OTARI-WILTON HAVEN: Tom Petrie nurtures plants from all over New Zealand.

THEY MAY may not attract as much attention as the endangered kakapo and kiwi, but New Zealand native plants are just as deserving of protection, says their staunch champion, Tom Petrie.

Tom is collections curator at the Otari-Wilton’s Bush Reserve, New Zealand’s only botanic garden that is entirely native. It extends over 100 hectares of natural and regenerated native bush and a further 10ha of formal gardens.

Tom, one of two staff who look after the formal part, says it is a great resource and necessary for future generations.

“New Zealand is quite a remote place, and we have a really different set of plants to countries closest to us,” he says.

“We have places like Three Kings, Great Barrier, The Kermadecs, and the Chathams [Islands], and they all have quite a lot of individual plants just from them.”

Even on mainland New Zealand, environments range from dry plains to river valleys, wetlands, alpine and sub-alpine, with many plants specific to each. This diversity means many Kiwis would never see a lot of these plants in their natural habitat, but the work at Otari lets them see a huge variety all together.

Having discovered a liking and natural aptitude for horticulture at secondary school, Tom also credits having a really good teacher for developing his interest. This led to an apprenticeship in horticulture with Wellington City Council, the reserve’s owner.

He says this was a great way to get a qualification as he was always working in different places, gaining depth of knowledge and practical skills.

“You also get to work with a wide variety of people and the more people you meet, the better off you are because they can all teach you something.”

Day-to-day work in the formal gardens includes maintenance, pruning and weeding, as well as landscaping and design, and propagation of plants.

However, taking cuttings and collecting seeds, from a huge number of plants gathered from around the country, means  “it’s like a bank of plants”, and it is this aspect of his job that gives the most satisfaction.

All the plants collected from around New Zealand must be permitted by the Department of Conservation.

Petrie says DOC, regional councils and Otari staff are all working toward developing awareness of the diversity of New Zealand plant life and the sheer numbers of plants, and have the goal of ensuring these things won’t be lost to future generations.

“In the last few years its becoming a lot more apparent people are more into conservation,” he says, adding that this had led to higher levels of understanding about native plant life.

“You get so much positive feedback from the people who come out and see it: That’s always good.”

The project has had the added benefit of regenerating the entire eco-system, with native birds abundant, skinks and geckos around, and native fish and freshwater crayfish in the streams in the gardens.

There is also an effective pest control programme, although there may be the odd goat on the back boundary.

Tom finds it a great place to work because of the co-operative nature and common goals of the staff, as well as the fact that “you don’t hear a lot of horns and cars, or people arguing – it’s a pretty stress-free environment”.

“It’s my little haven.”