Natalie’s garden blog November 2025: Spring Gardening in New Zealand, Late spring growth, opportunistic weeds and plants best avoided
- Natalie Quirke
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
I do some of my best thinking while pulling weeds — Martha Smith
I enjoy pulling out weeds. There is nothing more satisfying than pulling up a strong growing weed roots and all. It’s confirmation better weather, and the rewards of having a garden are just around the corner. It’s a time of work but also great anticipation!
Weeding can be a little like solving a puzzle. If you look closely you’ll find hidden amongst the weeds are treasures like self-grown flower seedlings. This is your reward for leaving some plants to go to seed in the late summer and autumn. Now is a good time to start planting out the seedings you sowed a few weeks ago. All going to plan everything will be flowering and looking glorious over Christmas and the summer holidays.
I’m a fan of pulling up weeds and leaving them in small piles in the garden, creating a mulch. This time of the year is perfect for weed pulling, the soil is moist and they’re easy to pull, and as most don’t have seed heads yet leaving them on top of the soil won’t encourage them to spread. Some weeds like oxalis and tradescantia will however need to go into your wheelie bin to discourage them from spreading. Keep any digging in your garden to a minimum to help maintain soil moisture and structure, but also as an effective way to discourage weed seeds from germinating.
Weeds and pest plants
Continuing with the weed theme there’s a saying that a weed is a plant in the wrong place. Many of today’s plants are hybrids of more vigorous and often less showy varieties. And this is where it gets a little tricky. The newer hybrids are often bred for more colour, or stronger scent while still having the ability to growing strongly. And we like them! They give us something different, while adding diversity and interest to our gardens. Caution is now called for. Their vigorous growth habits can become a problem, and not just in our gardens. Our local parks and gardens become home to these ‘errant’ plants and council budgets are allocated for eliminating plants that have now become pest plants. Some include Ginger, Old man’s beard, Chilean myrtle and White-edged nightshade. It’s surprising the number of plants that are on the Regional Pest Management Plan (RPMP), and the National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA).
Some of the worst plants to plant in your garden
There are plants we really shouldn’t be planting. I have an earlier variety of Alstromeria (Alstromeria psittacina) in my fairly large garden which used to grow in one secluded part of my garden. It is now popping up everywhere, and even in pots filled with commercial potting mix. I have meticulously removed (on more than one occasion) large clumps from patches in my garden and it has returned very quickly, as if I’d never been there. It’s now classified as a pest plant. I can control it, but will never be able to eliminate it from my garden. I understand the newer varieties are less likely to spread but I’d still be cautious. I really like Alstromeria flowers and instead of growing them I shout myself an occasional bunch as a treat. I’ve pulled together a list of the worst plants, several of which I have removed from my own garden. There are a surprising number!
Avoid planting or cultivating:
Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum)
Yellow and kahili Ginger
Brush wattle
Wild cherry
Aluminium plant
African clubmoss
German, and common Ivy
Himalayan honeysuckle
Morning glory
Bamboo
Tansy
Buckthorn
Periwinkle
Tree privet & Chinese privet
Banana passionfruit
Holly
Euonymous
Mexican daisy
Tradescantia
Mile-a-minute
Elaeagnus
Climbing dock
Cape ivy
Blue morning glory
Japanese honeysuckle
Buddleia
Boneseed
Cotoneaster
Hawthorn
Spanish heath
Holly
Vinca minor (periwinkle)
Echium
Pampas
Montbretia
Arun lily
Asparagus group
Great bindweed
Cathedral bells
Darwin’s barberry
Agapanthus (excluding miniature varieties)
Violets.
Some trees need plenty of space to grow and many of them have invasive roots that seek out water, think water pipes. My advice is that these trees are not suitable for growing in suburban gardens:
Macrocarpa
Norfolk pine
Washington Palm (poisonous barbs)
Pohutakawa (excluding smaller growing hybrids)
Willow
Sycamore
Mimosa (attracts rodents).
We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to plants, and there are many well-deserving plants that we can plant. If you’re keen to learn a little more about pest plants and what to replace them with, the ‘Plant me instead’ guides are a great place to start. The Department of Conservation along with councils across New Zealand has written a series of guides on environmentally friendly gardening. The guides have information on common invasive weeds and the non-weedy plants you can use in their place. The Greater Wellington Regional Council also has images and information in this link
The iNaturalist NZ app is helping councils track pest plants in real time. Keep an eye out for any plant while you’re out walking, or in your garden that seems unusual or particularly aggressive, and upload a photo to iNaturalist. Your observations could help stop a pest plant getting out of control. You can also contact the Greater Wellington Regional Council Pest Plan Hotline at 0800 496734.
Maples add colour and form
Maples are trees definitely worthy of a prime spot in your garden. I find maples hard to resist and have planted two lovely varieties in my garden. The new leaves of deciduous maples are fresh and vibrant, with a great variety of colourful foliage from vivid green to crimson red leaves. Maples can have an upright or weeping form. An added bonus is many have strong autumn leaf colour. They don’t love the wind however, although I’ve managed to find a couple of spots for them we’re they’re sheltered, and quite happy.
Garden tours and a plant sale
Garden events to keep an eye out for:
Te Horo Garden Tour, November 15-16
15 gardens to explore
Tickets are available online at tehorohall.org.nz or at Kapiti Coast garden centres.
Heritage Park Rhododendron Gardens plant sale, November 16-17
Good selection of unusual and hard to find plants.
Marton Arts & Crafts Centre, November 23
11 gardens, some with art sales
Tickets available on the day ($30)
Wairarapa Garden Tour, November 22-23
Two-day self-drive tour
Raises money for forest restoration at nearby Pukaha National Wildlife Centre
This month’s gardening gems
Finish planting out tomatoes and other veggie seedlings
Weed, weed and weed!
Plant out annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs
Restore patches in your lawn. Add compost or topsoil. Re-seed with tall fescue lawn seed.
Feed your berry fruits: strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries. Water daily with regular feeds of high potassium (liquid) fertiliser.
Sow and plant your basil for the summer. I keep mine potted up in the kitchen and place it outside every now and again for fresh air, rainfall and sunshine. Don’t forget to pinch out the centres regularly to discourage flowers and seeding.
Plant out swan plant trees to encourage monarch butterflies
Thanks for reading this month’s blog which is all about spring growth, the opportunism of weeds, and plants that are best avoided. Springtime in the garden is uplifting but it is also a busy time. Remember to take a breath, get stuck in, and enjoy. My seedlings are growing well and I can’t wait to plant them out, especially my tomatoes!
Natalie Quirke
Garden designer
Dip Hort, Dip Hort Mgt, NDH
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