I’ve been meaning to do a volunteering day on the Peak for years and finally made it out for some planting yesterday. It was a rare sunny and windless winter day, and we planted a few wheelbarrows-full of rimu, totara, tī kōuka and other natives along Leaping Lizard. It was my first time wielding a grubber and the first trees I’ve ever planted in the wild.
We spotted some of the NZ-native clematis paniculata (Puawhananga) flowering high up in a trail-side tree. It was inspiring to explore some of the early plantings from over twenty years ago and see how well-established they already are.
I asked lots of silly questions and got lots of useful answers. There was some chat about clubmoss being problematic, and coincidentally spotted some on a ride today and thought it looked interesting. The one I spotted seems to be Lycopodium volubile (waewaekoukou) which is native and maybe not the quite-similar-looking African club moss which definitely a weed. Lots to learn.
Gumboots and Tim Tams 
Mossy friend or foe
kōwhai 