Plains Wandering: Exploring the Grassy Plains of S.E. Australia
Australian Flora Reference Natural History Native Plant Gardening Sustainable Landscaping Botanical Field Guide Grassland Ecology Conservation & Restoration
Plains Wandering: Exploring the Grassy Plains of S.E. Australia is the 1998 field-guide that finally gives Australia’s forgotten grasslands the spotlight they deserve. In 152 information-packed pages, botanists James Ross and Tim Barlow map a living mosaic of silver tussock, wallaby-grass, bluebells, lilies and ground-orchids that once stretched from Melbourne’s western basalt plains to the Monaro tablelands. Every species is clearly illustrated and matched to its preferred soil, rainfall and flowering window, so gardeners, students and weekend naturalists can tell a kangaroo grass from a windmill grass at a glance, and know exactly how to grow or restore it.
What makes this paperback special is its practical, paddock-tested advice. The authors spent years walking lease country, roadside remnants and rail reserves, noting which native grasses survive hard frost, heavy hoof pressure or prolonged drought. Their tips on seed collection, direct-sown meadows, weed suppression and low-maintenance landscaping translate directly into modern “prairie-style” gardens and carbon-smart revegetation projects. With climate-change gardening now mainstream, these drought-proof palettes are more valuable than ever.
Unlike heavier scientific tomes, Plains Wandering is written for curious young adults and time-poor adults alike: concise species notes sit next to landscape-scale sketches showing how plains communities fit together. The book’s clean layout, 1998 colour plates and compact size make it backpack- and glovebox-friendly, while the very-good, smoke-free copy offered here is becoming scarce as grasslands themselves. Grab it now and you hold a portable seed bank of knowledge—perfect for identifying remnant patches, planning a native meadow, or simply understanding why the open plains of south-eastern Australia are one of the continent’s most threatened and under-appreciated habitats.
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