Availability for new clients
Chemical-free weed control for two of our major garden restorations has now been completed and those projects now only need monthly maintenance. This means we will have 8-10 hours a week free for an intensive start to one or two new garden restoration projects where some rapid transformation is needed in addition to the longer term transition to a low-maintenance outdoor environment.
See our website for more about our garden services, what to expect, and how we do it.
Below: the narrow space between house and fence (1.5m including a paving block path, out of view in the foreground) has been transformed from kikuyu, bare clay and weed trees to native shrubs and trees that need only annual pruning to maintain access along the path directly beneath the windows, from where the residents can watch kereru, tui and songthrushes eating kawakawa fruit in summer.
Foreground left is a nikau, about 10 years old and a metre high. Each year for the next 20 years, one of its 2 or 3 new leaves a year will grow towards the house, obstructing the path, but in this seldom-used area it can be pushed aside, or if necessary tied back or even cut off.
Much later, it will present only a single trunk, and each year two or three of the leaves, canopying the path and surrounding garden from above, will fall to the ground and be carried down the back to add to the natural environment (and invertebrate habitat) under larger trees.
There's nothing more splendid to watch from your kitchen table than a kereru feasting on nikau or kawakawa fruit an arm's length away, but if the big nikau leaves are not for you, you could skip the nikau and just have karamu, kawakawa and smaller shrubs and groundcovers, such as the sedges (Carex lambertiana) shown here. A couple of seedlings planted here have multiplied themselves by both seed and division, and will continue to spread until they cover the ground without further intervention.
Some Choice News!
Many New Zealand gardens aren’t seeing as many monarch butterflies fluttering around their swan plants and flower beds these days — the hungry Asian paper wasp has been taking its toll.
Thanks to people like Alan Baldick, who’s made it his mission to protect the monarch, his neighbours still get to enjoy these beautiful butterflies in their own backyards.
Thinking about planting something to invite more butterflies, bees, and birds into your garden?
Thanks for your mahi, Alan! We hope this brings a smile!
Poll: Are our Kiwi summer holidays helping us recharge, or holding the economy back? ☀️🥝
There’s growing debate about whether New Zealand’s extended Christmas break (and the slowdown that comes with it) affects productivity.
Tracy Watkins has weighed in ... now it’s your turn. What’s your take? 🤔
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71.6% We work hard, we deserve a break!
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18% Hmm, maybe?
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10.4% Yes!
Have you seen Rowena?
Police are urgently appealing for sightings of Rowena, 39, reported missing from Christchurch.
She was reported missing to Police on 22 October 2025, and was last seen on 14 August 2025. Rowena hasn’t been in contact with her children and her family are worried for her safety.
Police investigating her disappearance have identified her as being in Auckland, Tauranga and Christchurch in the recent months prior to her missing person report being made.
If you have seen Rowena, or have any information regarding her whereabouts, please contact us immediately.
You can contact us via 105 either over the phone or online at 105.police.govt.nz, clicking “Update Report” and referencing file number 251022/9026.
Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
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