Native Plants for the Wellington Region

Forest and Bird, Issue 296, 1 May 2000, Page 11

Native Plants for the Wellington Region

ollowing a recent Northland initiative, the Wellington Regional Council has now produced a native-planting guide for local conditions, which is even more useful. Taking the approach of ‘using your garden to sustain our native ecosystems’ the Wellington Regional Native Plant Guide is a 32-page booklet containing a wealth of valuable information. It divides the region into 16 planting zones, extending from the exposed and rocky coastal strip, to the OtakiWaikanae alluvial terraces, the inland Wairarapa hill country, and the mountain ranges of the southern North Island.

The guide lists plants suited to local conditions, matching species with various environments. It offers plants that encourage native birds to visit the garden, and plants that keep streams and wetlands healthy. The gardener picks the likely zone from a locality map but can check in finer detail by consulting a list of suburbs to confirm the choice. From there, a zone page recommends what to plant. These include ‘heritage’ trees — the potential forest giants — and smaller trees with likely sizes indicated; also shrubs, climbers and scramblers, grasses, sedges and rushes, and ferns.

Each zone page includes an interesting list of environmental factors which will influence the plants. There is also an indication of past landscapes, describing lost habitats and the kinds of plants which distinguished them. Several pages also carry colour pictures of outstanding species. A ‘main list’ includes all the plants in the book, marked with environmental symbols for those wanting to know what other species to consider for their locality: it also includes lists of scientific and Maori names. There is an amazing amount of helpful detail crammed into this little book. Copies are available at

$2.50 each from a number of specialist shops — the telephonists at regional council offices have a list of these outlets to help enquirers.