Sick of mowing the lawn? Why not try establishing a native grassland as a low maintenance bush friendly alternative?

Understorey Network member Diana Shoobridge has successfully rehabilitated a degraded bushblock at Sandford with wallaby grass and tussocks. Diana divided large clumps of Poa into smaller clumps, gave them a haircut and stored them in moist potting soil until she was ready to plant them out. She put them in the ground about 30cm apart, with water-retaining granules, and watered them in well until they became established.

She has also interplanted with wallaby grass using the same method, but has had problems with dividing and transplanting Lomandra.

Diana is now growing Poa from seed, and has noted that the seedlings look very much like ordinary grass at first-so don't toss them out as weeds.

Diana has replanted about half an acre over several months, and has found it to be a successful method of re-establishing grassland on a small bushblock, as evident from the photo below.