A native garden is different from an indigenous garden.
Let’s take Australia. A plant that originated in Australia is an Australian native. Waratahs, kangaroo paws, the vast range of eucalypts and wattles are all Australian natives.
The climate and soil types in Australia vary dramatically though. There are so many different ecological vegetation communities. Although a species can be native to Australia, it does not mean that it occurs naturally in all parts of Australia.
I wish I knew this back in the 2000s when I did try and grow waratahs and kangaroo paws. They were marketed as ‘drought tolerant’ and ‘bird attracting’. Neither of these plants occur naturally on the sandbelt region in the south east of Melbourne. Yes, they are native to Australia but not indigenous to my area. Even within the sandbelt region there are so many ecological vegetation communities that indigenous plants can vary from one part to another.
What’s my preference? Indigenous species. Planting an Australian native in an area of Australia that it does not belong to will mean that it may struggle to survive or possibly become invasive. I think its best to plant indigenous because it requires less effort to thrive and it also supports the insects, birds and mammals of that area.