How to create an eco-friendly garden

Want to know how to create an eco-friendly garden that thrives without chemical sprays? Author and chef Bri DiMattina has created just that with her flower meadow in the front yard leading to a productive garden of more than 20 fruit trees, along with eight raised vege beds, in the back. Nature’s animals are well fed, too – not only is the garden a haven for native birds such as tūī, pīwakawaka (fantails) and tauhou (silvereyes), but a brood of hens grazes beneath a patch of perennial spinach.

How to create an eco-friendly garden

• What and where is this garden? A spray‑free, biodiverse half‑acre in South Auckland transformed into a productive food forest with 20 plus fruit trees and eight raised vege beds delivering year‑round harvests.
• Natural pest control and habitat: A wildflower meadow replaces lawn to attract native birds (tūī, pīwakawaka and tauhou) that tackle aphids, with hens grazing and a drought‑resistant, low‑mow design.
• Chemical‑free credentials in action: Auckland Zoo’s horticulture team regularly cuts puka and plumbago from the garden to feed giraffes and squirrel monkeys.
• D.I.Y. builds with volcanic rock: On‑site stone used to create a chook house and raised beds that insulate soil and extend growing seasons, echoing Māori and southern Italian techniques.
• Smart companion planting and soil health: A ‘Little Italy’ planter (beans, tomatoes, basil), worm towers in every bed, nitrogen‑fixing inga bean supporting avocado, and staggered fruit varieties for better pollination and extended harvests (figs, feijoas).

Tip: Always wear the appropriate safety equipment (safety glasses, gloves, ear muffs and a mask, for example) and always follow the instructions for the product or equipment.

Who is Bri DiMattina?

Bri DiMattina is a chef and author of Nostrana: Flavours from my Italian kitchen garden. She lives with her partner, Vaughan, and their bearded collie, Bear in South Auckland.

How Bri DiMattina created a sustainable kitchen garden

Bri transformed a 2000sqm section in South Auckland into a food-forest style sustainable kitchen garden that generates enough produce to feed her family year-round. “I choose fruit trees and plants that layer their harvest times with each other,” says Bri.

This garden’s autumn harvest will include:

• Rhubarb;
• Courgettes (zucchini);
• Perpetual spinach;
• Spring onions;
• Celery;
• Limes;
• Mandarins; and
• Lemons.

Tip: Check out our beginners guide on how to start your own vegetable and fruit garden.

What fruit trees grow well in a sustainable kitchen garden?

Despite growing a market garden’s worth of produce, Bri doesn’t live in the countryside, and her South Auckland section is just half an acre, or 2000sqm. When she and Vaughan bought the property 20 years ago, there were a handful of heirloom fruit trees in the backyard. Over the years, Bri has planted the following trees:

• Mountain pawpaw;
• Finger lime;
• Inga bean;
• Avocado;
• Banana;
• Feijoa; and
• Tamarillo trees (to name just a few).

What are edible perennials?

Edible perennials are food-producing plants that live for more than two years. Bri’s backyard is designed to include lots of edible perennials so she can harvest from it year-round. Asparagus crowns and perennial spinach, for example, were planted especially because they are in season during August and September. “I’ve always been food curious, so that’s translated into being garden curious, too,” says Bri, whose book, Nostrana, became a hot seller on Amazon when Nigella Lawson featured one of Bri’s recipes on her website.

Biodiverse garden ideas that work with nature

During the past five years, Bri has switched to a biodiverse style of gardening, drawing on many biodiverse garden ideas that work with nature rather than against it. “I like to find natural solutions to garden problems and work with nature, rather than against it,” she says. “If I have a bug that’s bothering me, I’ll research the predator for it and grow plants to attract that predator to my garden. For example, I let my pūhā go to seed to attract the touhou (silvereyes), and they go on and eat my aphids.”

Bri has carefully cultivated every section of her land to develop a lush, drought-resistant environment. Inspired by the Kew Gardens’ wild botanic gardens at Wakehurst in the UK, she stopped mowing the backyard lawn, letting wild grasses and flowers establish and then flourish.

Tip: Discover how to start your own sustainable kitchen garden.

Is volcanic rock good for gardens?

Yes, it can be good for gardens as it’s long-lasting and porous inorganic mulch that enhances drainage, suppresses weeds, and retains soil moisture.

Bri lives close to a maunga (mountain), and used volcanic rock from the garden to build her own D.I.Y. chook house. Digging for a pool unearthed more rocks, which were used to build raised beds – the volcanic rock helps to insulate the soil and can extend growing seasons. This technique was used by ancient Māori as well as in gardens in southern Italy, where Bri’s grandparents hail from. As a tribute to her Italian roots, Bri grows many family faves, including several courgette (zucchini) varieties, along with what she calls her ‘Little Italy’ planter. “It’s literally four Bunnings seedling punnets stuffed into one planter box: beans, butter beans, tomatoes and basil, for a total of about $12. The return on investment is ridiculously good.”

Companion planting in the garden: what grows well together

This Little Italy box represents classic companion planting; the beans fix the soil with nitrogen to help the heavy-feeding tomatoes grow, and basil works to repel pests such as whiteflies and aphids. Other plants also work together in the garden: the inga bean tree (the vanilla ice-cream-like flavour of its white flesh is the source of its common name, the ice-cream bean) also helps fix the soil for the avocado tree.

In each vege bed, there is also a worm tower for food scraps to let the critters enrich the soil. Bri grows both early and late season varieties of fruit – such as ‘Celeste’ and ‘Brown Turkey’ figs – in order to extend her growing season. In many cases, having two different fruit varieties can help with pollination to make trees more productive, such as with her ‘Pounamu’ and ‘Triumph’ feijoas. “The beauty of this garden is that nature does half the work for me,” she laughs.

Auckland Zoo animals eat from Bri’s garden…

As the eco-friendly yard is free of chemical sprays, the horticulture team at Auckland Zoo stops by regularly to cut down native puka to feed the giraffes, and plumbago for the squirrel monkeys. “I just love the idea of a giraffe eating something from my garden. I get such a kick out of that. I think I like that more than the thought of people eating my own cooking,” laughs Bri, who’s worked everywhere from Queenstown après-ski burger joints to fine-dining establishments in luxury resorts around New Zealand.

Zucchini arancini recipe

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Makes: 8-10

Ingredients

• 3 zucchini, grated
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• Small handful of parsley, finely chopped
• Thyme leaves, to taste
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup finely grated pecorino
• ½ cup fine dry breadcrumbs, plus extra, to coat
• Salt and black pepper, to season
• 100g mozzarella, cut into 1cm cubes
• Vegetable oil, to deep-fry

Method

1. Place zucchini into a clean tea towel, wring it out to remove excess liquid, then transfer zucchini to a large bowl.

2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on medium-low. Cook the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes until translucent, then add to the uncooked zucchini.

3. Add the parsley, thyme, pepper, eggs, pecorino and breadcrumbs. Mix well and season. If it seems too wet, add more breadcrumbs, though it should be fairly moist.

4. Take a small handful of the mixture and flatten a little in the palm of your hand. Place a cube of mozzarella in the centre, then enclose and shape into a ball. Roll in the breadcrumbs to thoroughly coat.

5. Half-fill a large saucepan with vegetable oil. Heat on medium-high. Deep-fry balls in batches for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Drain on paper towel.

Tip: Recipe from Nostrana: Flavours from my Italian kitchen garden by Bri DiMattina.

Keep in mind...

• Wear gloves and a mask when handling mulch, compost and potting mix.
• Take care when selecting your plants as some can be poisonous to children and pets, and check their suitability for your area, as some may be classified as weeds in certain regions.
• After applying fertiliser around edible plants, delay harvesting for a few days and rinse well before cooking and eating.

Inspired to start your own patch?

Check out this guide to growing your own vegetables.

Photo credit: Emily Chalk.