I believe in the transformative power of nature and its ability to heal both people and the planet. I own and run EcoGardens, an eco-friendly lawn and garden maintenance business committed to nurturing green spaces sustainably. My mission is to help clean up the industry - and your backyard - by embracing environmentally responsible practices, from using electric gardening tools to avoiding artificial chemical sprays.
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Apart from my mower all of my tools are electric. I also compost all of the grass clippings, fine hedge trimmings, and top soil that I take away from customers' properties.
I only use '-icides' made from natural ingredients: a herbicide made from coconut oil, an insecticide made from neem tree oil, and so on.
I like to use natural materials when I'm remodelling customers' gardens, such as undyed bark, ponga logs, and coconut fibre weed mat.
Landscaping without putting the environment in mind is cheap and easy. You spray whatever’s most effective (and cost effective) instead of what won’t linger in the soil. You fill up your tools with half a litre of petrol instead of plugging in a $500 battery. You take on jobs such as topping trees, even if they’re bad for the health of the plants.
Although I can’t promise that the way I operate is perfect, I can promise that I am always investing in and experimenting with eco-friendly solutions. My main focus since starting my business has been to replace the petrol tools I already owned with electric alternatives: easier said than done as many electric tools lack power and break easily, but I can now say that all of my tools apart from my mower are electric. After this my next goal will be to charge all of my batteries with solar panels, and then to upgrade my petrol van to an electric van.
Electric tools are less noisy than their petrol counterparts; man-made herbicides linger in the soil while plant-based herbicides do not; compost may not be as fast-acting as fertilisers, but it improves the health and structure of the soil in the long run.
If you live in Glen Eden or any of the surrounding suburbs I’ll work with you to create a bespoke maintenance plan for your property, whether that consists of an occasional cleanup or regularly scheduled visits with all the bells and whistles.
Most customers end up wanting me to either work on their green space every fortnight, every month, or every three months. If you end up using my services every fortnight, I will always arrive on the same day, weather permitting (if I need to reschedule, I will let you know). With my monthly and quarterly customers I always get in touch a day or two beforehand to let you know what day I will arrive.
My recommendation is to book me for fortnightly visits if I’m mowing your lawn, for monthly visits if I’m carrying out general garden maintenance (especially weed control), and for quarterly visits if I’m trimming hedges, pruning, composting, etc (bear in mind that some hedges may need to be trimmed more frequently during the spring and summer).
Don’t feel like committing to regularly scheduled visits? No worries: I can get in touch every three months to check whether your garden is getting out of hand. Just please be understanding that my regularly scheduled customers are my priority, so I may not be able to work on your property the week that I get in touch with you.
If your garden's looking bare I can also plant natives for you; all natives are purchased from EcoMatters in New Lynn to help fund their volunteering work.
Unfortunately my public liability insurance does not cover felling trees taller than 3 metres, but carrying out light trimming should be fine if there's no risk of property damage. I can cut small branches up to a height of 7 metres and larger branches up to a height of 4 metres.
With over six years in the landscaping industry, I have developed a diverse range of skills. My experience started with Auckland Council maintaining council parks and included leading gardening teams and specialising in sports field renovations, where I mastered various turf maintenance techniques.
Throughout my career I have always pursued professional development. This journey led me to transition from my initial love for gardening to sports field refurbishments, a move that provided valuable new experiences and growth opportunities. However, with time, I developed a strong ethical stance against the use of synthetic chemicals, which I was primarily responsible for applying using a boom sprayer.
Eventually, my commitment to sustainable practices stimulated me to start my own eco-friendly gardening business. It wasn't an easy transition, and I still struggle to unlearn some of the practices and techniques I've picked up, but I can at least rest easy in the knowledge that my face respirator is gathering dust in a box somewhere.
Today I am thankful for all the customers who have made this new way of life possible. It's truly a joy to put on a nice pair of leather gloves each day and work with nature to help it realise its full potential, rather than using heavy machinery and hazardous chemicals to force it into an essentially artificial landscape.
"Joel does a fantastic job on the lawns and gardens at the Hub. He is an arborist so takes good care of our plants. What I like about Joel is that he just gets on with the job with no fuss at all. Thanks to him our lawn looks great and the visitors to the Hub comment on it too. Keep up the good work Joel." - Umesh Chand
"EcoGardens has been managing our large property for a year now, Joel has excellent communication and we are more than satisfied with his expertise on what to do on our property and when. We highly recommend Joel he provides a reputable service at a reasonable cost. Our property is in the best condition and maintained well. Can't go wrong with EcoGardens. A+++ Thanks Joel" 👍 - Gardian Hale
"Joel does a great job, the finished effect is so much tidier. He weeds, prunes, cuts down unwanted trees or cuts back branches. Highly recommend his work. Good value too." - Bev Major
"Joel pruned the trees along my driveway. He done a fabulous job, even coming back a second time to make it perfect. He has oodles of integrity and was very professional. I will certainly use him again for any of my yard work needs in the future." - Linda Sowerby
