Habitat Gardening at Home

These plants are easily available at commercial nurseries and help create habitat for bandicoots and other critters.  While these are cultivars rather than the same versions of plants that would be found in the Southern Brown Bandicoot's native heathy woodland, they help to create a dense native garden perfect for bandicoots to play hide and seek in. 

Plant list

Hibbertia scandens (Snake Vine)
A vigorous climber or scrambler with large bright yellow flowers, can cover walls and trellises or form a dense thicket on the ground.

Pandorea pandorana (Ruby Belle)
Pandorea pandorana ssp. pandorana is often found in the heathy woodland preferred by southern brown bandicoots. "Ruby belle" is an attractive and easily available P. pandorana cultivar that flowers beautifully in winter.

Tetratheca thymifolia (Fairy bells)
A brightly flowering small shrub which creates nice low density in the garden.

Banksia spinulosa (Birthday Candles)
Prostrate banksias like "Birthday candles" provide great striking-looking low groundcover and refuge for bandicoots and other critters. You might see some just inside the front gate at Cranbourne Gardens.

Leptospermum (Merinda)
Tea trees are a classic heathy woodland feature, and "Merinda" is a hardy and colourful cultivar bringing that wonderful tea-tree smell and spiky nature to the garden.

Westringia fruticosa x eremicola (Wynabbie Gem)
Tolerant of windswept or exposed conditions, westringias make great native informal hedges and provide that low density that bandicoots love.

Lomandra longifolia (Tanika)
Lomandra and other large grasses provide great cover for bandicoots and excellent nest sites under their wide skirts.

Myoporum parvifolium purpurea (Purple-leaf Creeping Boobialla)
A cute native groundcover.

Correa alba (White Correa)
Correas are another classic heathy woodland plant, tolerant of challenging conditions and with a long flowering season.

Dianella (Clarity Blue)
Dianellas are another great strappy plant that provide good cover for bandicoots, as well as the flowers being a favourite with blue-banded bees.