Gareth Winter: Lots of colourful locals

Aciphylla flowers growing wild in the Tararua Ranges.

Pretty Kiwi plants reside among all the flax, says Gareth Winter

Of the many changes I have witnessed in garden fashion during my 40 years of gardening, the revival of interest in native plants has been one of the most intriguing. It is a trend I have noticed happening all over the world, although I first saw it taken to extremes in Australia some years ago, when ecologically minded native plant enthusiasts were going around pulling out non-indigenous plants from municipal plantings.

Things have not progressed to that level yet in New Zealand but I have still seen a strong sentiment among younger gardeners that New Zealand plants are the best for all situations.

At the Ellerslie Flower Show, I overheard a young newspaper reporter strongly questioning the creators of a wonderful eco-garden why their garden included irises. The garden was comprised of about 95 per cent native plants but that clearly was not enough for her.

I also remember a visiting overseas garden designer being horrified by the excessive use of natives in our city centres. He thought our central business districts looked drab because they were filled with acres of dead-looking sedges and dull green flaxes, without any flowers in sight.

However, things have changed a little and there seems to be a move towards incorporating more colourful natives alongside exotic plantings in CBDs. I was in Wellington recently and thought the prettiest flowers I saw were on the various kowhai trees, and the most interesting municipal planting was a huge bed of New Zealand iris, Libertia.

These native plants have been popularised by several nurseries in recent years, looking to release plants with better foliage colour. I think the most effective variety is Goldfinger (Libertia ixioides), where the usual green, grass-like leaves have a prominent golden yellow colour down the middle. It has small white, iris-like flowers in the spring but this is really one that's grown for its foliage effect, and it looks its best when planted generously.

Euphorbia glauca's unusual blue foliage.

Ideally, this should be planted in full sun to take advantage of the colour. As you can imagine, it looks fabulous when combined with a dark foliage partner, especially if the leaves are large.

Some of the dark Coprosma hybrids would be ideal, or perhaps a smaller dark Pseudopanax species.

I also found a wonderful planting of native spurge, Euphorbia glauca. Over the years I have become a bit shy of foreign spurges. One species I planted raced away so quickly I dug it out after about six weeks -- and even after this it was still another year or so before I was finally rid of it all. The native form, E. glauca, is much better behaved, although I think if left alone on really sandy soil it might get to wander about a little. This species has blue/grey foliage (it varies a lot in the wild but the bluest forms have been selected for the garden) and has a lovely upright habit that shows the colour off to perfection.

In the wild this usually grows on its own, so make sure it is given a bit of room in the garden -- and take care to see it is not overshadowed by more vigorous growing shrubs.

I have found it tends to look a little scrappy after a while and it pays to trim back the longest of the stems, as they can get leggy. It also seems they require a little moisture over the summer, as it tends to become leggy from lack of water then too. The colour is very unusual in our native flora so you should make the most of the chance to use it.

Goldfinger

If you are feeling very adventurous in the garden you might want to try planting a few wild Spaniards around the place.

These members of the Aciphylla genus are almost all New Zealanders -- with Australia claiming a couple. Oddly, they are members of the carrot family.

Trampers quickly learn they are not to be messed with -- these rigidly tipped leaves are sharp. I grow a few of these and weed with care as both living and dead leaves pack quite a nasty punch if you stab your finger on them.

Probably the most common species is A. squarrosa, found in the wild throughout both North and South islands.

It is a good garden plant, its blue-green leaves providing a lively contrast in colour and texture. Anyone who has been in the alpine zone of our mountains and seen wild Spaniards in flower in summer, along with mountain daisies and other high altitude plants, will rush at the chance to add these quintessentially New Zealand plants to their gardens.