Summer in Wellington brings long, luminous days and the perfect opportunity to reimagine your outdoor space. Whether you’re dreaming of a complete garden overhaul or simply wanting to enhance what you already have, professional landscaping can transform your property from ordinary to extraordinary—and this summer presents the ideal conditions to make it happen.
At KHHS, we’ve spent years helping Wellington homeowners unlock their gardens’ full potential. From windswept Kapiti Coast sections to challenging hillside properties across the region, we understand that successful landscaping isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about creating functional, beautiful outdoor spaces that work with Wellington’s unique climate and terrain.
Why Summer is Your Garden’s Golden Opportunity
Summer isn’t just about enjoying your garden—it’s the optimal season for transformation. Wellington’s dry, stable weather conditions from December through February provide the perfect window for major landscaping projects that would be challenging or impossible during our wetter months.
The Ground is Your Canvas: Dry, firm soil makes excavation and construction work significantly more efficient. Retaining wall installations, deck construction, and hardscaping projects can proceed without weather delays or the complications of working in saturated ground conditions.
Immediate Enjoyment: Unlike spring or autumn projects where you’re waiting for the next season to enjoy the results, summer transformations deliver instant gratification. Install a new deck in January, and you’ll be hosting barbecues on it by February. Create a fire pit area now, and you’ll be enjoying cosy autumn evenings around it in just a few months.
Plant Establishment: While it might seem counterintuitive, strategic summer planting—when done properly with appropriate irrigation—gives certain hardy plants and natives time to establish before the cooler growing season, resulting in stronger, more resilient gardens.
Beating the Spring Rush: Professional landscapers’ schedules fill rapidly in spring. Summer bookings often offer more flexibility and availability, meaning your project starts sooner and progresses more smoothly.
Summer Transformation Project #1: Create Your Outdoor Entertainment Hub
Wellington’s lifestyle revolves around outdoor living, and summer is when we truly appreciate well-designed entertaining spaces. Transform your garden into the ultimate gathering spot with these high-impact features:
Custom Decking: Your Extended Living Room
A professionally designed deck doesn’t just add square metres to your usable space—it fundamentally changes how you live. Wellington families consistently tell us their deck becomes the heart of their home during summer months, serving as dining room, lounge, and entertainment venue all in one.
Wellington-Specific Considerations: Our region’s wind requires engineering excellence. KHHS designs decks with proper wind loading calculations, strategic placement for shelter, and materials selected specifically for our coastal climate. We’ve built decks that have weathered Wellington’s worst while remaining beautiful and structurally sound for decades.
Design Elements That Elevate: Built-in seating maximises space efficiency on smaller sections. Integrated planters bring greenery directly into your entertaining area. Multi-level designs create visual interest while defining different functional zones—dining here, lounging there, perhaps a spa area tucked into a sheltered corner.
Material Matters: From traditional treated pine to low-maintenance composite options, we’ll guide you through choices that balance aesthetics, durability, and budget. Each material performs differently in Wellington’s UV exposure and moisture fluctuations—we ensure you select the right option for your specific microclimate.
Pergolas: Shelter Meets Style
Wellington’s summer sun can be intense, and even our famous wind benefits from strategic management. Pergolas provide the perfect solution—structured shade that doesn’t close off your space, architectural interest that elevates your garden’s design, and flexible coverage that can be enhanced with retractable canopies or climbing plants.
Beyond Basic Shelter: Modern pergola design integrates lighting, heating, and even automated louvre systems that adjust to weather conditions. Imagine controlling your outdoor comfort at the touch of a button—opening louvres for stargazing on calm evenings, closing them when the wind picks up, or adjusting angle to follow the sun’s path throughout the day.
Creating Rooms Outdoors: A well-positioned pergola defines space in open gardens, creating an outdoor “room” that feels intimate and purposeful. Combined with strategic screening and plantings, it becomes a genuine extension of your home rather than just a structure in your yard.
Fire Features: Summer Evenings to Autumn Nights
A custom fire pit or outdoor fireplace extends your garden’s usability well beyond summer. Those perfect Wellington evenings when the sun sets but the temperature remains pleasant? A fire feature transforms them into memorable occasions. And when autumn arrives with its crisp air, your outdoor space remains inviting and functional.
Design Integration: Fire features work best when integrated into your overall landscape design, not added as an afterthought. Surrounding seating walls, heat-reflective materials, and proper positioning relative to prevailing winds all contribute to an experience that’s both beautiful and practical.
Safety and Compliance: Wellington City Council has specific requirements for outdoor fires. We handle all consenting and ensure your feature meets regulations while achieving your vision.
Summer Transformation Project #2: Tackle Wellington’s Terrain Challenges
Wellington’s topography is spectacular but challenging. Sloped sections that seem unusable become your property’s most valuable asset when properly addressed through professional landscaping.
Retaining Walls: Unlocking Hidden Potential
We’ve transformed countless hillside properties where homeowners initially saw only problems. A steep, unusable slope becomes terraced entertaining areas, productive garden beds, or level lawn space for children to play—all through strategic retaining wall design.
Engineering Excellence: This isn’t DIY territory. Wellington’s geology, soil types, and seismic requirements demand professional engineering. Our retaining walls are built to last generations, with proper drainage systems that prevent the water damage that prematurely ages amateur installations.
Aesthetic Integration: Modern retaining walls are architectural features, not just functional necessities. From natural stone that echoes Wellington’s rugged coastline to sleek rendered concrete that complements contemporary homes, the materials and design approach should enhance your property’s character.
Creating Usable Space: The true value of retaining walls lies in the flat, functional areas they create. That steep bank becomes a series of terraced gardens. That sloping side yard becomes a level entertaining space with stunning valley views. We’ve added what amounts to entire outdoor rooms to properties through clever terracing.
Steps and Pathways: Connecting Your Spaces
Retaining walls create levels; steps connect them beautifully. But Wellington steps need to be more than just functional—they’re design elements that guide movement through your garden whilst handling our climate’s challenges.
Material Selection: From natural stone that ages gracefully to modern composite options that require minimal maintenance, step materials must provide secure footing in wet conditions whilst complementing your overall design. We often combine materials—stone treads with rendered risers, timber with aggregates—to create visual interest and practical solutions.
Lighting Integration: Steps become hazards after dark without proper lighting. We design integrated lighting solutions that enhance safety whilst creating ambiance, transforming your garden into an evening destination rather than a space that closes when the sun sets.
Summer Transformation Project #3: The Wellington-Proof Plant Palette
Wellington’s microclimates are famously variable—one garden basks in full sun whilst the neighbour’s struggles with constant wind and shade. Summer is ideal for assessing your specific conditions and implementing a planting scheme that thrives rather than merely survives.
Working With Wind, Not Against It
Wellington wind is a fact of life, but it needn’t limit your garden’s potential. We’ve developed expertise in creating wind-resilient landscapes through strategic plant selection and placement.
Shelter Planting: The key is creating graduated shelter—hardy, wind-tolerant plants on the exposed edges, progressively less tolerant species in the protected zones they create. This isn’t just throwing flax along your boundary and hoping for the best. It’s understanding wind patterns specific to your section and designing plant communities that create microclimates within your garden.
Native Strength: New Zealand natives evolved with Wellington’s conditions. Properly selected and positioned, they provide year-round structure with minimal maintenance. Pittosporum creates dense, wind-resistant hedging. Coprosma offers colourful foliage in varieties from ground covers to small trees. Phormium provides dramatic architectural elements whilst shrugging off our strongest gales.
Exotic Performers: Don’t dismiss exotic species—many perform brilliantly in Wellington when properly selected. Certain grasses, Mediterranean herbs, and Australian natives thrive in our conditions, adding textures and colours that complement rather than compete with our native palette.
Water-Wise Summer Gardening
Wellington summers can bring unexpected dry spells. Creating a garden that looks lush without constant irrigation requires thoughtful design and plant selection.
Drought-Tolerant Beauties: Many stunning plants require minimal water once established. Lavender thrives in Wellington’s conditions whilst providing colour, fragrance, and pollinator habitat. Agapanthus creates dramatic summer displays with minimal input. Ornamental grasses add movement and texture whilst requiring virtually no supplemental watering.
Irrigation Intelligence: Where irrigation is needed—for vegetable gardens, annual displays, or newly established areas—modern systems deliver water efficiently. Drip irrigation puts water directly at root zones with minimal waste. Smart controllers adjust watering based on actual weather conditions rather than fixed schedules. We design systems that maintain your garden efficiently whilst minimising water consumption and your time commitment.
Creating Year-Round Interest
The mark of exceptional garden design is four-season appeal. Summer’s the season when most gardens look good—it’s the rest of the year that separates mediocre from magnificent.
Evergreen Structure: The framework of your garden should look intentional and attractive even in winter. Evergreen shrubs and trees provide this structure, creating a canvas that seasonal elements enhance rather than having to carry the entire design burden.
Seasonal Layers: Spring bulbs, summer perennials, autumn foliage, winter berries—each season should bring something new whilst building on what’s already there. We design planting schemes where something is always happening, creating gardens that reward attention throughout the year.
Texture and Form: When flowers aren’t present, texture and form become crucial. Grasses that catch light beautifully. Shrubs with interesting bark or branch structure. Ground covers that create living tapestries. These elements ensure your garden remains visually interesting regardless of season.
Summer Transformation Project #4: The Functional Garden
Beauty matters, but Wellington gardens need to work hard—providing privacy, managing water, creating usable spaces, and requiring realistic maintenance.
Privacy Solutions That Enhance, Not Enclose
Wellington sections often sit close to neighbours or busy roads. Creating privacy without creating a fortress requires thoughtful design.
Layered Screening: The most effective privacy comes from layered planting—a combination of trees, shrubs, and perhaps a fence or wall, working together to block sightlines whilst maintaining airflow and light. Solid barriers create wind turbulence and feel claustrophobic. Layered approaches provide privacy whilst keeping your garden feeling open and connected to its surroundings.
Strategic Positioning: You don’t need to screen your entire boundary—just the sightlines that matter. We identify exactly where privacy is needed and focus efforts there, saving money whilst achieving better results than attempting to fortress your entire perimeter.
Vertical Solutions: Limited space? Vertical gardens, trained climbers on custom trellises, and carefully positioned screening plants can provide privacy in remarkably compact footprints.
Drainage and Water Management
Wellington’s rainfall pattern—wet winters, drier summers—requires gardens that handle both extremes. Poor drainage ruins landscapes and creates maintenance nightmares. Proper water management creates gardens that thrive.
Surface Water Control: Grading, drainage channels, and permeable surfaces prevent water pooling where it’s unwanted whilst directing it where it’s useful. We design drainage solutions that are invisible when working properly but critical to your landscape’s longevity.
Rain Gardens: Why let stormwater runoff disappear down drains when it can nourish your garden? Rain gardens are designed depressions that capture runoff, allowing it to soak in slowly whilst supporting plants that tolerate both wet and dry conditions. They’re sustainable, attractive, and reduce strain on Wellington’s stormwater infrastructure.
Irrigation Integration: For areas that need supplemental water, integrated irrigation systems deliver it efficiently. Properly designed systems consider your soil type, plant needs, sun exposure, and microclimate, providing appropriate water to each zone rather than treating your entire garden identically.
Low-Maintenance Luxury
The best gardens are those you enjoy rather than constantly maintain. Strategic design dramatically reduces ongoing work whilst creating spaces that look intentionally sophisticated, not accidentally neglected.
Hardscaping Reduces Maintenance: Decks, patios, and pathways create functional spaces that require minimal upkeep compared to lawn or garden beds. Strategic use of hardscaping reduces overall maintenance whilst increasing usability.
Mulch and Ground Covers: Exposed soil is a weed magnet and dries out rapidly. Quality mulch suppresses weeds, retains moisture, and looks intentional. Ground cover plants do the same whilst adding beauty—once established, they’re largely self-maintaining.
Right Plant, Right Place: The single biggest maintenance reducer is appropriate plant selection. Plants matched to their position’s sun, wind, moisture, and soil conditions thrive with minimal intervention. Mis-matched plants require constant nursing and frequently disappoint.
The KHHS Summer Transformation Process
We’ve refined our approach over years of transforming Wellington gardens, developing a process that delivers exceptional results whilst respecting your time, budget, and vision.
Stage 1: Vision and Assessment
Your transformation begins with a thorough site assessment and design consultation. We visit your property, assess conditions, discuss your vision, and identify both opportunities and challenges. This includes:
- Soil analysis to understand your growing conditions
- Sun and wind mapping to identify microclimates
- Drainage evaluation to prevent future problems
- Structural assessment if working with slopes or existing features
- Usage discussion to understand how you want to use your space
Stage 2: Design Development
Based on our assessment, we develop a comprehensive design that addresses your goals whilst working within Wellington’s realities. This isn’t cookie-cutter landscaping—every design is custom-created for your specific property, conditions, and lifestyle.
We present concepts with 3D visualisations where appropriate, helping you see your transformed garden before construction begins. This stage allows refinement until the design perfectly matches your vision.
Stage 3: Construction Excellence
Summer’s stable weather allows efficient construction. Our experienced teams work methodically, maintaining clear communication throughout. We treat your property with respect—protecting existing features, managing dust and noise, and maintaining site cleanliness.
Quality Materials: We partner with New Zealand’s leading suppliers, ensuring materials are appropriate for Wellington’s demanding conditions. From timber selected for durability to plants sourced from specialist growers, quality materials are non-negotiable.
Skilled Craftspeople: Our team brings decades of combined experience. They’re not just following plans—they’re problem-solving on-site, adapting to unexpected conditions, and maintaining quality standards throughout.
Stage 4: Establishment and Handover
Project completion isn’t the end of our relationship—it’s the beginning of your transformed garden’s life. We provide comprehensive care instructions, irrigation guidance, and ongoing support as your landscape establishes.
For planting projects, establishment care during the first few months is critical. We can provide ongoing maintenance services or detailed guidance for homeowners who prefer hands-on involvement.
Real Wellington Transformations: From Vision to Reality
Our portfolio showcases the transformative power of professional landscaping across Wellington’s diverse properties.
Waikanae Hillside: From Steep Challenge to Terraced Paradise
A high sloped Waikanae section seemed more liability than asset. Through strategic retaining wall design and terracing, we created multiple entertaining levels connected by beautifully integrated steps. What was previously unusable slope became the property’s most valuable feature—terraced gardens, a level entertaining deck with stunning views, and integrated outdoor lighting that makes the entire space usable after dark.
Upper Hutt: Maximising the Space
A spectacular Riverstone Terraces property in Upper Hutt demanded an engineering feat to unlock access to one of the region’s most breathtaking views across the Hutt Valley. The dramatic hillside site presented extreme vertical challenges, requiring a sophisticated multi-level solution that would safely connect the home to the expansive landscape above.
Investment That Pays Returns
Professional landscaping isn’t an expense—it’s an investment that delivers returns in multiple ways:
Property Value: Well-executed landscaping increases property values by 10-30%, with professional designs delivering even stronger returns. For Wellington’s median property value of $767,500, that represents $76,750 to $230,250 in added value.
Lifestyle Enhancement: Your garden becomes a genuine extension of your living space—increasing your property’s functional area whilst providing health, wellbeing, and enjoyment benefits that are difficult to quantify but impossible to ignore.
Reduced Maintenance: Properly designed landscapes require dramatically less ongoing maintenance than poorly planned gardens, saving time and money for years to come.
Energy Efficiency: Strategic tree placement and wind shelter reduce heating costs whilst creating more comfortable outdoor microclimates, delivering ongoing savings.
Make This Summer Count
Wellington’s summer weather window is limited—typically December through February offer the most reliable conditions for major landscaping projects. As we’re already in summer, the time to act is now.
KHHS’s schedule for summer projects is filling rapidly as homeowners recognise the optimal timing. Properties booked in December and January can typically be completed before autumn, maximising your enjoyment of the transformation whilst establishing plants in time for strong spring growth.
Your Garden’s Transformation Starts Here
Whether you’re envisioning a complete property transformation or focused improvements to specific areas, professional landscaping expertise ensures your investment delivers maximum impact.
KHHS offers complimentary site assessments throughout the Wellington region. We’ll visit your property, discuss your vision, and provide honest, expert advice on how to achieve your goals within your budget and timeframe.
Don’t let another Wellington summer pass with an underperforming garden. The difference between an ordinary outdoor space and an extraordinary one is professional design and execution. Let us show you what’s possible.
About KHHS (Kapiti Hardscaping & Horticultural Services)
Established in 2019, KHHS has quickly become the Kapiti Coast and Wellington region’s premier choice for outdoor transformations. Under the leadership of Hadyn James, our family-owned business brings together decades of expertise in construction, landscaping, and project management.
We specialise in:
- Retaining walls and terracing for challenging sites
- Custom decking designed for Wellington conditions
- Complete landscape design and installation
- Pergola construction and outdoor structures
- Hard landscaping solutions
- Arborist services and tree management
- Ongoing garden maintenance
Contact KHHS Today:
📞 Phone: 027 566 5687
🌐 Website: www.khhs.co.nz
📧 Email: hadyn@khhs.co.nz
📍 Service Area: Kapiti Coast, Wellington City, Porirua, Upper Hutt, and surrounding regions
Useful Resources and Further Reading
Local Authorities and Regulations:
- Wellington City Council – Building consents, resource consent information, and Wellington-specific regulations
- Greater Wellington Regional Council – Environmental guidelines and regional planning information
New Zealand Landscaping Standards:
- Landscape Industries Association of New Zealand – Industry standards and best practices
- New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects – Professional design resources and landscape architecture insights
Plant Selection and Gardening:
- Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture – Plant information and horticultural advice for New Zealand conditions
- NZ Plant Conservation Network – Native plant information and conservation resources
Property and Home Improvement:
- Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) – Property market data and real estate insights
