Marrickville was brick pits and market gardens before it was houses, and what is under a garden here varies from one side of a street to the other. That is why two neighbours can get completely different results.
Marrickville sits about seven kilometres south-west of the city on the northern bank of the Cooks River, the largest suburb in the Inner West Council area. Its market gardens were turned into brick pits from the late 1880s, with some of Sydney's largest brickmaking firms operating here, and the Gumbramorra swamp along its eastern edge was drained in the same period.
Where clay was dug out for bricks, the holes were later filled with whatever was available. Next door the ground might never have been touched. That is why a plant thrives on one block and sulks on the next, and it is worth establishing before spending money on planting.
The old Gumbramorra swamp was drained back in the 1880s, but the low ground remembers it. Beds on that side hold water for longer than they should and some corners never fully dry out between one rain and the next, which quietly rules out a good deal of the planting people would like to put there.
With roughly 47 per cent flats, 32 per cent houses and 18 per cent semis, the work here ranges from a Federation bungalow garden to a townhouse courtyard on a former factory site. Each one needs a different scope.
Houses, courtyards and strata gardens, scoped for whatever happens to be under them.
Beds, courtyards, paving joints and paths cleared back to a clean finish, roots included. On a small inner-west garden this is most of what makes it look cared for.
More on weedingMulch at a depth suited to the ground. On made ground that holds water we keep it lighter, and on free-draining fill we go deeper, which is why we look before recommending.
More on mulchingBoundary screens and courtyard hedges cut to a clean line. Between close-set terraces and semis a hedge is doing the privacy work, so we keep the density rather than thinning it.
How we trim hedgesLifting canopies off roofs, gutters and shared walls, and thinning growth so light reaches a small garden below. On a party wall we work to the line and leave the neighbour's side tidy.
See our pruning and trimmingSmall lawns over prepared soil. Where a yard sits on made ground or old fill, we check what is actually under the topsoil before laying, because turf over buried rubble never roots properly.
How we lay new turfClippings, prunings and garden waste taken away at the end of every visit. With narrow streets, permit parking and no verge to stack anything on, all of it leaves with us the same day rather than waiting for a collection.
See our rubbish removalRemoving a tree that has outgrown a small block or is lifting paving or a wall. Inner West Council controls removal and significant pruning of many trees, and we check before quoting.
About our tree lopping workWhat is under the garden, and how we get to it.
Three steps, a fixed written price per visit, and no lock-in contract.
We look at the ground, the light, the access and what has been failing, then tell you what it needs and what is not worth attempting.
A fixed price per visit sized to the space, with the written scope a strata manager can approve if the property is managed.
Same crew each time. Everything leaves with us and the courtyard, path and footpath 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.
Marrickville sits in the inner west with Dulwich Hill, Petersham, Newtown, Earlwood and St Peters nearby.
For a garden rebuild rather than upkeep, see our landscaping work in Marrickville or everything we do across the Inner West, and browse every Sydney suburb we service.
That is very common here and it is usually what is underneath. Clay was dug out for bricks across this suburb and the holes were backfilled with whatever came to hand, so ground conditions change from block to block. We check before recommending anything rather than assuming.
On the eastern side that is often the old Gumbramorra swamp ground, drained in the 1880s but still the lowest land. Raising the bed or giving the water a path works, and replanting into the same wet corner does not.
Depends on the light and what is under it. Turf over buried rubble never roots properly, and in a shaded terrace courtyard it thins out anyway. We would rather check first and tell you honestly than lay something that fails.
Yes, it is normal on a terrace or semi here. Tools and green waste come through the house or over the wall and everything leaves the same day. Tell us when you enquire so the visit is planned for it.
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 Marrickville 2204 and the surrounding inner west suburbs including Dulwich Hill, Petersham, Newtown, St Peters, Sydenham and Earlwood.
Send us the basics and we will come out, check what is under the garden and how it drains, and give you a fixed written price per visit. The visit costs nothing.
Prefer to talk it through? Call 0451 267 287.
Whether planting keeps failing for no obvious reason or the courtyard needs a consistent standard, we will come out and price it.