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The botanical bento approach applies to tiny backyards as well as fruit bowls, and everything in between. Size doesn’t matter – it’s what you do with the space.

In Indigenous cultures, foods like citrus fruits aren’t simply ingredients. They’re part of a living ecosystem that sustains people for countless generations. They grow amongst towering trees and ferns, amidst desert scrub and forest savannahs, surrounded by the many other foods, medicines and materials the natural world provides.

The edible groundcovers and shrubs in our range that we consider firewise tend to have a low oil and high moisture content, making them less flammable and able to slow the spread of ground fire.

Just like in a traditional micro-forest, your combination of succulents should cover the four layers of its forest ecosystem — the forest floor, the herb layer, the shrub layer, and the canopy.

A nutrient-rich loam soil is made up of sand and silt, making it freely draining; clay, which helps retain moisture and nutrients; and plenty of organic matter to feed your plants.

The WA State Government is offering a rebate of up to $150 on the purchase of native trees to plant in your backyard. It’s part of their Treebate program, announced in January 2025, to encourage West Australians to make their neighbourhoods greener and friendlier to native wildlife.

Whether you’re growing on a sunny balcony, a dappled veranda, or along the kitchen window, here are our top picks for the most “renter-friendly” native edible plants.

The Garden Media report notes that “lived-in” gardens are “meticulously designed to appear is if they have been nurtured for decades”. In other words, give yourself permission to embrace and nurture imperfection to achieve that timeless aesthetic.

Will this be your home’s social gathering spot? Or do you prefer using your piece of nature for quiet contemplation, or an outdoor office with a desk and reliable wifi reception? Once you know what the space means to you, you can start working on a “fit for purpose” garden design.

The occasional pop of vegetables won’t go astray, even if you don’t intend to keep a veggie patch. We recommend Warrine, Native Wintercress, Warrigal Greens, and any species of native flowers to help support Australia’s vulnerable native bees.

We had a hard time picking the best of the bunch here, since so much of our range occurs naturally in this part of Australia. So to celebrate the diversity of the region, we’ve diversified our choices!

Left to its own devices, Desert Lime can grow up to 7m in height – yes, even grafted ones. Prune as needed to keep it to a manageable size. If growing a Tucker Bush Desert Lime, note the graft point and remember to remove any offshoot branches growing from below that point (those shoots won’t bear Desert Lime fruits).

Most of the native plants selected for this article are best planted around this time of year.

Sweet dishes were a clear favourite, with cakes, desserts and sweet snacks seen across all the responses. We’re now wondering if it could be because bushfood flavours are tasted more distinctly in sweets. For example, when you infuse shortbread or natural yoghurt with Lemon Myrtle, you get a strong sense of Lemon Myrtle’s intense citrus notes in the final product. Try Bindi Bindi Dreaming’s Lemon Myrtle Cake or Grzegorz Janecki’s Vegan Pavlova with Native Fruit to see what we mean.

For best results, water your potted plants lightly in three stages. First, go over the surface to wet the hydrophobic layer. Wait a few minutes, then go over the potting mix again: the water should penetrate the surface, wetting the soil just beneath. A few minutes later, water generously a final time. (If your plant lives in a pot with pebbles instead of drainage holes, use a spray bottle for the first stage, and skip the third.)

This prolific fruiter produces small, slightly tart “roseapples” with light apple-like flesh and a hard inner seed. Some species of Lilly Pilly fruit are today considered a superfood as they contain high levels of vitamin C, vitamin E, magnesium and potassium, with potential applications in the health, medicine, food and cosmetics industries.

Enjoy the sunset from a rewilded balcony garden, one you designed yourself with a smattering of tasty Australian bushfood plants.

Of course, anything is possible with enough effort, money and space. But if you’re just starting out or just wanting an ongoing supply of kitchen herbs, we recommend sticking to herbs, small vegetables, and succulents — the kinds of plants that belong in the Herb Layer of a micro–food forest.