Slope Planting and Retaining Walls Around Wellington
Wellington sections rarely come flat. From Brooklyn to Khandallah and out to the Eastbourne bays, houses perch above banks of […]
Native Trees & Planting
Removal & Felling
Stumps, Roots and Ground Preparation After Tree Removal in Canterbury
Felling a tree is the visible part of the job. What happens to the ground afterwards often matters more, especially […]
Pruning & Tree Health
Crown Lifting Versus Crown Reduction Explained
Ask for a tree to be “cut back” and you might get anything from a careful trim to a brutal […]
Rules, Consents & Neighbours
Overhanging Branches and Your Neighbour
A branch crossing a boundary fence is one of the most ordinary sights in suburban New Zealand, and one of […]
Storms & Safety
Overhanging Branches and Roof Damage: An Auckland Checklist
Auckland’s leafy suburbs owe much of their character to big trees growing close to houses. In Titirangi, Remuera, Devonport and […]
Roots, Drains & Hard Surfaces
Protecting Tree Root Zones During Site Earthworks
A healthy tree can survive decades of storms and dry summers, then decline within three years of a building project […]
Storms & Safety
Trees and Power Lines: Clearance Rules in Plain Language
Few garden jobs carry as much quiet risk as trimming near an overhead line. New Zealand has specific rules about […]
Roots, Drains & Hard Surfaces
Trees Near Retaining Walls on the Port Hills
Drive along any of the switchback roads above Cashmere, Huntsbury or Mount Pleasant and you will see the same pairing […]
Roots, Drains & Hard Surfaces
Root Barriers for New Driveways in Hamilton
Laying a new driveway is one of the few moments when you can stop tree root problems before they start. […]
Native Trees & Planting
Kowhai, Titoki and Other Natives for Small Sections
New subdivisions across Papamoa, Rototuna, Pokeno and countless other growing suburbs are full of sections around 300 to 500 square […]
Gardens & Sections
Designing a Shade Garden Around a Big Tree
A large tree gives a section its character. It frames the house, cools the lawn in January and draws in […]
Storms & Safety
Recognising a Storm-Damaged Tree That Is Still Dangerous
After a big storm passes, the obvious damage gets dealt with first: trees across driveways, limbs through fences, branches on […]
Seasonal Care
Gutters, Overhanging Limbs and Roof Wear in Whanganui
Whanganui has a lot going for it as a place to garden: mild winters, fertile river terraces, and plenty of […]
Roots, Drains & Hard Surfaces
Root Lift on Manawatu Driveways: Prevention Before Replacement
A raised slab at the bottom of the driveway, a crack running diagonally from the boundary, a gate that no […]
Native Trees & Planting
Choosing Trees for Geothermal Soils Around Rotorua
Gardening in Rotorua comes with a twist that few other New Zealand towns share. In suburbs such as Ngapuna, Whakarewarewa, […]
Pruning & Tree Health
Spotting Fungal Decay at the Base of a Trunk
A tree can look perfectly healthy from the lawn, with a full green canopy and plenty of new growth, while […]
Pruning & Tree Health
Why Topping Trees Causes More Problems Than It Solves
It usually starts with a reasonable worry. A tree has grown taller than the house, the last storm brought down […]
Gardens & Sections
Lawns Under Trees: What Actually Grows
Every autumn, garden centres sell bags of “shade lawn” seed to people standing beneath a big tree, staring at a […]
Pruning & Tree Health
Pruning Deciduous Street Trees in the Waikato
Drive through older Hamilton suburbs such as Claudelands, Hamilton East or Frankton in late autumn and the streets turn gold […]
Native Trees & Planting
Planting Pohutukawa in Coastal Gardens
Few trees say summer in New Zealand quite like a pohutukawa in full December flower. Along the Bay of Plenty […]
Pruning & Tree Health
Wind-Firm Pruning for Exposed Wellington Sections
Anyone who has lived on a ridge in Karori, Brooklyn or Seatoun knows that Wellington wind does not simply blow […]
Rules, Consents & Neighbours
Protected Trees: Checking Your District Plan
Plenty of New Zealand homeowners only discover that a tree on their section is protected after the chainsaw has already […]
Roots, Drains & Hard Surfaces
Planting Beside a New Driveway in Dunedin’s Clay Soils
A new driveway changes the look of a Dunedin section overnight, and the strip of bare ground alongside it is […]
Storms & Safety
Chainsaw Safety for Home Gardeners
Chainsaws have become far easier to own. Battery models are light, quiet, start at the press of a trigger and […]
Rules, Consents & Neighbours
Boundary Hedges or Fences: Living Screens in Christchurch
Christchurch has a long tradition of hedges. Drive through Fendalton, Merivale or the older parts of Cashmere and the streets […]
Native Trees & Planting
Kauri Dieback and What Home Gardeners Can Do
Kauri are among the largest and longest-lived trees on earth, and for many New Zealanders standing beside one in the […]
Gardens & Sections
Pohutukawa, Salt Air and Garden Paths on Waiheke Island
On Waiheke, the pōhutukawa is part of the furniture. Gnarled old trees lean out over Oneroa Beach and Onetangi, cling […]
Seasonal Care
Spring Checks for Trees After a Wet Winter
A long, wet winter leaves its mark on trees in ways that are not always obvious until the weather warms […]
Rules, Consents & Neighbours
Shelterbelts and Fences on Windy Wellington Sections
Anyone who has tried to hang washing in Karori during a northerly, or eat outside in Island Bay when the […]
Seasonal Care
Winter Pruning Calendar for Fruit Trees
Winter is when the home orchard goes quiet, and that is exactly why it is the main pruning season for […]
Gardens & Sections
Mulching Trees the Right Way
Mulch is one of the cheapest ways to help a tree, and one of the easiest to get wrong. A […]
Removal & Felling
Large Conifer Removal Around Lakeside Rotorua Homes
Drive around the lakefront suburbs of Rotorua, from Ngongotahā to Holdens Bay and out toward Lake Tarawera, and the skyline […]
Roots, Drains & Hard Surfaces
Waikato Banks, Tree Roots and Wall Pressure
Hamilton is a flat city with a surprising number of steep edges. The Waikato River has cut terraces through the […]
Gardens & Sections
Patios Under Mature Trees in Tauranga
A big tree in the back corner of a Tauranga section is often the reason people bought the house. Dappled […]
Seasonal Care
Autumn Leaf Fall and Gutter Care
Somewhere between Anzac Day and Queen’s Birthday weekend, the street trees and backyard deciduous trees across most of New Zealand […]
Storms & Safety
After the Storm: Fallen Trees, Floodwater and What to Do First
The morning after a big blow is when most mistakes get made. The wind has dropped, the rain has eased […]
Removal & Felling
When a Palm Has to Go: Removal Considerations in Auckland
Palms were planted enthusiastically across Auckland through the 1980s and 1990s. Phoenix palms lined driveways, queen palms gave pool areas […]
Removal & Felling
Stump Grinding or Stump Removal: Which Suits Your Section
Once a tree is gone, the stump often lingers. It might sit in the middle of the lawn for years, […]
Native Trees & Planting
Growing a Native Hedge From Scratch
A native hedge is one of the most rewarding things you can plant on a New Zealand section. It gives […]
Rules, Consents & Neighbours
Trees, Views and Sunlight Disputes
Few things sour relations between neighbours quite like a tree. One household loves the shade and birdsong; the other has […]
Removal & Felling
Sectional Felling on Tight Urban Sections
The image most people have of tree felling is a single cut at the base and a tall trunk crashing […]
Pruning & Tree Health
Citrus Pruning in the Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty is one of the easiest places in the country to grow citrus. Mild winters, plenty of […]
Roots, Drains & Hard Surfaces
Willow and Poplar Roots in Older Clay Drains
Plenty of Waikato properties have a story like this. A sink starts gurgling, the gully trap overflows after heavy rain, […]
Gardens & Sections
Shade, Mould and Exterior Paint on the North Shore
Drive through the older streets of Devonport, Birkenhead or Northcote and you will see plenty of weatherboard villas and bungalows […]
Seasonal Care
Watering Young Trees Through a Dry Summer
A tree planted in winter has a few months to settle before the first hot, dry stretch arrives. In much […]
Seasonal Care
Leaf Litter, Moss and Roof Coatings Under Big Trees
A big tree beside the house brings shade in summer, a bit of privacy and, often, a constant shower of […]
Removal & Felling
What Happens to the Wood After a Tree Comes Down
Felling a tree tends to dominate the conversation: the cost, the access, the noise, the neighbours. Then the last section […]
Storms & Safety
Northland Storm Preparation: Trees Over the Roofline
Northland gets more than its share of subtropical lows. When an ex-cyclone tracks down from the north, the first places […]
Roots, Drains & Hard Surfaces
How Far Do Tree Roots Really Spread
Ask ten people how far tree roots go and you will hear everything from “as deep as the tree is […]
Pruning & Tree Health
How to Read a Tree Before You Prune It
Most pruning mistakes happen before the saw comes out. Someone notices a branch brushing the gutter, grabs a loppers and […]