Creating fine habitats ... naturally

Well-designed landscape gardening, as we all know, can greatly benefit everyone's living environment - whether it's at home or at work.
One company, Auckland-based Natural Habitats, has  has expanded into Tauranga and wants to bring an extra dimension to landscaping.
The award-winning company plans to introduce environmentally friendly green roofs, greenwalls and rain gardens - as well as natural swimming pools and landscape lighting - into the  region.
The green technology may sound highfalutin, but green walls and roofs are commonplace in Europe.
Jason Muir, Natural Habitats' Bay of Plenty manager, has established an office and a team of five in Tauranga to grow the market here. The design and build landscape company has had a presence in the Western Bay since 2008, but in February it decided to set up an official branch here, and Mr Muir "happily" moved from Auckland.
Since Auckland landscaper Graham Cleary started Natural Habitats more than 25 years, the company has opened offices in Coromandel at Whitianga, Wellington, Queenstown, and now in the Bay - and won many awards.
It won the category for the best residential project in the 2008 Landscaping New Zealand awards, as well as picking up five other golds and one silver medal.
"We've always known the Bay is a fantastic place for landscaping and the market began improving at the end of last year," said Mr Muir. "There's a lot of infrastructure work here - as well as commercial and residential landscaping, and it was time to move."
Natural Habitats prides itself on  service and stays involved with the client over the whole process - from planning, design, installation and maintenance.
Its focus is on developing a healthy and stimulating environment, and Mr Muir is keen to tell people that green roofs and greenwalls fit the bill.
So have you thought about having a garden on your roof? Natural Habitats spreads soil and special plant media over a root barrier on the waterproofed roof and plants sedum leaf succulents, grasses, perennial shrubs - or in the case of the Quay West Suites in Auckland pohutukawa trees growing three to four metres in height on the podium.
The amount of planting, including the depth of the soil and media, is dependent on the strength of the roof. The lightweight media, which is inert and completely recycled, requires low water levels.
The greenwall is designed as a modular aluminium basket, filled with plant media and wrapped in layers of geotextiles. The basket filled with plants is fixed to the wall and fed with nutrients through an irrigation system.
"Studies show the green roofs and greenwalls improve the air quality and thermal insulation, and dampen noise, producing healthier buildings and occupants," said Mr Muir. "They can operate on recycled or harvested water, and they can reduce or slow stormwater run-off removing toxins."
Both green systems reduce the cost of insulation and energy, including air conditioning, and above all they provide environmental and economic benefits.
Then, there's the rain gardens. A plot proportional to the roof area is dug in the backyard and filled with the special plant media. Stormwater outlets are directed there and the rain gardens slowly release the water back into the water table.
"We should be doing more of these rain gardens in Tauranga," said Mr Muir, thinking about the big floods in 2005.
Natural Habitat's Bay team is  completing the landscaping around the new Pak N Save Food Warehouse in Papamoa, planting native iris, flax and pohutukawa and filling the small wetland retention area with carex and cyperus ustulatus coastal grasses.
They planted at The Pacific Apartments  in Maunganui Rd, and have a landscaping contract with Universal Homes at The Lakes residential community in Pyes Pa west, as well as completing individual work at homes through the city,  mainly at Papamoa and Bethlehem.
Mr Muir said both areas have their particular challenges. "Papamoa has its own micro climate, but you can still have successful gardens and lawns. People haven't placed enough value on the soil media to get plants away and growing strongly.
"You have to be smart about what you plant and not over-use water," he said. "Bethlehem has a high clay content and putting in the right soil conditioning is the key - as well as maintaining the garden."
Mr Muir, a former qualified blacksmith, worked for five years in Arizona,  before returning to Auckland in  2007. He was  project manager for Goodmans Landscape for three of those years and came to appreciate the New Zealand approach.
"We would work in a community with 10,000 homes and finish off the landscaping with a basic package. The clients would step into the backyard, look over at the neighbour's and say 'I want what they have got'. It felt like production landscaping. 
"In New Zealand, owners want to have their own input into the feel of their garden, and landscaping is streets ahead.  We can do a lot more because we can choose from a huge range of plants that can grow here," he said.