Recently I have referred to the fragmentation of lowland plant communities. The tiny remnants of forest and wetland remaining on the Waikato Lowlands are often separated by large areas of farmland.

Once upon a time our native plants grew close enough to others of their own species to be able to act . . . → Read More: A Sensible Solution

On our trip to the US and Canada we just had to visit the world famous Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. Established nearly one hundred years ago in an old quarry these gardens deserve their world wide acclaim. In keeping with the reputation, thousands of people throng there every day making it a . . . → Read More: Sharp Contrast

I recently had the opportunity to travel in America’s Pacific Northwest and naturally I was curious to see how indigenous ecosystems were fairing. I lived in that area for a year during my youth almost forty years ago and this was the first opportunity I had to return. It wasn’t until I got over . . . → Read More: An Interesting Comparison

I have always advised “Plant in April as soon as we get some decent rain”. Well it is May and we have had some decent rain. So it is time to get planting. Or is it?

You can plant a garden almost any time so long as you are there to care for . . . → Read More: Time to plant?

Biodiversity is a really useful term but it is so often misunderstood that it is sometimes avoided and that is a shame.

Biodiversity is a contraction of biological diversity and came into common usage in the mid 1980s. The term refers to the global diversity of life, the variety of ecosystems, species and . . . → Read More: Biodiversity

When he was a teenager, like so many kiwi kids growing up on farms, my uncle had a brief flirtation with taxidermy. He wrote away to the Northwestern School of Taxidermy in Omaha, Nebraska and enrolled in a correspondence course.

He stuffed a pheasant but instead of displaying it on the mantelpiece he put . . . → Read More: The Real Thing

I led a workshop on planting to manage weeds recently for the Hamilton City Council Gully Restoration Programme. This is a summary of what was covered:

Removing weeds is only half the story. Unless an environment where weeds can’t grow is created, they will eventually return and we are committed to an eternity of . . . → Read More: Planting to Create an Environment Inhospitable to Weeds.

We have a really interesting job on at the moment. Most of our projects are along rivers and around lakes. Mostly in areas of retired pasture or weedy areas. This area has fifty to one hundred year old totara trees and all the privet and wandering dew has been well removed.

In the area . . . → Read More: The New Forest

I was asked a while ago to plan the restoration of forest on Whakapipi (Bald Spur) in Te Aroha.

This area was the site of gold mining in the nineteenth century and became a spa resort in the twentieth. The forest that once clad the mountain is badly degraded with weeds well established . . . → Read More: Gradients, Timelines and Continuums.

Gardening can rewarding, but it can also be really hard work. Most plants will grow well if given ideal conditions and a lot of garden plants require nothing less. That means, building up the soil, putting in drainage, irrigation and shelter then settling down to a lifetime of weeding, fertilizing, pruning and replanting.

. . . → Read More: Planting for the Next Generation