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LEE ANN HAS TAKEN A SHINE TO THESE NATIVE PLANTS
I’ve just been lying on the bank of the stream in the long grass that A Certain Person has not weed-eaten for a while, under the shade of a makomako.
The makomako is in flower and although it’s probably done it before, it’s the first time I’ve really noticed. I didn’t plant it because I love makomako, but because four years ago, in an effort to placate an ecowarrior friend (Mike) who was growling at me for planting too many exotic trees, I committed to planting two native trees a year on Waitangi Day.
Makomako was one of the first. Possibly, I was attracted to its common name of wineberry or even its real name Aristotelia serrata. More likely, though, is that I’d read it was fast-growing and that’s what mattered then. It has grown quite speedily to about two metres tall, it’s a lovely shape and while the flowers are not flashy, they’re very detailed and pretty when you study them looking up from a prostrate position in the long grass.
Waitangi Day is not an ideal time for planting where I live, being boiling hot and usually drought stricken, but I agreed to that day because I knew I’d need a reminder to do the business and that seemed as good an idea as any.
And it has worked. Thanks to Eco-Mike and Waitangi Day, we have a respectable number of native trees and, spookily, I’m beginning to like them.
Take Griselinia littoralis.
The Partner has been a great defender of this plant, but griselinia hedges did nothing to excite me and for ages they were banned from the property. Then he was given a whole heap of a variety called Broadway Mint by a local nurseryman and I found myself unable to look a gift horse in the mouth. We planted them behind a low wall on the stream bank, and they doubled in size in a year and formed a casual hedge, which looks, well, rather good.
When I sneakily looked the plant up on Google, I discovered, to my shame, that it has most of the qualities I demand in a little tree – it’s evergreen, it has glossy leaves, it gets its legs quickly, it grows fast but not too fast, it doesn’t need any maintenance and it doesn't get too tall. Auntie Google promised it would reach two metres in its first five years and three metres when mature, and so far, we’re on track for that.
Another New Zealander with similar attributes is the Pittosporum. Again, it’s not very exciting but it is the backbone of many Kiwi gardens and will do the job nicely without demanding constant food, water, grooming and conversation.
Because they come in so many shapes, sizes and colours, Pittosporums can be used as excellent feature plants, screens, windbreaks, shrubberies or topiary specimens. They’re smart and shapely, and are uncomplaining if you cut them back. With 200 species available, you’d have to be a very fussy gardener not to find one to suit. I’ve taken a shine to the little round golf ball ones and they’re the mainstay of what has turned out to be quite stylish planting along the edge of the driveway.
And it’s no hardship to have to plant a kakabeak every Waitangi Day. The family name is Fabaceae, which I’m sure derives from ‘fabulous’. The kakabeak (Clianthus puniceus and Clianthus maximus) is found only in New Zealand, which is another good reason for having one or two, or six.
I have planted this year’s kakabeak in a pot in the courtyard, along with another newly discovered native, the Schefflera digitata. Its common name is Pate (not the French kind) and mine is tall and willowy. It grows to about three metres tall and produces greenishwhite flowers in summer. It likes the shade and enjoys a drink or two, so I reckon our courtyard is the perfect spot for it.