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
Calling All Puzzle Masters! Can You Solve This?
When John was six years old he hammered a nail into his favorite tree to mark his height.
Ten years later at age sixteen, John returned to see how much higher the nail was.
If the tree grew by five centimetres each year, how much higher would the nail be?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.1% Yes
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15.2% No
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2.7% Other - I'll share below
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