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SPRING 2016
ONE OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES IN PLANTING
design is being handed a ‘blank canvas’. The site may
be virtually featureless – little or no vegetation beyond
pasture; no protective land forms or existing structures
for design cues; soil fertility may be severely degraded,
and sun and wind exposure may be extreme. The initial
site plan is essentially a bare page, and it is your job to
find the inspiration (and suitable plant species) to meet
your clients’ vision and needs.
Poor plant selection on an exposed site will likely
mean certain death for the plants and prove costly
to the project budget -and possibly your reputation.
Conversely, selecting wind-tolerant, locally-sourced
species early on will give your project the best possible
start, and create shelter for less hardy species to thrive
as the project matures.
Prolific and adaptable species such as Phormium
cookianum (mountain flax), Pittosporum crassifolium
(karo) and Leptospermum scoparium (manuka) should
be very familiar to most landscape practitioners - they
rightly appear near the top of many exposed-site revegetation lists. For those searching for more botanical
diversity, planting a windy site needn’t be bland - with
a little research one can soon find a plethora of tough
native plants that can establish themselves on the
windiest of sites.
The Acaena genus contains several hardy groundcovers that can be useful for weed-suppression and
small-scale erosion control on windy sites. As always, it
is worth researching your local species for best per-
LEPTOSPERMUM
SCOPARIUM:
Manuka, or
common tea tree,
comes in several
forms and is ideal
for revegetating
exposed sites.
formance and to support native biodiversity in your
region. Acaena anserinifolia is found throughout New
Zealand and forms dense copper-green mats of feathery foliage, and features the Velcro-like seed heads
that are a calling-card of this handy genus. Coprosma
petriei is a sprawling, prostrate shrub that, like so many
in the Coprosma genus, is very much at home on open
ground. This tightly-tufted groundcover offers the
designer a ‘moss-like’ option when a Japanese-garden
aesthetic (or similar) is sought in windy conditions.
Muehlenbeckia axillaris is a dense, prostrate, coastal
vine that will neatly spread over rocks or walls yet will
not become unruly like its larger cousin Muehlenbeckia
complexa. Fine, deep-green foliage make Muehlenbeckia
axillaris an excellent low filler for large gardens, while
its sweetly-scented diminutive flowers offer food for
native copper butterflies and other nectar feeders.
Geranium traversii is a low-growing, fleshy herb
from the Chatham Islands with blue/silver-green
leaves and white/pink flowers. It is one of the few
species from these islands that will thrive in cultivation
on the mainland, and makes a dainty addition to windy
gardens in areas of low humidity. Carex trifida is a robust, broad-leaved sedge found in coastal zones which
is often associated with seal haul-outs and bird-nesting areas; it is a reliable choice for exposed, moist
landscapes. Xeronema callistemon is an unmistakable
northern icon. Once found only on the windswept Poor
Knight’s Islands and Hen Island near Whangarei, its
bright green swords and distinctive red flower spikes
COPROSMA
PROPINQUA:
Belonging to the
Rubiaceae family,
this common
small-leaved shrub
forms low mounds
on exposed sites.