Advice for Brisbane gardens.
Our advice articles, garden ideas and design thinking for Brisbane homeowners.
The Awkward Side Passage: Designing Brisbane's Forgotten One-Metre Strip
The side of a Brisbane house is usually a dark, damp one-metre strip that holds the bins and not much else. Here's how I handle drainage, access, shade and the neighbour's wall so it feels intentional.
Plants for Pots in Brisbane: Courtyards, Decks and Balconies That Last
A pot on a Brisbane deck cooks, dries out and gets blown about in ways a garden bed never does. Here's how I choose plants for pots that still look good in year three, for sun, shade, courtyards and balconies.
Drainage and Levels on a New Build in Brisbane: Get the Falls Right First
On a new build the levels are set before the garden is designed. Here is how falls, pad heights and overland flow decide whether your yard drains or pools, and what to sort before you landscape.
How Much Space Does a Plant Really Need? Garden Bed Sizing for Brisbane
How deep should a garden bed be? Size it to the plant's mature width, not the nursery pot. Here's how I work out bed depth and spacing for Brisbane gardens, and why cramped beds fail.
Why the Lawn Dies on a New Build in Brisbane (and How to Fix the Soil)
Builder's turf over stripped, compacted subsoil is a recipe for a patchy lawn by the end of the first summer. Here is what is going on underneath and how I'd fix it properly.
Mulch: The Cheapest, Most-Skipped Thing in Your Brisbane Garden
Mulch is the least glamorous line in a garden budget and the one that quietly protects everything else. Here's how I choose between tea tree, sugarcane, hardwood and pebble in Brisbane, how deep to lay it, and the volcano mistake to avoid.
How to Make a Native Garden Look Designed, Not Like Revegetation
A native garden can read as a considered design or as a patch of roadside regrowth, and the difference is almost never the plants. It's structure, repetition and restraint. Here's how I get natives to look designed.
Why the Possums Are Eating Everything (and What to Plant Instead)
Possums are the number one complaint I hear standing in Brisbane gardens. You can't beat them, but you can plant so they lose interest. Here's what they devour, what they leave alone, and why no plant is truly possum-proof.
Where to Plant a Tree, and Which Roots Will Wreck Your Slab
A tree in the wrong spot lifts slabs, cracks pools and hunts out pipes long after you've forgotten you planted it. Here's how far to keep trees from the house, which Brisbane roots to fear, and the well-behaved picks I actually plant.
Flowering Trees for Brisbane Gardens: A Colour Calendar
The right flowering trees give a Brisbane garden a different colour every season, from jacaranda purple in spring to poinciana red at Christmas. Here's what flowers when, how big each really gets, and where it belongs.
Screening a Double-Storey Neighbour Without Building a Fortress
When the new house next door looks straight down into your yard, a taller fence won't fix it. The answer is up high, with the right screening trees. Here's how to block a second-storey window without walling yourself in.
How to Phase a Garden Renovation in Brisbane (and Budget Over Time)
You don't have to do the whole garden at once. Here's how I sequence a renovation so the early stages don't get ripped up later, and the budget stretches over years.
When to Plant What: A Subtropical Garden Calendar for Brisbane
Brisbane runs on a different clock to the southern states. Here's the real subtropical planting calendar I work to, season by season, and why timing changes a design.
Poolside Plants in Brisbane: What Actually Survives the Splash Zone
A poolside bed in Brisbane fights chlorine splash, radiant heat off paving and glass, and the skimmer basket. Here's how I plant it so it looks lush and never becomes your Saturday chore.
Ground Cover Plants in Brisbane: The Living Mulch That Beats Weeds
Ground cover plants earn their keep in Brisbane as living mulch: smothering weeds, holding a slope through a storm, and softening the strips too narrow to mow. Here's how I choose them.
Small Trees for Brisbane Gardens: Shade Without Regret
The best small trees for Brisbane gardens stay clear of powerlines, keep their roots out of your slab and shade a west wall without swallowing the yard. Here's how I choose them.
Drought Tolerant Plants Brisbane: Waterwise Picks That Survive Our Wet Summers
Drought tolerant plants sound simple until a Brisbane February rots half of them. Here's how I choose waterwise plants for our wet summers and long dry spells.
Plants for Clay Soil in Brisbane: What Actually Copes
If your block has reactive clay that drowns roots in February and sets like concrete by spring, here's how I design around it, and the plants that shrug it off.
Screening Plants in Brisbane: Privacy Without the Regrets
Privacy is the most common brief in Brisbane. Here's how I choose screening plants that stay dense, suit narrow beds and never outgrow the job.
Shade Gardens in Brisbane: Working With the Light You Have
Yes, you can have a garden in the shade. How I read Brisbane's shade types, the plants that thrive there, and what to do when the lawn gives up.
Backyard Landscaping Costs in Brisbane: Small Yards, Pools and Sloping Blocks
What actually drives backyard construction costs in Brisbane (access, slope, drainage, materials and pools), and why a compact yard is not automatically cheap.
Brisbane Garden Design: Where to Start (DIY, Apps, or a Pro?)
Not every garden needs a designer. An honest triage of when DIY works, what design apps can and can't do, and the middle path most people don't know exists.
Do You Need Council Approval for Landscaping in Brisbane?
Most garden work in Brisbane needs no approval at all, but the exceptions are specific and expensive to get wrong. A designer's guide to the common triggers.
Top 10 DIY Landscaping Mistakes I See in Brisbane
Most DIY gardens fail for the same ten reasons, and almost none are about plant choice. The most common mistakes I see across Brisbane, and how to avoid them.
How Much Does Landscape Design Cost in Brisbane? (2026 Guide)
One of the most common questions I get asked. A garden is almost never one bill, so here are the ways in at different budgets, and how to break the work into areas and stages so the number feels manageable.
Is a Landscape Designer Worth It? An Honest Look at the Value
Design fees are real money, and the sceptics have a point worth answering properly: what you're paying for, when it pays for itself, and when you don't need one.
When to Engage a Landscape Designer on a New Build or Renovation
The best time to bring in a landscape designer is while the architectural plans can still change: levels, drainage and trees are decided early and expensive to undo.
Ready to start designing?
We're currently taking on new landscape design clients across Brisbane. Reach out for a personalised quote, whether you're a homeowner or a design professional.
Book a Free Discovery Call