Ideally bush areas will regenerate naturally from falling seeds or seed being carried by wind and birds and dropped in the leaf litter. But sometimes nature may need a helping hand. With a minimum of effort and money, you can grow a range of easy-care native plants from seed.

Some native plant varieties are called 'primary species' such as manuka, kanuka and ti kouka/cabbage trees, because they like starting out on bare ground, and are hardy, easy to grow and will generally tolerate extremes in temperature, terrain, soil type and drainage. In many cases, planting even a limited range of primary species can create an environment where birds bring in the seed of a wider variety of plants, saving you the time and expense of growing them yourself.