What native grasses to plant on gravel?

[cassy1]

Hi all,

I have a newly established native garden and am on Macleay Island Sth East QLD. I have for the most part kept the natives to those indigenous  to the island however I think I may need to branch out to include general Australian natives for this next part of the garden.

The next project is to tackle one section of the back of the house which at the moment is gravel.

I would like to plant grasses, to frame a walkway (to the backyard) in the area in the image. There are already several grasses in the main part of the garden including kangaroo grass Lomandra (the prickly one!) and barbed wire grass . 

The area gets gentle morning sun and stronger afternoon sun. Being on the fence there is also the radiant heat to deal with. Ideally I would like to carry the grasses around the corner and around the Taylex system (not too close to it) to link to the grasses in the garden beds. The soil under the gravel is good sandy loam and I already have some grass trees thriving (albeit slowly!) at the front in the gravel.  

1, What grasses would people recommend that will soften the area and be easily maintained with a cut back every now and then.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Cassy1

[JacobZ]

Hi @cassy1,

Your project sounds wonderful. Native grasses can create a beautiful, low-maintenance frame for your walkway while complementing your existing garden. 

Options like Dianellas and Lomandras would be wonderful in this space.

Dianellas offer a softer, more refined look with blue-green foliage and small purple flowers, thriving in full sun to partial shade. They handle radiant heat well and stay neat with just the occasional removal of old leaves.

Compact Lomandra varieties like Tanika and Little Con are structured and resilient, coping with harsher conditions and poorer soils. They’re great for framing paths and providing year-round form. 

A mix of both would work beautifully. Use Dianellas for contrast and colour variation, and Lomandras for structure and toughness. 

Together, they’ll create a cohesive, low-maintenance native look that softens the gravel while tying your garden zones together.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

[cassy1]

Thank you Jacob - this sounds great. I see there are many different varieties of both so need to think about which ones. I like consistence so think I will just use one variety of each and carry that through. 

Thank you again!

Cassy1