Lane Cove gardens sit in gullies running down to the river, and the ones at the bottom barely dry out. Damp shade is the condition here, and it changes what survives and what a visit should actually be doing.
Lane Cove sits about nine kilometres north-west of the city on a peninsula where the Lane Cove River meets the harbour, with bushland along the river edge and around 16 per cent of the area set aside as public recreation. Roughly 62 per cent of its homes are flats and 30 per cent are separate houses.
At the bottom of a gully, under canopy, with creeks running through the area, the soil holds moisture for far longer than it does on a ridge. Beds there grow moss rather than plants, paths get slippery, and timber and mortar stay damp. Working with that is the job.
Under mature canopy in a gully there is often not enough light for lawn or for most flowering planting. Thinning and lifting the canopy to let light down does more good here than anything we could plant, and we usually start there.
With around 62 per cent of homes in flats, much of the work here is building entries, driveway edges and shared garden strips. The houses are often post-war blocks granted to returning soldiers, now with seventy-odd years of growth in them.
Private gardens and strata common areas, both scoped for damp shade rather than an open sunny block.
Thinning and lifting canopies to get light down into a gully garden, and keeping growth off roofs and gutters. In a damp position this also keeps air moving, which does as much for the planting as the light does.
See our pruning and trimmingBeds, paths, steps and paving joints cleared back, roots included. In constant damp, moss and weed growth return faster than on a drier block, so a regular pass beats one big clear.
More on weedingMulch at a depth suited to ground that already holds water. Heavy mulch over damp soil keeps it saturated, so we go lighter here than we would on an exposed block and choose a grade that does not mat down.
More on mulchingScreens and boundary hedges cut to a clean line, kept open enough that air moves through them. In damp shade a hedge cut too dense holds moisture and thins out from the inside.
How we trim hedgesLawn where there is genuinely enough light for it. In a shaded gully we will tell you honestly that turf is not going to hold, and suggest planting or a surface instead.
How we lay new turfClippings, prunings and green waste taken away every visit, with driveways, stairs and common areas left clear.
See our rubbish removalRemoving a tree that threatens a structure or has failed. Lane Cove Council controls removal and significant pruning of many trees, with tighter rules near the river bushland, so we check before quoting.
About our tree lopping workWhere on the slope you sit decides most of what the garden needs.
Three steps, a fixed written price per visit, and no lock-in contract.
We look at how much light the space gets, how wet the ground stays and what is failing because of it, then tell you what it needs.
A fixed price per visit, in a form a strata committee can approve if the work is on common property.
Same crew each time. All clippings leave with us and the stairs, paths and driveway are swept down before we go.
Terry and his team are fantastic to work with.
The team have been very professional with their work, communication and they were also fast paced.
They use very high quality materials and workmanship is flawless.
Lane Cove sits on the lower north shore with Riverview, Longueville, Greenwich, Wollstonecraft and Chatswood nearby.
For a garden rebuild rather than upkeep, see our landscaping work in Lane Cove, and browse every Sydney suburb we service.
Light and air, before anything else. Thinning and lifting the canopy lets both in, and that alone changes a gully garden more than replanting does. After that it is lighter mulch, hedges kept open rather than dense, and accepting that this is a shade garden rather than fighting it.
That is the ground telling you there is not enough light. Sometimes opening the canopy fixes it. Where the shade is permanent, lawn will never hold, and a planted bed or a surface is a better use of the money.
Yes, and with around 62 per cent of Lane Cove in flats it is a good share of our work here. We supply a written scope and fixed price a committee or managing agent can approve, and work to the building's access hours.
Yes. Keeping them cleared and letting more light and air into the area slows it down considerably. Where a path stays wet year round it is usually a drainage or canopy issue rather than a cleaning one, and we will say so.
No. You get a fixed written price per visit and you can change the cycle, skip a visit or stop whenever you want.
Yes. We work across Lane Cove 2066 and the surrounding lower north shore suburbs including Lane Cove North, Lane Cove West, Riverview, Longueville, Greenwich and Northwood.
Send us the basics and we will come out, check the light and how wet the ground stays, and give you a fixed written price per visit. The visit costs nothing.
Prefer to talk it through? Call 0451 267 287.
Whether it is a gully that never dries out or a shared garden that needs a consistent standard, we will come out and price it properly.