Yes, absolutely. Ringtail possums are gentle, native herbivores that help pollinate native plants and add a wonderful sense of life to your garden. The only catch is that they are expert roof-hoppers, and they will treat your gutters and powerlines like their own personal highway system. They are good for the garden, but they are also a little bit cheeky.
The best kind of night-time visitor
Here is the thing about ringtail possums. They are not going to eat your vegetable patch. They are not going to tear up your lawn. They are not going to hiss at you like a grumpy brushtail possum.
Ringtails are gentle. They are quiet. They are herbivores that feed on native leaves, flowers, and fruit. They play an important role in pollination and seed dispersal, which means they are genuinely good for your garden.
They are also incredibly beautiful. They have soft, grey fur. A long, prehensile tail that curls into a perfect spiral when they sleep. And the most wide-eyed, curious little face you have ever seen.
If you have a ringtail possum in your garden, you have a small, gentle friend who visits you in the night.
The only catch: they have no respect for boundaries
Here is the honest truth. Ringtail possums are good for your garden, but they are absolutely terrible for your peace of mind.
They are expert climbers. They will use your fences, your powerlines, your gutters, and your downpipes as their own personal highway system. They will run across your roof at 2 AM with a confidence that suggests they own the place.
They will also stare at you through the kitchen window. You will be making a cup of tea, and you will look up, and there will be a tiny ringtail possum sitting on the sill, staring at you with wide, unblinking eyes, completely unafraid of you.
They are the ultimate night-time neighbours. You did not invite them. They do not ask for permission. They just show up, and they never leave.
Why I have a soft spot for them
I have a very personal reason for loving ringtail possums.
The Nightlife collection started at my daughter’s place in Brisbane. One night, she found a baby ringtail possum, tiny, wide-eyed, confused, and she gently wrapped it in a towel and held it up to the torchlight.
That moment changed everything for me.
That brief flash of light. That tiny, vulnerable face. That feeling of being completely present in a quiet, night-time moment. That is what the entire Nightlife collection is about.
The possum became the first piece I painted for the collection. I called it Roof Access, because it captures that exact moment of a possum caught in the torchlight, perched somewhere it probably shouldn’t be, staring back at you with quiet curiosity.
It is a piece that means a lot to me personally.
The garden visitor and the painting
If you are lucky enough to have ringtail possums in your garden, you will know exactly what I mean.
They are not pests. They are not nuisances. They are gentle, curious, wonderful little creatures that remind us that the night is full of life.
And if you ever catch one staring at you through the window, just know that you are looking at the exact creature that inspired an entire collection of art.
A gentle tip for living with ringtails
If you want to encourage ringtail possums in your garden, plant native trees and shrubs that they love to feed on. They are particularly fond of eucalyptus, lilly pilly, and paperbark.
And if you hear them running across your roof at 2 AM, just smile and know that they are not being difficult. They are just taking their nightly commute.
See the piece that started it all
If you would like to see the Roof Access piece that started the entire Nightlife collection, you can explore it in the shop.
See Roof Access here. Roof Access Product Page
