Vine weeds, vine weeds, and more vine weeds...

Jenny from

If your garden seems to have disappeared somewhere under an unfamiliar...or all-too-familiar...mass, now is the time to reclaim it. And don't worry, in most cases it CAN be reclaimed, once you know what's going on in the jungle.

The explosion of moth plant pods in the neighbourhood, each burst pod's thousands of tiny seeds blown on the wind, means almost every garden is likely to have at least a seedling or two...and many have thousands. Easy to pull out as seedlings or very young vines, but hard to spot as they hug fences and trees to climb into the leafy canopy, where they match the greenery and hide their seed-filled pods.

Ivy is often unrecognised when mature, as it has a different shape and colour of leaf from the familiar dark green leaf. It also has hanging bunches of flowers which turn to little black berries, loved by blackbirds who deposit the seeds at their next stop.

Japanese honeysuckle also has little black berries, spread by birds in the same manner. These seedlings are becoming more common, and start new honeysuckle invasions as far as the birds' feeding rounds take them.

Now summer is over, bindweed has slithered to the ground, where its spaghetti-like runners, hidden under mulch, leaf litter or weedmat, will lie dormant till Spring. Runners scooped up easily now mean next year's vines will be much smaller, giving us a chance to control them before they overtake our shrubberies, small trees and new plantings.

Pink jasmine still has its pretty green foliage, often covering fences and entire areas of shrubs and small trees, emerging from under buildings, and climbing up to 10m high wherever it finds a tree.

While it may be interesting to sit back and wait to see what will be the Last Plant Standing, you may prefer to call us for a Garden Ecology assessment, advice on how to restore order without chemicals or digging, or a weekly application of our gardening service (or more often if you want rapid transformation).

See our Profile for website and contact info, call 021485994, or email jenny@northshorewilds.co.nz