolerant. -
Blue Star Juniper · Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star' A compact, slow-growing dwarf juniper forming a neat mound of dense, silvery steel-blue needles. An outstanding small feature for rockeries, pots and the front of borders. -
Bluebell Creeper · Billardiera heterophylla A dainty Western Australian native twiner hung with nodding clusters of bright blue bell flowers through the warmer months, followed by blue berries. Pretty and hardy, but a weed risk outside its native range. -
Bower Wattle · Acacia cognata 'Limelight' · from $18.95 A soft, weeping dwarf wattle with fine cascading lime-green foliage that forms a neat mounding feature. Popular in containers and modern landscapes for its graceful fountain-like form. -
Breeze Flax Lily · Dianella caerulea 'Breeze' A fine-leaved flax lily forming a soft fountain of bright green foliage with blue flowers and purple berries. Hardy and versatile for borders and mass plantings. -
Brodie Pencil Pine · Cupressus sempervirens 'Glauca Brodie' A dense, very narrow Italian cypress selection with consistent blue-green foliage and a tight columnar habit ideal for matched avenue plantings. A reliable formal vertical feature for hot, dry gardens. -
Brunniana Gold · Cupressus macrocarpa 'Brunniana Aurea' A golden-foliaged form of the Monterey cypress forming a broad conical tree of bright lime-gold. Salt-tolerant and vigorous, it makes a glowing windbreak or feature in coastal and temperate gardens. -
Buddha's Temple · Crassula 'Buddha's Temple' A curious hybrid forming tight stacked columns of grey-green folded leaves resembling a tiered pagoda, topped with dense heads of tiny white to pink flowers. A prized collector's oddity. -
Bulbine Lily · Bulbine bulbosa A tufted native lily with fleshy grass-like leaves and spikes of fragrant star-shaped yellow flowers in spring. An easy, drought-hardy perennial and bush-food bulb. -
Burro's Tail · Sedum morganianum A trailing succulent forming long ropes densely packed with plump blue-green teardrop leaves coated in a chalky bloom, tipped with red-pink flowers in summer. Perfect tumbling from a hanging basket. -
Bush Diamond Kangaroo Paw · Anigozanthos 'Bush Diamond' A compact kangaroo paw with soft pink and white paw flowers over a long season. Hardy and disease-resistant, ideal for containers and bird-attracting borders. -
Bush Flame Kangaroo Paw · Anigozanthos 'Bush Flame' A compact kangaroo paw with bicoloured red and yellow paw flowers over a long season. Disease-resistant and bird-attracting, ideal for pots and sunny borders. -
Bush Gold Kangaroo Paw · Anigozanthos 'Bush Gold' A compact kangaroo paw with bright golden-yellow paw flowers on slender stems through spring and summer. Disease-resistant, bird-attracting and long-flowering. -
Bush Pearl Kangaroo Paw · Anigozanthos 'Bush Pearl' A compact, disease-resistant kangaroo paw bearing deep pink furry flowers over a very long season above evergreen fans. Bred for pots and small gardens, it is a magnet for honeyeaters. -
Bush Ranger Kangaroo Paw · Anigozanthos 'Bush Ranger' A dwarf kangaroo paw with vivid red paw flowers over a long season on compact clumps. Hardy, disease-resistant and excellent for pots and bird-attracting borders. -
Bush Tango Kangaroo Paw · Anigozanthos 'Bush Tango' A compact kangaroo paw bearing warm orange paw flowers through spring and summer. Disease-resistant, long-flowering and a magnet for nectar-feeding birds. -
Cardinal Tea Tree · Leptospermum 'Cardinal' A medium shrub smothered in deep red flowers in spring against fine green foliage. A hardy, bee-attracting feature and informal screen for low-water gardens. -
Cassa Blue Flax Lily · Dianella caerulea 'Cassa Blue' A compact Australian native flax lily with upright blue-grey strappy foliage, sprays of small blue flowers and shiny purple berries. A versatile, hardy choice for borders, mass plantings and pots. -
Century Plant · Agave americana A massive architectural rosette of thick blue-grey leaves armed with sharp spines and a vicious terminal spike, crowned after decades by a towering branched flower stalk. A bold drought-proof sculptural plant. -
Cherry Candles Banksia · Banksia spinulosa 'Cherry Candles' A compact banksia with deep cherry-red and gold candle flowers through autumn and winter. A colourful, hardy and bird-attracting low feature shrub. -
Chin Cactus · Gymnocalycium mihanovichii A small ribbed globular cactus, famous in its chlorophyll-free red, pink or yellow grafted 'moon cactus' form, producing delicate pink flowers. A colourful, compact novelty for bright windowsills. -
Christmas Carol Aloe · Aloe 'Christmas Carol' A compact hybrid aloe with deep green rosettes marked by raised red bumps and toothed red margins that intensify in sun, sending up coral-red flowers. A festive small collector's pot plant. -
Christmas Cheer Red Hot Poker · Kniphofia 'Christmas Cheer' Bold pokers open orange-red and fade to yellow, glowing through the cooler months when little else flowers. Drought- and coast-hardy, and a rich nectar source for honeyeaters. -
Claret Tops Honey Myrtle · Melaleuca 'Claret Tops' A dense compact melaleuca grown for its claret-red new foliage flushes against fine green leaves. A colourful, hardy low hedge and feature for low-water gardens. -
Coast Banksia · Banksia integrifolia · from $5.50 A hardy coastal tree with dark-green leaves silvery beneath and pale-yellow flower spikes through autumn and winter that feed birds. Exceptionally salt- and wind-tolerant for seaside windbreaks. -
Coast Spear Grass · Austrostipa stipoides A coastal Australian native tussock grass forming dense clumps of wiry green-grey foliage with feathery flowering plumes. Salt- and wind-tolerant, it suits exposed seaside and erosion-prone sites. -
Coastal Cushion Banksia · Banksia integrifolia 'Coastal Cushion' A prostrate cushioning form of coast banksia with white-backed leaves and pale yellow flower spikes. Tough, salt-tolerant and ideal for coastal banks and erosion control. -
Coastal Gem Grevillea · Grevillea 'Coastal Gem' A dense prostrate spreading groundcover with fine green foliage and small pink-red spider flowers through the cooler months. Excellent for banks and coastal gardens. -
Common Correa · Correa reflexa · from $5.50 A versatile small shrub with pendulous red-and-green tubular bells through autumn and winter that supply nectar to honeyeaters when little else flowers. Shade-tolerant and frost-hardy. -
Common Everlasting · Chrysocephalum apiculatum A low, silvery-grey spreading daisy carrying clusters of bright golden button flowers through much of the year. Tough, drought-hardy and excellent for pollinators and dry verges. -
Cooper's Haworthia · Haworthia cooperi A jewel-like rosette of plump translucent blue-green leaves with glassy 'windowed' tips that glow when backlit, allowing light into the buried plant body. A coveted collector's miniature. -
Copper Glow Tea Tree · Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' A medium tea tree grown for its rich copper-bronze foliage and white spring flowers. A colourful, hardy feature and informal screen for low-water gardens. -
Creeping Boobialla · Myoporum parvifolium A fast, dense prostrate native that hugs the ground with succulent green foliage and tiny white star flowers in summer. An outstanding weed-suppressing cover for banks and verges. -
Cushion Banksia · Banksia spinulosa 'Cushion' A low, spreading dwarf form of the hairpin banksia forming a dense mound studded with gold-and-black flower spikes through the cooler months. A compact bird-attracting groundcover shrub. -
Cut-leaf Banksia · Banksia praemorsa A dense coastal WA shrub with blunt-tipped serrated leaves and large cylindrical flower spikes in wine-red or yellow. An excellent hardy screen and cut flower.