Specialist horticulture · Garden design · Expert maintenance
Expert garden care for Sydney's North Shore
I'm a qualified horticulturist with a Certificate III in Horticulture from Ryde TAFE and six years' experience (and ongoing part-time work) at the Royal Botanic Gardens. RF Horticulture is my own business: precision pruning, hedge shaping, seasonal planting, soil care, monthly care packages and native garden design, from Mosman to Wahroonga.
Planning a native garden? See the native garden advice options →
- Qualified horticulturist
- Cert III Horticulture, Ryde TAFE
- 6 years at the Royal Botanic Gardens
- ChemCert accredited
- No travel fee on the North Shore
Tailored horticultural services
For gardens that deserve real care
For clients who value quality, care and elegant outdoor living. Every visit is tailored to your space, your goals and the character of your garden, with a focus on seasonal timing, plant longevity and long-term garden health.
Precision pruning & hedge shaping
Careful, plant-first pruning of camellias, azaleas, gardenias and flowering shrubs, timed to the season so you get stronger growth and better flowering.
Monthly garden care packages
Regular visits from the same qualified horticulturist who knows your garden.
Garden design & replanting plans
Bespoke planting plans that rework tired or underperforming areas, using plants chosen to suit your soil, light and style, from elegant formal beds to relaxed perennial borders.
Seasonal planting & colour beds
Seasonal display planting, vibrant colour beds and perennial displays, planted at the right time of year so they establish well.
Native & wildflower meadow gardens
Design, installation and care of native and wildflower plantings that bring in birds, bees and butterflies and suit North Shore soils.
Soil improvement, composting & mulching
Soil improvement through tailored enrichment and compost, plus mulching where a site check shows it will help.
Dry stone retaining walls
Small dry stone retaining walls as part of soft landscaping: hand-stacked natural stone that holds a garden bed, softens a gentle slope and settles in with the planting around it.
Pest, disease & deficiency diagnosis
Diagnosis and management of plant pests, diseases and nutrient deficiencies, with a plant-health-first approach.
Irrigation checks & seasonal readiness
Irrigation system assessments and seasonal readiness preparation, especially before summer, when blocked drippers waste water and starve plants.
Recent work
A back-garden corner, rebuilt with a dry stone retaining wall
An overgrown back corner with a weedy, sloping bank and a few loose rocks was cleared and turned into a curved dry stone retaining wall, hand-stacked from natural stone, holding a new level garden bed along the fence, ready for planting. The big camellia beside it was kept. Soft landscaping like this is about making the garden work better, not building work. For larger landscaping jobs, I can bring in a landscaper I work with, at their own rates.
A native garden bed, from bare soil to grown in
A native garden bed on Sydney's North Shore. I prepared the bed with fresh soil, set the plants out in their pots to check the layout, then planted. A layered mix of Australian species brings structure, texture and seasonal colour: grasses and strappy plants at the front, a silver-leaved shrub behind and flowering plants for colour. It's a resilient planting that grows stronger with time.
Native garden advice
Want a native garden that belongs here?
Much of the North Shore was once Blue Gum High Forest, Turpentine-Ironbark forest or sandstone bushland. Blue Gum High Forest and Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest are now critically endangered ecological communities, and planting the right local species helps. I'll walk your garden with you, work out its likely original plant community and give you a plan you can follow.
Native Garden Walk
About 1 to 2 hours walking your garden together, with an emailed shortlist of local native plants.
Advice Visit + Written Plan
A longer visit and a written plan you can follow over the year.
Design & Planting Plan
A to-scale plan when you want it designed and planted properly.
Why go native?
Good for your garden, good for local wildlife
Made for local conditions
Local species evolved in North Shore soils, from shale clays on the ridges to sandstone sands in the gullies. Matched to the right spot, they need less water and fuss once established.
Food and shelter for birds
Layered planting with small, dense or prickly shrubs gives small birds somewhere safe to live, not just nectar plants. Add a bird bath and keep some leaf litter.
A stepping stone for bushland
Gardens near reserves can either feed weeds into the bush or help it. Swapping garden escapes like privet, ochna and asparagus fern for local natives makes a real difference.
Free guides
Free native garden and weed guides
Use them yourself, no sign-up needed. If you'd rather have a qualified horticulturist do it with you, that's what I'm here for.
Native plant finder
232 local native species with photos, filtered by plant community and garden layer.
Find plants →Weeds to worry about
84 weeds that matter in North Shore gardens: how to spot them, remove them and what to plant instead.
Check your garden →Watering natives
Myths, soil types and water-repellent soil: why "natives don't need water" isn't the whole story.
Read the guide →Where I work
Servicing Sydney's North Shore and surrounds
Mosman, Neutral Bay, Cremorne, Lane Cove, Chatswood, Willoughby, Roseville, Lindfield, Killara, Gordon, Pymble, Turramurra, St Ives, Wahroonga.
Get in touch for a quote
Call, text or send a quick enquiry. Quotes for garden care, maintenance and planting. No travel fee on the North Shore.