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Weeds - dispose or use?

If clients don't mind, we leave weeds onsite to let them to rot down as compost, smother existing weeds, and to save labour and costs in removing them. Anything we can do to improve the soil’s structure and microbe population is a win.

Woolsacks full of weeds for green waste at the tip.

Here's how
Here’s how you can reuse organic matter (anything that once grew) and save yourself effort and money.
Learn to identify the pest, or invasive plants, (ideally when they are small) versus the less nasty weeds that will curl up and die without a fight.
It’s fine to leave the less nasty weeds on top of garden beds or around plants to rot down to improve the soil, which helps hold water and nutrients on your land.

A different approach is needed for the baddies, those that reproduce like crazy using a variety of cunning tricks. For these, you can:

Dig or pull them out or rake up (eg tradescantia) and pile in a corner or in a contained compost area. You can cover them with black polythene to speed decomposition and reduce chances of regrowth. If they do regrow, you can spray herbicide on regrowth or manage the edges of the pile while the bulk rots down. You can use on garden once they are definitely dead.
Put them in a waterproof container, add water (or wait for rain) and put the lid on. Once they’ve rotted down, you can water the garden with the resulting soup. There’s no guarantee on nutrient value, but there’s nothing to lose.
Bag them up and take to green waste

To avoid spreading the types of pest plants you have, have separate piles in each garden area, eg front and back.

More info
To identify pest plants see Weedbusters.
Pests in Wellington region and more general info see, Greater Wellington Regional Council Pest Plants.

Ivy is one of the most common pest plants we come across. It grows up trees and shrubs and smothers them. Birds eat the ripe berries and drop the seeds in the bush with a dollop of fertiliser.

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Behind the fence

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My house backs on to a large sports park that slopes down to the road below. The large area between the road and the playing field is wildlands. Lots of rubbish. Lots of pest plants. Some natives.
Just through my back gate are several pine trees from which I gather cones and firewood.

Wildland behind my place. Firewood foraging. Removing pest plants.

Natives coming through
As for native plants, are self seeded pseudopanax, Coprosma robusta and repens, renga renga (probably from nearby gardens).

Pseudopanax, five finger, is one of the first natives to grow in bare areas under a canopy.

Coprosma repens, taupata is common esp around the coast. There's a row of them behind my fence that the birds enjoy the berries. This particular seedling has extra large (XL) leaves.

The baddies
Of course there are way more pest plants than natives. I pull out the small ones, if they're too big I break the tops off so they don't seed or spread seed as far.
The menu comprises bear's breeches/Acanthus mollis, German ivy ( I saw only one plant), ivy, prunus, cotoneaster, broom/Cytisus scoparius and some Norfolk Island pines.
Weedbusters has info on how to control pest pants.

Wild cherry or some sort of prunus. There's a group of these and many dotted around. Pull them out while they are small.

Wild cherry or some sort of prunus from below

German ivy. Just this so far. I will properly remove it tomorrow

Karo, Pittosporum crassifolium. A native but not native to the Wellington region and it takes over

Mulch
Such a pity I can't use the abundant pine needles for mulch or compost in my garden. There's tradescantia and many other weeds among them and I daren't risk them taking a liking to my garden.

While I'm scrambling around, I lay branches horizontally between trees to create a bit of a shelf. Over time, this reduces soil and water running down the hill and creates a shelf for seeds to settle and grow.

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Agapanthus (aggies) out

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On my walk up my street this afternoon, every other verge had agapanthus, Agapanthus praecox, growing healthily. Definitely the predominant species round these parts.

A healthy aggie clump leaving no room for any other plant

Aggies quickly cover the soil making it impossible for other plants to grow

Agapanthus praecox, the predominant species locally.

Aggies quickly establish and take over and are extremely hard to remove

Why it's a pest plant

It seeds prolifically, spreads seeds effectively which germinate densely. Fragments of the roots easily regrow. Plants live a long time and can handle a wide range of conditions and soil types.
Wherever it grows, it forms solid clumps. I've seen layers and layers grow on top of each other. It bullies all other plants out and takes over.
For information on getting rid of agapanthus see Weedbusters,

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Local natives and weeds

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First day beating the feet during the rahui to save lives and eliminate Covid-19.
I explored part of Sinclair Park, discovering natives and exotic weeds mixed together. And a lovely wildness in the margins.

Some of the natives
Hover over the photo for more information.

Puriri aka Vitex lucens. The berries are important bird food

Mahoe aka whiteywood aka Melicytus ramiflorus

Some of the pest plants I spotted are below.

Sycamore aka Acer pseudoplatanus Remember those helicopters as a kid?, Well they help disperse the seeds over large areas.

Life in the margins

Fennel has been left to grow in the margins which is great to attract beneficial insects and pollinators. The seeds are delicious too

There's a variety of native trees and shrubs along the path. The edges are left to go wild creating an ecosystem of their own.

A wider view, showing a combination of mowed and wildness.

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First reccy on a new job

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A very large house with a small garden area, embedded on a densely housed hill in CBD.
The first job was to see what was involved in refreshing the garden area. We took photos of the various areas, cleared the weeds, pruned the very old rose right back and created a large compost pile.
Hover over the photos for explanations.

Weeds in area in front of house. Left of upward path. Not sure if this is client's property

Area between our property and next door. No-one's land?

Still behind the house, looking along the wall

Ivy growing over shed can get into cracks and affect building integrity

View from behind the house. Large dead tree

The very very old climbing rose is now cut back.

Area on rhs facing house. Has an olive tree and rosemary in it. We're considering creating a Mediterranean garden here as it already has suitable plants and is very dry.

The rhs area from the deck. Imagine this with no weeds and some colour

The compost pile we started under the stairs. we're looking at options to contain this.

Looking down to utility area. Weeds to be sprayed

The lhs garden has some natives in it, though they are very leggy as haven't been trimmed for some time.
We'll add to these.

Another view of lhs bed with rengas along the border and a straggly hebe, we cut several dead branches off it.

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Garden potential

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A private and flat section is a rare thing in Wellington. Over time, we're keen to help this Kingston garden show its potential.
Hover over the photos for captions.

Recent photos show progress

The clients' young daughter enjoys exploring the flowers and food from the garden.
Hover over photos for descriptions. Click them to enlarge.