June 2023 – North Shore Wilds

June 22, 2023July 14, 2023

Transform your garden to a low-maintenance haven with chemical-free weed control

Having been providing our chemical-free garden restoration services for 6 months now, we have been delighted to experience a range of outdoor environments, advised gardeners and non-gardeners alike on our unique methodology, and seen them enjoy the results.

Some have been short-term restorations, recovering a well-planned garden from just a few years of weed invasion.

Others are long-term projects, creating the conditions for the desired plants to succeed, and for easy weed control in the future.

If you are finding your garden hard to manage, through lack of time or difficult conditions, we offer a thorough site assessment in which we will listen to your needs and wishes, with identification of both weeds and any unrecognised free, wild and low maintenance plants… including hidden gems like the native tree seedlings, kahikatea and tanekaha, discovered this week and seen below:

View this post on Neighbourly

June 19, 2023July 14, 2023

Invitation to a walk along the edge of the woods

Gardeners, nature watchers and ecological restorationists may like to join us in a guided tour of the ridgetop margin of Eskdale Forest, along the mown kikuyu edge of Eskdale Reserve where a white tape cordon marks the Gahnia Grove restoration project.

If you have a ready-made small group, we can schedule an hour to suit you, at a cost of $90 for the group.

Otherwise, email or message us your availability and interests, and we will see what can be organised.

From requests we have had so far, the focus for a tour could be

– efficient and effective control of environmental weeds without chemicals, especially kikuyu (beyond the mown area, which is controlled ny mowing)

– free wild native groundcovers and leafy shrubs

– how to recognise the free native tree seedlings which pop up in your garden or restoration site

Our website has some information and photos of all these, with more to come.

June 16, 2023July 14, 2023

Weeding for winter light

While shade is vital to the health of shade-loving plants and habitat, and can be life-saving in summer, there is no need to suffer the loss of light where unwanted weed masses have shut out the sun.

This is often the case with fast-growing trees like monkey apple, privet, tree privet and wattle, and vine weeds such as honeysuckle, pink jasmine, ivy and moth plant.

Where these weeds are among wanted trees and shrubs, the careful identification and removal of the weeds can open the area to gentle sunlight filtered through a leafy canopy, which will benefit from the winter light and fill out, so that no light has been lost by the time summer comes.

Where there is no wanted tall vegetation, removal of tall weeds will open the space to sun, so that a new, manageable ground cover or shrubbery can be established.

Call Jenny on 021 485 994, or email jenny@northshorewilds.co.nz, for

– assessment of your situation, with identification of weeds and also of any native plants, including native vines such as kaihua (NZ native “jasmine”), puawhananga (NZ native Clematis), kohia (NZ native passionfruit vine), karaeo (supplejack), tataramoa (Bush lawyer) – as these can be attractive, easily controllable additions to your natural areas, as well as food sources for kereru and tui in winter.

– advice or action on releasing your site from weeds and, if wanted, turning them into compost and mulch during winter, to keep soil moist in summer and help suppress future weed invasions.