Landscaping & Garden Design in Waverton
Waverton is a sandstone harbour peninsula of steep streets, heritage terraces and cottages, and apartment buildings with shared gardens. From our base in Neutral Bay, we handle landscape construction built for these sites, from sandstone retaining walls and steps to paving, drainage and planting, across Waverton, Wollstonecraft, McMahons Point and Lavender Bay. $20M insured, 10+ years experience.
Lower North Shore Locals
Based in Neutral Bay
$20M Public Liability
Fully insured
Licensed & Qualified
Landscaping & Horticulture
100% In-House Teams
Never subcontractors
Landscape Construction Waverton — Sandstone, Slopes & Tight Access
Waverton is a small harbour peninsula ringed by sandstone foreshore reserves — Balls Head, Carradah Park and the Coal Loader, with Berry Island just next door in Wollstonecraft. Away from the water the streets are steep and narrow, lined with heritage terraces, cottages and apartment buildings whose gardens are often small, shaded and set on rock.
That makes most landscaping here a construction job first: sandstone retaining walls, steps and paths to deal with the level changes, drainage so stormwater doesn't end up against the house or next door, and paving and planting that suit compact, often shady spaces. Access is usually the biggest planning task — narrow frontages, stairs from the street, shared strata driveways and limited parking — so we plan how each job will be staged before work starts.
Building Gardens on the Waverton Peninsula
Sandstone, steep streets and shared strata gardens shape almost every Waverton project. Here's how we handle them.
Sandstone & Steep Blocks
Sandstone outcrops and shallow soil are common on the peninsula, and many gardens fall sharply from front to back. We build sandstone and masonry retaining walls with drainage behind them, terraced beds and stone steps, working with the existing rock where we can rather than cutting it out. Walls over 600mm can need North Sydney Council approval, which we'll advise on and manage.
Retaining walls →Tight Access Construction
Narrow frontages, stairs from the street and limited parking mean materials often have to come in by hand, by wheelbarrow or with compact machinery. We stage deliveries, protect paths, floors and neighbouring property, and choose materials such as modular pavers, cut stone and lightweight planters that can be moved in practical loads without compromising the finish.
Hard landscaping →Strata & Apartment Gardens
Many Waverton residents live in apartment buildings with shared gardens, courtyards and driveways. We landscape common property with the owners corporation's approval, design for low upkeep with hardy planting, and can take on ongoing strata maintenance afterwards, with service reports for the committee or building manager.
Strata maintenance →Waverton & Surrounding Suburbs
We provide landscaping throughout Waverton and its neighbouring suburbs.
📍 Waverton
2060Sandstone retaining walls, steps, paving and planting for Waverton's steep blocks, terraces and strata gardens.
📍 Wollstonecraft
2065Terraced gardens, hedging and harbour-view landscaping for Wollstonecraft's elevated homes near Berry Island.
📍 McMahons Point
2060Compact courtyards and heritage front gardens for McMahons Point's terraces and harbourfront apartments.
📍 Lavender Bay
2060Sloping harbour-view gardens, sandstone steps and coastal planting around Lavender Bay.
📍 North Sydney
2060Residential, strata and commercial landscaping across North Sydney, minutes from our Neutral Bay base.
📍 Crows Nest
2065Courtyard makeovers, planters and low-maintenance gardens for Crows Nest terraces and apartments.
Serving Waverton & Surrounds
Landscaping in Waverton — FAQs
Most of the cost on a Waverton project sits in the structure — retaining walls, steps, drainage and paving — and in access. A garden that has to be built by hand through a narrow side passage or up a flight of stairs takes more labour than one with machine access from the street. We provide a free, itemised quote after an on-site visit, and our pricing page shows typical ranges for common project types.
Waverton is in the North Sydney Council area. Retaining walls over 600mm, removing or significantly pruning protected trees, and changes to heritage-listed properties or homes in heritage conservation areas can need approval, and in strata buildings, work on common property also needs the owners corporation's approval. We'll check what applies to your site and manage the paperwork if it's needed.
Usually, yes, and it's often worth keeping. Natural sandstone outcrops can become a feature of the garden, with planting around them and steps or paths built to suit. Where rock has to be removed or levels changed, we plan drainage carefully, because water tends to run along the rock beneath shallow soil and can end up against walls and foundations. Sandstone removed from the site can often be reused for walls and edging.
Yes. We design and build gardens on common property for owners corporations — entry gardens, courtyards, paths, planter beds and screening — and work with the strata manager on approvals, access times and notice to residents. Once the work is finished, our strata maintenance teams can look after the grounds with regular visits and reporting for the committee.
Yes. Our in-house teams provide garden maintenance across the North Sydney area, including gardeners for Waverton and Wollstonecraft homes, terraces and strata blocks, with hedge trimming, pruning, lawn care and seasonal clean-ups so new planting establishes properly. See our North Sydney garden maintenance page for details.
Trusted Across North Sydney
See what our Lower North Shore clients say about our landscaping.
Janet Tuft
“Ewan and his team turned my scrappy garden into a neat and tidy display in record time. Willing and easy to work with.”
Brad Cooper
“This Team does an outstanding job, tall hedges all around my property and pool! Gardens, lawns , even tidied up the fire pit. Great young guys attend and get in with it! Highly recommend.”
Jennie Finlay
“It is my absolute pleasure to recommend Ewan and his Team at Ethereal Gardens Landscaping. -Communication is very personable and excellent, -communicating openly is very helpful with ideas that might benefit the project and lessen time and sometimes cost if the outcome gives a good result which it has -friendliness, Courteousness and professionalism are very kind, supportive, and understanding and accepting of what is requested - attitude and work ethic are wonderful to experience and a credit to them -doing and through to completion of tasks are higher than expectation -outcomes show the care that is taken when performing the tasks -completion, which includes removal of rubbish and cleaning up, always leaves everything looking beautiful. I am very confident and, with my first hand experience, if you choose to engage Ewan and his team he/they will not disappoint. I have engaged other Landscapers for projects and Ewan at Ethereal Gardens has been by far the best. Thank you Ewan. Jennie”
Let's Create Something Ethereal
Ready to transform your outdoor space? Complete the form and we'll get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your project.