Bringing biodiversity into the backyard seems to be a hot topic at the moment and here at the NZ Epiphyte Network we are 100% on board with providing backyard habitat for our many displaced flora and fauna species. 

In the last blog we discussed a few ways to plant epiphytes which this was followed by some interesting conversation on our facebook page.  Now we've heard about an collaborative project in Christchurch that is bringing lots of different people together to plant an urban green wall.

The Urban Living Wall project is a collaboration between social enterprises, local government departments, schools and individuals. Two of the key players are the Department of Conservation and Fab Lab Chch and the point of difference with this particular green wall is that it is community oriented and open source, meaning that it is completely open to anyone and everyone who wants to contribute.

Panels
The three types of panels come from both new and old technology. The 3D printed pockets are made from biodegradable corn starch filament, the wooden panels are recycled timber and the woollen pockets are made from recycled wool carpet.

Plants
The plants used in this project are native rocky species from Banks Peninsula that can handle the exposure of this urban street corner.

Involving others
The panel patterns and designs are free to source from the Urban Living Wall website which means that you can make your own wall or create some panels to donate to the this Christchurch project. If you have your own green wall the Urban Living Wall will even give you some attention on their blog. 

The community focus of this project means that it is going to benefit a wide range of people through education and backyard biodiversity! Well done DOC & Fab Lab Chch.

A few days ago, Wellington City Council released this lovely, sharp webpage to encourage people to enhance their backyard biodiversity. It is a great interface that allows people to take as little or as much information as they need. I have personally enjoyed re-visiting it a few times to get more details about each topic... very motivating!

Tim from WCC suggested on the NZ Epiphyte Network FB page that adding epiphytes into your backyard would take this local biodiversity to the 'next level'. 

Well why not? We've heard a little about garden epiphytes in this post but have not yet discussed the possible methods for adding to your own arboreal vista!

We have been thinking about the best way of planting epiphytes for a while. There are quite a few options and I know lots of people are trialling different ideas in their own backyards - please feel free to share them here!

In 2012 the University of Waikato set up a small trial of epiphyte reintroductions into Hamilton bush patches. Fiona, Rachel and myself planted tawhiri karo (Pittosporum cornifolium) and puka (Griselinia lucida) in a range of host trees using wire netting and sphagnum moss. The goal was to find out if they would survive and whether they would flower and fruit successfully and the methods were inspired by work of Bruce Burns & colleagues. Here are a few pictures of the process:

You might like to try something similar in your backyard. There isn't a lot of need to climb up high to place them but I would recommend looking for a spot that won't get too dry (minimal wind exposure) but also gets sunlight for at least part of the day. The Epiphyte Tree website has some more tips for planting epiphytes here. 

Let's have a discussion about our experiences and options with epiphyte planting: 

• Have you successfully established epiphytic species?
• How did you do it? What worked well?
• Where can we (legally and sensibly) source plants or seeds?
  

I look forward to your thoughts :)

Test your vascular epiphyte and vine identification skills with this quick quiz! The name of the species in each photo are provided at the end (so don't scroll to the bottom until you're done!).