Hamilton man Maurice Shappell loves trees so much, he’s growing a forest in his very humble backyard.
In the maze of council flats, the right path will take you to Shappell’s humble backyard nursery.
He has trees - native trees, kōwhai and karaka.
"They are the two main ones I like growing, plus the pōhutukawa,” he said.
He starts with seeds, he works with clippings and he grows them slowly. Then like any, good conservationist, he releases them.
“My day starts just after seven in the morning, I water twice a day, night and morning,” he told 1 NEWS.
“I talk to them there, hurry up and grow or do something, trees seem to be my life, yeah.”
When he can't sleep, he gives the plants an electric blanket to warm the soil up and help the seeds germinate.
Shappell loves it all - except the weeding.
His partner, Audrey, says he’s needs to be kept busy.
“It started off just a few and he said when I get to 10,000, that’s it. Well, he’s up to 12,000 now but what else is he going to do?” she said.
Shappell has produced 12,000 trees, all grown from a tiny space at the back of his humble council flat.
Amazingly, he lets his trees go.
“[I] give them away for free and free delivery all around the country,” he said.
Time is short when your mission is to grow a forest. Shappell reckons he’s got a couple more summers left, but Audrey is not so sure - she’ll believe in retirement when she sees it.
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