Ecologist Dr Jaz Morris of Boffa Miskell looks at how public landscaping is helping native species to thrive and recover.

Go back 50 or even 20 years ago and most public landscaping reflected a colonial approach to nature. These spaces were more often characterised by stately English trees, hybrid roses and manicured lawns rather than the complex, rich mosaic of New Zealand’s native flora.

More recently, natives are often the centrepiece of urban plantings, although many botanists would point out that ‘native’ doesn’t necessarily mean local and that some of the most hardy and popular native species are now seen in parks and alongside pavements from Kerikeri to Dunedin – far beyond where they originally grew.

In urban plantings, landscape architects can choose from a wide range of native species to suit the desired form and location – or even to take advantage of an opportunity to boost rare native plant populations. Boffa Miskell ecologists often advise the company’s landscape architects when it comes to preparing a planting palette, and botanists will know an appropriate locally common (or rare) grass, herb, shrub or tree for every centre in Aotearoa.

But urban planting must consider certain practicalities and aesthetics as well. Some native plants are difficult to propagate; few have showy flowers, and some take ages to get very far off the ground. This is probably why attractive or easily grown native species are typically selected for landscape plantings and therefore may now be far greater in number and more widely distributed than they were before human arrival.

Species like mīkoikoi native iris, rengarenga lily and horoeka fierce lancewood come to mind.

Some, like oioi jointed wire rush, are not only attractive in their own right but are ideally suited to functional plantings such as swales and rain gardens. Its natural place is typically at the upper edge of estuarine wetlands, meaning it can tolerate extremes of wet and dry, and probably give it an edge when it comes to tolerating salt, metals and other urban contaminants.
On the other hand, including one or two exotics like gaura (a favourite around Ōtautahi Christchurch) is a great way to add movement and colour.

Dr Jaz Morris is an ecologist and botanist in the Boffa Miskell Christchurch office. boffamiskell.co.nz