As the hot, dry weather goes on, weeds are growing tall and ugly all over the place. Many of you are complaining about this on Facebook and are also emailing Crockers about street untidiness, so your committee is well aware of your views.
Summer is peak season for weeds and thistles, so your neighbours will love you for hauling out any that have sprung from the ground between your house and the footpath. It’s your responsibility – which our members signed up to when purchasing their home – to take care of that.
Planted berms that are set between the footpath and the road are the responsibility of either Auckland Council or HLC, depending on where you live.
As we all know, some are looking very messy and need fresh applications of bark.
Your committee is working with both bodies to achieve results, and is also employing maintenance companies to do remedial work – and we know there’s much more to do. We have learnt from Auckland Council that its tree/shrub replacement budget for berms under its control is so limited that it works on a seven-year cycle. So if worn-out trees need replacing, the options are to use Society funds to re-plant – or wait years for it to be done by AC.
Meanwhile, if you’re watering your own garden, how about hauling the hose a bit further out and giving the berm in front of your house a drink. It’s been a long time since we’ve had rain, and many streetside trees, grasses and shrubs are looking wilted and thirsty. Adopt a tree, give it water, and watch it thrive!
