Vine weeds, vine weeds, and more vine weeds...
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
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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37% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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63% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Primary School Tutoring – North Shore
Hi neighbours,
I’m a local primary school teacher with experience teaching Years 3–6, and I’m offering a small number of after-school tutoring sessions for primary-aged students.
I can support children with:
• Reading and comprehension
• Writing skills
• Maths confidence
• Catch-up support or extension for capable learners
My focus is on helping students build confidence as well as skills, using practical strategies that work in the classroom.
📍 I’m based on the North Shore, close to Willow Park Primary School.
⏰ Current availability: Thursdays at 4pm, with a few fortnightly session options also available.
$60 for 45 minute sessions.
If you’d like to chat about whether tutoring could help your child, feel free to send me a message.
Kelly
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