This is a column by landscapers, for landscapers. In it, you’ll find knowledge, views and insights from professionals just like you, who are currently working in the industry
SOL LANDSCAPING
Interviewee: Ross Nicolaas
Location: Tauranga
Staff: 3
The main difference between us and other areas is the type of plants we’re asked to put in.
I can’t talk too much about the differences between Tauranga and the rest of New Zealand, but I know the difference between here and Hamilton, as I used to be a project manager there.
In Tauranga, we’re asked to plant a lot more tropical species, such as palm trees. Everyone wants a mini-Fiji or Samoa in their backyard! But that can still be tricky, as in some areas – like Papamoa – they’ll get smashed by the wind, which they don’t like.
Another difference is that we’re asked to install a lot more drop-in pools by companies like Tidy Pools and Truestyle, whereas in Hamilton, more pools are produced via custom onsite fabrication by companies like Line & Design. That’s probably due to section sizes being smaller around Tauranga.
Soil types are also different, which impacts the type of grass we lay. Having a sandy base here in Tauranga means it’s hard to keep a nice fine fescue grass unless you’ve got a borehole, so we tend to go with kikuyu, as it’s very self-sufficient.
PROTEA LANDSCAPING
Interviewee: Rick Erasmus
Location: Invercargill
Staff: 1
The climate down here is extremely different to the rest of New Zealand. We have a lot of
rain, wind, snow and frost, so we have to choose plants that are really hardy. In October, it didn’t go above 15 degrees, and we had non-stop rain for days, which always makes things challenging.
We’ll always pick hardy grasses, trees and Invercargill natives to make sure they can survive the climate. As far as trees go, I’d normally plant a lot of conifers, maples that can take frost or totara.
One huge difference between here and the rest of the country is that we’d never get work for
any swimming pools. On the flip side, we get a lot of work for outdoor entertainment areas that
feature lovely fire pits with nice seating arrangements, so people can enjoy being outside without getting too cold.
I have noticed that people here are tightening their belts a lot more, compared to last year. I’m not sure if that’s the case across the whole country.
CARL PICKENS LANDSCAPES
Interviewee: Carl Pickens
Location: Warkworth
Staff: 3
A lot of our clients live on big rural sites and come to us with jobs such as creating a level pad for their homes and gardens, as most of the nice flat sections have already been snapped up.
We also get a lot of jobs where we have to locate septic fields, water tanks and driveways. Because of the nature of work involving rural lifestyle blocks, we’re also asked to plant orchards and food gardens, usually at a scale far bigger than city-based gardens!
Our climate means we can grow a large range of fruit species here, such as pears, apples and bananas, as well as macadamias and walnuts, so we work with a huge variety of trees when we install orchards. Unfortunately, we can’t grow blackcurrants, redcurrants or cherries, as they require high chilling hours and frost, which you encounter further south.
We’re also often asked how to deal with heavy clay soils and how to mitigate heavy rainfall and wet winters, which seems to be a problem our region faces that some other areas of the country don’t.