With spring officially here and the warmer months on the way, Cool Country Natives owner KAREN BRIEN is encouraging people to pop in to her nursery and to plant natives.

“It is time to get your native plants in the ground as soon as possible, before the long, hot summer begins,” says Cool Country Natives owner Karen Brien.

It is also time to plant all frost-hardy plants now, but wait until later in the season to plant any frost-sensitive plants.”

Karen says while there are roadworks in Pialligo until December, Cool Country Natives is definitely still open and she has lots of plants coming through her nursery.

“Not only is it peak time for planting, it’s also peak time for availability,” she says.

“We had more than 10 trolleys of new, seasonal plants come in just this week, and there will be so much more coming in to really ramp up our stock.

“Kangaroo paws are especially popular, there are lots of daisies available now, we’re also starting to get more edible natives which are really good, it’s not too late to plant tube stock, and we still have all our regular plants.

“My staff are incredible and we are always more than happy to help people find plants to suit their requirements, most often we get asked about plants to fit in difficult spaces, but there is plenty of choice.

“We have a strong and dynamic team who are dedicated to the promotion and use of Australian native plants. Each team member has their own interest stream within the native plant field, and together they form a well rounded knowledge of plants and their growth.”

Karen says what drives her passion is the natives, and the fact they bring the birds, insects and bees into gardens.

“I started Cool Country Natives in 2015, because of my love for native plants,” she says.

“The opportunity came up for a small nursery here in Pialligo, and I took it. It’s just grown so much bigger than I could ever have expected.

“It’s great for kids to be interested in those things as well, we’re not living in a concrete jungle, we are in the bush capital and we want to make the most of living in the bush capital by keeping it that way.”

Karen says it’s all about planting the right plants to encourage native, helpful animals.

“People come in all the time and ask for plants that will attract birds, so there’s nectar-feeding birds and there’s insect-eating birds.

“If you get insects, you get little birds as well, like blue wrens, whereas if you get, say, bottle brushes or grevilleas you’ll get the nectar feeding birds, but some birds do crossover too, but it’s very important to attract local wildlife to your gardens, and less exotic species.”

Karen is also encouraging Floriade attendees to check out the Cool Country Native sponsored garden.

“You can find it just behind Stage 88, it’s part of LandCare’s ‘Canberra Festival of Nature’, so keep an eye out for our native plants,” she says.

“The theme of this year’s Floriade native garden display is ‘Nature Wonderland’, which highlights the beauty of native flowers and foliage, and its importance to our natural environment including pollinators and native fauna. The display includes a range of plants including cultivars that could be planted in a home garden.

“The other sponsors are Southern Tablelands Ecosystems Park, ACT for Bees and the Alexander Maconochie Centre.”

5A Beltana Road, Pialligo. Call 6257 6666, or visit coolcountrynatives.com.au