Easy Big Trees was launched in Southland as far back as 1985 when Total Landscapes founder Chris Harrisonrecognised a growing demand for quality large grade avenue trees, screening plants and specimen trees.

“This is a family business that traces right back to the 1920s when our ancestor Richmond Harrison started growing saplings for farm shelter in Manawatu,” says sales and marketing manager Barney Harrison. “ From those early roots the business soon developed into one the largest growers and distributors of quality plant and tree stock in New Zealand.”

Barney and his brother Ryland Harrison are now fourth generation growers continuing the family tradition to provide quality trees and shrubs grown in Southland and supplied country wide.

“The key to our business is understanding the need for ready grown trees when it comes to important landscaping projects. It has been a steady learning curve along the way with modern innovative machinery playing a huge part in growing quality trees. Providing a safe working environment for our team and adopting environmentally responsible practices has been paramount to our success.”

Based in Invercargill, Easy Big Trees is one of the largest established businesses in high quality, larger grade trees which provide instant enhancement, value and impact to garden and landscaping projects. 

“Currently there are over 100,000 trees and shrubs growing in our nursery which is over 12 hectares. There is  a broad range of both deciduous, evergreen and New Zealand native varietals available to suit southern conditions,” says Barney. “Our trees are available in large quantities to provide consistent even grades for bigger projects and developments as well as the home gardener.”

He says keeping things streamlined and simple for customers is key.

“A wide range of trees and plants are available for supply now and we can email or post a catalogue  for customers to choose from. We encourage and recommend forward ordering for projects where possible to ensure availability and we deliver our trees country wide via reliable, specialised tree carriers.”

Queenstown Lakes , Wanaka and Central Otago have all become important markets for the company given its proximity to their nursery. 

“There is an abundance of quality developments in these areas that are ideal for our trees because they have been grown in Southland meaning the plants are well suited to establishing quickly in Central Otago and Southern Lakes environment. We have multiple deliveries to these areas most weeks and can turn around orders very quickly on request.”

Barney says spring is a great time to plan and plant screening areas to provide privacy for outdoor areas during summer.“ One of the most popular trees for the spring season is the Prunus – Cherry Blossom. These look stunning and are a popular tree for lining driveways or for street plantings.