Updated project plan

September 2025

We have been in the house for one year last weekend. We have done a lot of work and there is a lot still to do.

There have been a couple of cabbage white butterflies spotted over the last week in the garden on sunny days - they are still not impressed with the lack of brassicas - and we lost a kanuka in the recent high winds, highlighting that the ground is still not stable. I have also bought a potting shed, which is amazing in New Zealand as the concept of a half greenhouse, half shed is not one that has caught on here. However, I have nowhere to put it yet. Hmm, more planning needed.

I realise that the first project plan actions I wrote was really only the first year's work or vague plans, so it's time to update it for the next year in the garden.

Butterfly Garden

1. Finish planting up the new garden beds and widened borders of the butterfly garden

2. Grow from seed annuals that will fill the spaces initially and as many perennials as possible to save money

3. Note when each plant flowers and if pollinators feed from it

4. Review the performance of each butterfly garden plant at the end of the season. If plants do not work where they are initially planted, they can be moved in autumn / winter. Plants may grow bigger than expected, or need dividing or removing, so this will be an ongoing review process.

5. Ensure there are enough plants flowering for year round nectar. Research and plant more if there are gaps in the year.

6. Monitor wind levels in the butterfly garden and see if more shelter plants are necessary.

7. Record the wildlife I find in the new garden, including undertaking butterfly counts on sunny days.

The beds are mostly planted and need some annuals to grow inbetween

Main Bush

1. Plan an access route through the main bush for maintenance and to access the stream.

2. Remove the monkey apple saplings that have been missed.

3. Assess where more native plants are needed and make plans to buy or grow these. I wasn't able to buy all the species I wanted to for the 2025 planting season, like akepiro and mingimingi, so another planting season is required.

Mingimingi flowering at nearby Kauri Point Centennial Park earlier this month

Top Bush

1. Create access pathways

2. Clear all the invasive ginger, Japanese honeysuckle, monstera and moth plant

3. Remove the large monkey apple on the northern border that is creating issues for the neighbour's house

4. Plan and plant the area around the removed monkey apple so that when the root system rots, the ground does not fall away

5. Build deck for potting shed

6. Continue to trap introduced predators

7. Plant up the space where the ginger has been cleared with natives once the potting shed is in

Some of the ginger roots recently removed from the top bush

Stream

1. Improve access to the stream for ongoing work

2. Undertake a mud scrape to see what invertebrate life is in the stream. If it is successful, do this on a regular basis

3. When water levels have dropped, assess the damage and plan how the erosion around the stream could be slowed

4. In concert, plan measures to improve the area for wildlife

5. Observe wildlife that are using the stream as a water source - are butterflies?

6. Plant a mini-pond in a tub to see if this attracts animals that prefer still water (assuming the planned in-ground pond is not created this year)

The bog area by the stream, with new planting