June 2017 | Sharon Webb

‘AGFESTERS’ THIS year had one huge question on their minds: how do I make my garden frog-friendly?

According to Liffey native plant experts, Sally and Herbert Staubman from Habitat Plants nursery, the answer is about much more than water if you want to attract some of Tasmania’s 11 species of frogs and froglets.

“You need dense vegetation around a small water body to create damp areas with logs, where frogs can hide to survive the heat of the day and feed on insects,” Herbert said.

Herbert and Sally spent their nineteenth Agfest also telling home gardeners the secrets to attracting birds and butterfles to their gardens.

Farmers got a look-in too with questions about plants to create shelter belts and wind-breaks.

According to Herbert, many farmers are interested in riparian revegetation to improve creek and river frontages.

“We suggest using plants that naturally grow along Tasmanian waterways such as swamp and white gums, paperbarks, bottlebrush, prickly box and tea tree,” he said.

Sally and Herbert do all their nursery’s propagating, often gathering location-specific seeds matching the provenance of plants they provide to properties.

They say Tasmanians’ environmental awareness is still growing, hence gardeners’ questions about frogs: fierce predators with huge appetites for garden bugs and insects.

And questions about birds.

The Staubmans say planting huge native trees isn’t always necessary because bottlebrush, hakeas and natural grasses can provide vegetation for ground foragers – robins, wrens and scrubwrens.

Habitat Plants at Agfest was an opportunity for people to see, feel and smell Tasmania’s native plants. Sally said, “They’re often surprised about the diversity and how many plants there are.”

Websites for information on native plants for farms and gardens include: www.habitatplants.com.au; www.birdsaustralia.com; and www.parks.tas.gov.au.