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For older people gardens may be paradoxical sites. Whilst gardening is associated in multiple ways with wellbeing and health, gardens may also become a source of frustration and worry as ageing bodies limit gardening activities. Yet determination remains. However, little of the well-established body of work on gardens and old age includes people in advanced age. In this paper, we draw on interviews with Māori and non-Māori 85-90-year olds in Aotearoa, New Zealand, focusing on how they talk about their wellbeing in relation to past, present, and future experiences of home gardening. Our research shows home gardens and gardening figure prominently and positively in the narratives of people in advanced age. Most of our participants described themselves as active gardeners; most also lived with multimorbidity, sometimes severe and complex. Applying positioning theory, we examine how our participants connect gardens and gardening to identity; connectedness; and adaptation and renegotiation of health and wellbeing in ageing bodies. Home gardens are 'more than therapeutic'; while they are protective of health and wellbeing, they are also enabling places for the expression and performance of agency in advanced age. These understandings have practical implications for supporting wellbeing amongst those in advanced age., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Access to nature is important for wellbeing at all ages with significant benefits for older adults. This paper explores the impacts of older adults' age-related health conditions on nature connection, their responses to the changes and identifies the types of nature connections and greenspaces available to and prioritised by older adults. It is based on the experiences of 72 New Zealand older adults aged 65-99, living in family homes, down-sized homes and rest homes. Data were gathered through interviews, photographs and assessments of the natural features of their home environment. Nearly all participants experienced age-related changes in their ways of connecting with nature as living accommodation and especially health and mobility changed. Reduced mobility was the primary factor limiting nature experiences especially for frailer adults. In contrast, for 'younger' older adults, retirement can provide more time and opportunities to engage with nature. Nature connection opportunities are valued by nearly all adults irrespective of age and health. Accessible nature opportunities in the nearby and home environment should be available to all adults irrespective of health and accommodation type. Dedicated resources need to be provided to ensure these opportunities are present for the frailest whose opportunities to have direct contact with nature are frequently absent., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

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Indigenous peoples always struggle to ensure planning practice is culturally inclusive in identifying and protecting heritage structures and sites. Planners struggle to understand the cultural and spiritual values inherent in heritage and to develop appropriate ways to protect what is often an intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Using traditional Māori food gardens as an example of ICH and a kaupapa Māori research methodology, this paper explores how plans and planners in New Zealand can better recognise and protect Māori cultural heritage, of the type represented in the ICH heritage of food gardens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue addressed: This paper aims to explore the presence and role of edible gardens in Aotearoa/New Zealand Early Childhood Education Services (ECES). Methods: Participant ECES providers were identified from the Ministry of Education database of Early Childhood Education Services (March 2009). These include Education and Care and Casual Education and Care, Kindergarten, Home-based Education and Care services, Playcentres, Te Kohanga Reo. A structured, self-administered questionnaire was sent to the Principal or Head Teacher of the service Results: Of the 211 ECES that responded (55% response rate), 71% had edible gardens, incorporating vegetables, berry fruit, tree fruit, edible flowers and nut trees. Garden activities were linked with teaching across all strands of the New Zealand early childhood curriculum. In addition, 34% provided guidance on using garden produce and 30% linked the garden with messages on fruit and vegetable consumption. Most gardens were established recently (past 2 years) and relied on financial and non-financial support from parents, teachers and community organisations. Barriers included a lack of funding, space, time and staff support. Conclusions/Implications: Study findings suggest that gardens are already being used as a versatile teaching tool in many ECES settings. Most gardens are new, with a need to support the sustainability and workforce development among teachers and parents in order to be able to maintain these resources for future generations. So what? Given the inherent links between gardening and healthy food and exercise, there seem to be extensive opportunities for health promotion aligned with the edible garden movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents estimates of yield for effort of the cultivar, ‘Taputini,’ which is a sweet potato that was eaten by the Māori of New Zealand before European contact in the 18th century. The two experimental archaeology gardens were planted at sites on either side of Cook Strait: the one with clay soils is on the South Island at Robin Hood Bay; the one with sandy soils is at Whatarangi on the North Island. The records of labor input required to cultivate these gardens over seven years for Robin Hood Bay and six years for Whatarangi compared with crop yields provide data on the economics of pre—European kūmara gardening. Also reported are some of the properties of the soil. These gardens produced an average of 12 metric tons (1,000 kilograms=1 metric ton) per hectare (ha), which is not much less than contemporary yields for modern cultivars and 3 to 4 times most previous estimates of pre-European production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role played by New Zealand-based gardener William Walter Smith in the transformation of the Ashburton Domain garden in New Zealand between 1894 and 1904. Smith was appointed as caretaker of the Ashburton Domain in 1894, and was responsible for shaping the garden's landscape. Smith's initial work included tree planting, improvements on the tracks, and expansion of the flower beds on the Domain.

Abstract: Domestic gardens offer immense potential as sites for native biodiversity conservation. In urban areas they often comprise the largest land use, thus presenting an accessible and immediate way for urban dwellers to connect with nature and to support and enhance native biodiversity. This paper presents findings from a study of 55 domestic gardens undertaken in Dunedin, New Zealand, which explores householders'' relationships with their gardens. The study data was derived from two interviews with householders, two photo exercises (approximately a year apart), together with a number of biological studies of the gardens. Gardens proved to be very important for our householders; for physical and mental health, as an expression of ownership and identity, as sites for social relationships, for connecting with nature and as site of domestic produce production. Householders'' connections with nature were idiosyncratic, multifaceted and exhibited in ways that are more complex and varied than those usually considered by those working in the natural sciences and indeed biophilia supporters. We emphasize the importance of the people side of nature in seeking to build and support positive ecological change in the urban environment and the value of combining natural and social science approaches. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) Halyomorpha halys (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) is an invasive pest in North America and Europe that damages many plant species and invades human dwellings. It is regularly intercepted at Aotearoa/New Zealand's borders but is not yet known to have established. Māori are partners in New Zealand's biosecurity community and an understanding of the potential impact of any invasive alien species to their interests is essential. The known impacts of BMSB in published literature were reviewed with a focus on Māori plant taonga (valued or treasured plant species) in: (1) Māori commercial enterprises; (2) māra kai (food gardens); and (3) the natural estate. Many fruit and some vegetable species are likely to be affected by BMSB in commercial and non-commercial Māori horticulture but the impact of BMSB on indigenous/native and other taonga plant species in māra kai and the native estate is difficult to evaluate. BMSB poses a serious economic threat to some crop species of commercial value to Māori, as well as threat to some native taonga species. A kaupapa Māori approach examining unpublished mātauranga (knowledge) would considerably broaden this understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite an assumption that Christchurch - the Garden City of New Zealand - has historically been viewed as the manifestation of a utopian dream, the experiences of the city's gardeners reveal a variety of sentiments about the meaning of gardens. Hillside gardeners, in particular, tended to see their gardens and their place in them in very different ways from their counter-parts on the flat. These hillside gardens were places that allowed for an explicit appreciation of internationalism, localism, and an often spiritual connection with the world at large. They were 'celestial', paradisical, and I therefore argue that tropes of utopias and paradise may sit uneasily with each other in colonial discourse. This point requires further attention from historians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the limited development of the garden suburb in New Zealand. It attempts to move from the more generalized discussion of the garden suburb in New Zealand, to examine in detail the three examples that might be regarded as attempting to put the concept into practice, that is The Spur, Durie Hill, and Orakei. Using three conditions which, from overseas development, appeared to be important conditions for successful establishment of a garden suburb, the development of each of these examples is analysed. What emerges from the analysis is evidence that the concept was unsuccessful in moving from the theoretical to the practical. This failure can be attributed to a number of factors including the small size of the country, the lack of committed, well-resourced developers and the nature of the sites chosen. Moreover, New Zealand only rarely developed the degraded urban conditions that made the garden suburb seem an attractive alternative. Ultimately, the concept probably had more success as an advertising ploy for developers than in establishing viable garden suburbs that justified the name. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]