Guides for the people who manage the grounds
Plain-English answers for committees, owners corporation managers and facility managers: what grounds maintenance costs, how to scope a tender, and how to keep a site presentable without it becoming a job.
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What body corporate gardening costs in Melbourne
Published Australian market rates with sources, how owners corporations actually buy grounds care, what moves the price, and the red flags in a cheap quote.
Read the guide →How to tender a grounds maintenance contract
The site schedule, a line-by-line scope, the paperwork to require up front, and how to make quotes genuinely comparable.
Read the guide →A 12-month grounds calendar for Melbourne
What a maintenance program actually does season by season: mowing frequency, weed timing, hedges, leaf drop and the winter works window.
Read the guide →Holiday home garden maintenance on the Peninsula
The visit rhythm that works for absent owners, what each visit should include, and getting the property ready for summer.
Read the guide →Industrial grounds: a facility manager's guide
Boundary presentation, the risk sitting in long grass, the compliance paperwork to require, and scheduling around operations.
Read the guide →Fixed fee vs hourly: which works better?
How the two pricing models compare, where hourly bites in spring, and the scope protections that make a fixed fee safe.
Read the guide →Spring lawn and grounds preparation
Soil temperature triggers, the preventative weed window, first feed timing, mowing frequency changes and getting beds ready before the September flush.
Read the guide →Hedge trimming and pruning, by species
Species by species timing for pittosporum, lilly pilly, buxus, westringia and photinia, trimming versus pruning, renovation limits, commercial programs and market costs.
Read the guide →Strata garden maintenance guide
What committees and managers should specify: scope, frequency, green waste, liaison and insurance, plus how to change contractors cleanly.
Read the guide →New guides are added through the season.
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