Nine To Noon

The Wellington Phoenix women's team are off to a grand final, while in men's football Auckland FC are one step away. The All Blacks bring back a legendary former coach to the selection team, while New Zealand Rugby League has a new chief executive.

Like so many kids, Guy Hessell's first job was mowing lawns. When he started redesigning his parents' garden - with dubious results - they passed it off as a phase. But it didn't pass - and Guy went on to get a degree in ecology and ran a successful landscaping business. He was head gardener at Summerset Retirement Village, and Garden Manager at Whangarei Quarry Gardens. He's now sharing his wealth of gardening knowledge in a new book called Let's Go Native: From Back Yard to Bush, Landscaping with Native Plants. It includes how to create native gardens of any size, the benefits of riparian planting and practical advice for the complete beginner.

Emma Hislop reviews The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch, published by Allen & Unwin.

Hamish also discusses Rocket Lab reaching record-breaking heights with new contracts, while Pacific Edge launches a $24 million capital raise to survive the loss of its primary US revenue stream.

Peter discusses the planned managed retreat of the township of Whirinaki, the social housing planned for a flood zone in Kawakawa, the mystery death of a dirt biker in Northland and victory for the people of Rawene who have battled for a decade to keep wastewater out of their harbour.