Re: garden planning

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Your query is too cryptic.  Australia is a big continent and "environment" covers a multitude of evils.  We really can't help you very much until you give us more specific information.  You don't tell us in what Australian region or state you garden, so we can't even guess what your environmental conditions are.  You don't describe how your plants were handled, so we can't tell how you might improve your practices.  You are tying our hands before we even get started.

That said, I wholeheartedly agree with Joe Seals that your own garden conditions should dictate your design and plant choices.  But since I garden in southern California, which can sometimes present very challenging conditions, I know that many plants--even plants that are appropriate choices for our conditions--require planting at certain times of year and special handling to establish them successfully.  This is particularly true of plants evolved in Mediterranean climate zones, which have developed little or no resistance to common vascular fungi that prey on their roots.  In Mediterranean climates, these water molds are kept in check in summers by drought and in moist winters by low temperatures.  If given hot, moist conditions, they rapidly invade and destroy plants.  The ideal time for planting such plants is in the fall, to take advantage of cooler temperatures and winter rains for roots to attain maximum growth. 

Furthermore, because the root systems of only partially established plants are limited, it is often necessary to give them controlled occasional irrigation during the first summer or two, even if when they are completely established they will be more-or-less drought-tolerant.

Sorry.  I'm still guessing at what might apply to your situation.  Why don't you fill us in a bit more and give us a chance to really answer your query?