Coprosma pseudocuneata is endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands and is found from the Raukumara range in the North Island of New Zealand south as far as Stewart Island at an altitude range of 240 –1525m asl. Its habitat is montane to lower sublapine forest and scrub. Coprosma pseudocuneata is a densely leafy erect open-branched variable shrub up to 3 m tall with stout branches. Its young branchlets are more or less hairy with long narrow dark green leaves or yellow green with short broad leaves, clustered on short hairless stalks. It has solitary light yellow flowers from December to January and its fruits appear February till May. The oblong 5–6 mm long fruits are usually red, orange-red, orange, pale purple, pale yellow or yellowish white.

Metrosideros umbellata, Southern rata or ironwood is endemic to the North, South, Stewart and Auckland Islands. In the North Island it is present locally from Te Paki south to Mt Pirongia, the northern Kaimai Ranges (Ngatamahinerua) and Mt Manuoha (Te Urewera National Park). In the South Island from Durville Island south and to Fiordland, with a mainly westerly distribution, most of Canterbury and northern Otago, but absent from Marlborough. Also common on Stewart and the Auckland Islands. It is not threatened, but however, rather uncommon in the North Island, and at some sites it is locally threatened by possum browse.  North Island plants are genetically distinct from South Island plants but the differences cannot be matched to morphology. All recent southern rata collections made from the Tararua Ranges are the hybrid M. robusta x M. umbellata. A few photographs taken in the 1930s from the Francis Ridge, Southern Tararua Ranges may have been genuine M. umbellata but the species cannot be found there now. Other northern Tararua records of M. umbellata appear to be based on M. robusta. It is a beautiful, very slow growing specimen tree which should be more widely planted in locations where conditions are suitable, forms a dense shrub which grows to small, very slow growing tree 3 - 6m, sometimes up to 18m high. It is usually found in lowland to mountain regions and occassionally in subalpine forest and scrubland from sealevel to 1060m asl. It produces blood red flowers from November to March, but trees can take many years before they will flower. It will grow in most well drained soils and once established will tolerate dryness (water during dry weather until established). Frost hardy.

Anemanthele lessoniana, hunangamoho, gossamer grass or wind grass is endemic to the North Island, from North Auckland, Waikato and southern third of the island; and in the South Island from Nelson and Marlborough south, mainly in the east. Also occurs as a cultivation escape in some places, e.g., Auckland City. This genus of one species that is confined to New Zealand is found from sea level to montane forest, forest margins, scrub and on cliff faces and associated talus, but is not common. A medium sized grass that forms bold clumps, up to 80cm tall and 1m across has flowing or drooping stems and foliage. When grown in open situations the foliage has a yellowish to golden brown colour, but in the shade (see photo), such as under trees it is usually green. It's flowering stems have a rosy reddish hue, and are very graceful and give the plant a very light, feathery appearance. When viewed against the light the whole plant appears to shimmer with a light crimson halo, and after rain or a heavy dew it can be transformed to a thing of beauty when the small water droplets cling to every part. This spectacular grass is useful as a single specimen, or in a group as a ground-cover to bold effect. As a forest plant, it is ideal for areas of light shade under trees, but is equally happy in open situations once established, is suprisingly drought tolerant. It will not tolerate persistent salt-laden winds. It self seeds well in the garden.

 Anaphalioides bellidioides, Hells Bells, or New Zealand Everlasting Daisy is endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands. It is wide spread in mountain regions from East Cape to Mt Taranaki southwards. It is found from sea-level to 1600m asl, in scrub, tussock grassland, herbfields, river-beds stony places, road banks and rocky outcrops. It is a soft herbaceous densely mat-forming evergreen perennial growing to 60cm across and 15cm high, with slender stems, that are cottony-hairy when young, becoming smooth and reddish. The leaves are 5-10mm long, obovate to narrowly, round tipped and mucronate (leaf apex tipped with short abrupt point on the end of the midvein). The under side of the leaves are white felted. It has white strawflower, daisy-like everlasting flower heads (1.5-3cm across) that appear from October to February. They grow in sunny moist, gravelly soil, but can also grow quite well in drier semi-shade. It is a worthwhile plant that has great use in the garden as a groundcover, or as edging along a pathway, especially in a rock garden, when allowed to trail down over rocks.

CREATE A  WATER-WISE GARDEN!

 The main focus behind creating a water wise garden is to create a garden which is both attractive and thrives with minimal water. Outdoor water use makes up a large percentage of residential water consumption (especially in the summer), and research indicates great savings can be made if water wise gardening techniques are applied. Water wise gardening means thinking about things like watering techniques, mulching, using organic material, plant selection and design.

Watering Techniques

Your garden plants probably need less water than you think. Watering little and often does not help, as the water does not penetrate deep into the ground and only encourages plants to develop shallow rooting systems (near the soil surface). One good soak during a 10 day period is more beneficial than a light watering daily.

You can find out if you need to water by digging a hole a spades depth and examining the soil, only watering if it feels dry to touch.

Water only in the cool of the morning or evening to prevent evaporation, use a watering can (great exercise), or use a hand-held hose, making sure that the plant gets the water where it needs it not running off.

When planting put a saucer shaped dip around the base of the plant so that when you water it pools around the plant.

Mulches

It helps if you stop the soil from drying out in the first place, by evaporation by the wind or sun. A mulch is simply a layer of material placed on the surface to stop weeds from flourishing, prevents water evaporation from the soil improving the condition of the soil.

Mulches can be made from various materials, such as bark chips, gravel, pea straw. We recommend a good bark mulch for most native plants. The thicker the layer of mulch the more effective it is, with one of 5-10 cm making a huge difference to water retention.

Organic Matter

Water retention in soils with organic matter is greater, use products such as compost or Sphagnum Moss when planting.  These products all help to hold more moisture in the soil.

Design

Use dry hardy plants, and use plants that have similar soil and water needs together in the same garden beds

Plant Trees or Shrubs suitable for dry places

There are a wide range of plants that will survive a dry summer with minimal watering (once established), consider using some of the following species:

Brachyglottis spp                                                      Olearia avicenniaefolia                          Carmichaelia spp                                                      Olearia coriacea               

Coprosma spp and cultivars                                     Olearia lineata ‘dartonii’

Corokia spp and cultivars                                         Olearia macrodonta

Cordyline spp and cultivars                                      Olearia nummularifolia

Corynocarpus laevigatus                                          Olearia oleifolia

Dodonaea viscosa                                                    Olearia paniculata

Griselinia spp                                                            Olearia solandrii

Halocarpus bidwillii                                                   Olearia traversii

Hebe spp and cultuvars                                            Pachystegia insignis

Helichrysum coralioides                                            Phormium spp and cultivar

Helichrysum intermedium                                         Pittosporum anomalum                            Helichrysun parvifolium                                             Pittosporum crassifolium and cvs

Heliohebe ‘Hagley Park’                                            Pittosporum eugenioides and cvs

Heliohebe hulkeana                                                   Linum monogynum

Lophomyrtus spp                                                       Pseudopanax arboreus

Metrosideros  excelsa                                                Pseudopanax crassifolius

Myoporum laetum                                                      Pseudopanax ferox

Sophora spp and cultivars    

                

Coprosma linariifolia, mikimiki or yellow wood is endemic  to the North and South Islands, from the Hawkes Bay and Manawatu, where it is somewhat local, and is widespread east of the Main Divide in the South Island. It grows from sea-level to 900m asl in lowland to montane forest, scrub, and sometimes shrubland. A very hardy, fast growing tall shrub to small tree up to 6-8m tall, with definite trunk that can have rather smooth to rough fawn-grey bark, with inner bark that is bright yellow to deep orange-yellow in colour. Its flexible branches are slender and dark brown and downy when young, and it has long, narrow, straight, sometimes curved, leathery, dark green glossy leaves that are paler underneath. It prefers open situation, has small flower in November to December followed by translucent white oblong drupes that are often flecked with blue or blue-black, or sometimes wholly black from May.

Fuscospora fusca, syn Nothofagus fusca, tawhairanui, or red beech is endemic to the North and South Islands, and is found from Te Aroha and Rotorua southwards in the North Island, but is localized north of East Cape, and is absent from Mount Taranaki. It is found throughout the South Island. It grows in lowland to mountain forest from sea-level to 1060m asl. It is a tall forest tree that grows up to 30m tall with a dark brown to black trunk (on older trees) up to 1.8m or more in diameter, bearing masses of mid to dark green, sharply-toothed leaves, that can have a  reddish tinge in winter, and also have a small hairy pit at the junction of the veins. It flowers between September and January, and the small flowers and fruit are usually inconspicuous, but change the colour of tree when in flower. Its wood possesses an even, compact, and straight grain that is red-coloured. In the past the wood has been used for wharf and bridge construction, for railway sleeper and for house building, but today is used mainly for making furniture or for more decorative work and woodturning.

Leptinella minor or Banks Peninsula button daisy is endemic to the South Island. It is found on Banks Peninsula, however historic herbarium specimens show it was once on the Canterbury Plains. This is a naturally uncommon species due to range restriction, and is found from sea level to 600 m a.s.l., on rock outcrops and associated open, rubbly skeletal soils. Usually found in sites within little surrounding vegetation and sometimes in open grassland. It is a monoecious, creeping perennial herb that forms an open or diffuse patch with rhizomes at the soil surface. It has small feathery dull green leaves that in full sun can have a tinge of brown to the foliage. It has small white pincushion-like flowers from September to July.  It will grow in sun or semi-shade, moist and can be invasive. It is great as a lawn alternative to grass!

Aciphylla subflabellata, kuri kuri, speargrass is endemic to the South Island in the east from south-eastern Marlborough to Southland. It is found in montane to subalpine from 300-1400 m a.s.l., usually in dry sites on alluvial terraces, gentle rolling slopes and colluvium, intermontane basins amongst short or tall tussocks and on the margins of grey scrub, sometimes on or near rock outcrops or amongst boulders. It is a stout perennial forming stout rosettes up to 40cm high and up to 75cm in diameter, it is recognised by its grey-green or brownish grey-green colour and its very slender leaflets. It has yellow flowers that occur on stout and very spiky flowering stems up to 1m tall from November to January, with seed developing from December to late January. It is widespread but generally never common, and is possibly more threatened than believed because many of its lowland habitats are extremely modified, weed infested and plants are browsed where accessible by cattle, rabbits and hares. Current herbarium evidence suggests that this species is still poorly known but that from available evidence it is naturally uncommon over large parts of its stated range. One of the easier species to cultivate, though it dislikes humidity and excessive moisture. Should be planted in a sunny, free draining situation, with a cool root run for its long tap root, and once planted do not transplant or disturb roots. Can be grown in a tub.

 Elaeocarpus hookerianus or pokaka, which is endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands, but is uncommon from Auckland north. This common tree of lowland to montane forests can grow up to 12m tall with a trunk of up to 1m in diameter. Juvenile plants are quite different from the adult, having slender interlacing branchlets with small leaves that are a diverse range of shapes and lengths. The juvenile leaves can change quite quickly to the adult form when the tree is still only a few metres tall.  Mature trees flower from October – January, followed by small dark fruits from March to June. It is often confused with its relative hinau (Elaeocarpus dentatus).

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, kahikatea or white pine is endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands. It is found in lowland forest, formerly dominant on frequently flooded, and/or poorly drained alluvial soils. Occasionally extends into lower montane forest. Once the dominant tree of a distinct swamp forest type it is all but extinct in the North Island - the best examples remain on the West Coast of the South Island. There are great examples of this tree in areas of Banks Peninsula and at Riccarton Bush in Christchurch. It is the tallest of our native trees reaching its full potential after about 750 years. It prefers growing in wet swamp-lands but will grow in dryer sites if sheltered.

It is a stout, dioecious, cohort-forming conifer 50-65m. tall with a trunk 1-2m diameter that is often fluted and buttressed. It has grey to dark-grey bark, falling in thick, sinuous flakes. It has scale-like leaves. It flowers from October to January, then produces orange-red terminal fruits (female plants) from February to April, that bear the distinctive circular seeds serve to immediately distinguish this species from all other indigenous conifers. Its orange-red fruit is a favourite food for Kereru (wood pigeon). The Maori name kahikatea is now more widely used than kahika, katea. Like many other species in the family Podocarpaceae, the classification of kahikatea has changed over time, having also been placed in the genera Podocarpus and Nageia. The wood was tough, easy to work but not durable in weather and prone to attack by wood-boring insects. Since the wood does not impart an odour and is clean and lightweight, Kahikatea was used to make boxes for the exporting of butter when the refrigerated export became feasible from Australia and New Zealand in the 1880s. The butter was exported in 56 lb slabs, and kahikatea became less common as the export industry grew. It was this practice which all but eliminated kahikatea-dominated swamp forest from the North Island and northern South Island. When treated it was used for scaffold planks, weatherboards, fascia boards, mouldings, window sashes, feature panelling and in boat building. For Maori, the kahikatea had many uses. The fleshy aril or koroi was an important food resource and was served at feasts in great amounts. The constructed the waka (canoe) with it. Soot obtained from burning the heartwood supplied a pigment for traditional tattooing (ta moko). The wood was also favoured for making bird spears. Nowadays Kahikatea along with other tree species in privately owned forests can only be harvested under a permit system and only if sustainable harvesting techniques are used.

Spinifex sericeus, kowhangatara, or silvery sand grass is indigenous, and is commonly found throughout New Zealand. It is also present in Australia. It is the most important native sand-binding grass in New Zealand, and favours dunes immediately behind the beach. It can tolerate high winds, salt spray and shifting sands. Its does not tolerate stable dune systems, and does not compete well with other introduced dune plants. The male and female flowers are produced from September to December on separate plants, and the distinctive spiky heads are produced by the female plant from November to May. Once autumn nears the spiky seed heads of Spinifex grass, powered by wind, roll along the beach until it gets trapped. Then the fine sand submerges the seed balls, which then releases its seeds to restart the cycle of growth and dispersion.  If the heads are trapped where they become saturated by the tide they break up and these bits are then carried to other suitable areas to germinate. The seeds grow into perennial grass that has greyish-green coloured leaves, covered with dense hairs that make them look silvery. It is a creeping and rooting grass up to 60cm tall with tufts of leaves arising from creeping undrground stems (rhizomes) that grow into multiple metres long runners with buds developing into new male and female plants that bloom during spring and early summer. It is very hardy, and is best grown in sand. This indigenous sand binding grass is an important place in giving some stability to foreshore dunes on windswept beaches and prevents dunes from moving inland. Dunes naturally take the role of shore protectors in both directions, from the incoming surf of the sea and filtering the water coming from wetlands that are close to the shore. The shorebirds like Caspian terns, the threatened dotterels, oystercatchers, gulls, insects and reptiles these dunes are their home and breeding ground.     

Linum monogynum, rauhuia, NZ true flax or NZ linen flax is endemic to the North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands. It is often abundant in rocky places and dunes along sea coasts and sometimes inland in low mountain regions up to 600m asl. It forms a small bush that can grow to 40-50cm in height, that when left unpruned tends to be a quite lax as its upper branches are quite fine and slender. It has very attractive bright green or almost glaucous leaves that are quite soft, and if the bush is pruned and shaped regularly it can form a lovely open bush. Its white flowers are the main feature of the plant, and they appear on the plant from spring through to early autumn. Plants can be relatively short lived but they self-seed quite readily so their is no shortage of replacements. It is very tolerant of dry situations but will be a more luxuriant plant if planted in good free-draining soils. It doesn't like damp sites and in the shade the plant will have a more open habit. It is a fantastic addition to any garden and is great for filling gaps in borders and for on banks. Linum monogynum is related to L. usitatissimum, the bast fibre of which is used to produce linen and the seeds to produce linseed oil.

Carex buchananii or Buchanans sedge is endemic to the North and South Islands. In the North Island it is uncommon, and known there only from scattered sites south of the Manawatu. In the South Island it is more widespread, though often sporadically distributed and at times locally common down the eastern side, but rare in Southland and apparently absent from Westland and Fiordland. It is naturalised in Auckland City, and recorded as naturalised in the United Kingdom. It grows from coastal to montane areas (up to 1000 m a.s.l.). On beaches, lagoon, lake and stream margins, or in damp ground within open forest or short tussock grassland. This rather densely tufted species that grows from 50-75cm tall has a reddish brown colour, and generally has a rather stiff and erect habit. In addition to its growth habit, it is usually recognised by the fine tips of the leaves being bleached and a very distinctively curled. Will tolerate most conditions, but does best in full sun in a permanently damp soil. In ideal conditions this species often naturalises, and it can at times become invasive. It is a great plant for the garden and in landscape architecture due to its erect habit, although older plants leaves can become more widespread.

 Carex comans or Longwood tussock is endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands, but is absent from Fiordland. It is usually found in coastal to subalpine regions, from sea-level to 1200m asl in damp pasture, damp places in tussock grassland, on river flats, and in free draining soils either in the open or under scrub or tall forest in relatively open sparsely vegetated situations. In Southland it is variously known as Longwood tussock or Tokanui tussock. It often naturalises in urban areas. A densely tufted, very leafy species that grows to 30-40cm tall with long flaccid red, yellow-green, or lime-green leaves that have distinctively curls tips. It flowers and produces seed at various times during the year. Once a year it should be groomed to keep it tidy, by combing out the dead growth and old seed heads. Great as a border plant in a garden or in mass on a bank. There are a number of differing forms that vary in colouration.