Mosman
Traditional and contemporary planting frames a sliding-door run from kitchen to a newly renovated pool.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN · SYDNEY NORTH SHORE
Landscape Design North Shore
North Shore blocks rarely arrive flat. Sandstone shelves under Cammeray and Northbridge, steep falls through Lane Cove and Artarmon, and the deep, tree-canopied setbacks of Wahroonga and Turramurra all shape the brief before a single plant is chosen. Harbourside gardens on the Lower North Shore tend to be compact and view-driven, built around outdoor entertaining close to the water; Upper North Shore gardens are larger and leafier, framed by established natives the council has a real interest in keeping.
Think Outside Gardens has designed and built across this terrain for over 20 years – terracing instead of levelling, cutting into rock rather than trucking it out, and choosing planting that reads as bushland rather than an import. Below is the work we’ve delivered across the region, the suburbs we cover, and what council approval actually involves here.
Landscape services in the North Shore
Design
Concept through to construction documentation for gardens, terraces and outdoor rooms across the North Shore's sloping, sandstone-influenced blocks.
Landscape design across SydneyConstruction
Retaining, terracing, decking and planting delivered by our own crews built to hold on grades and rock shelves a standard spec doesn't anticipate.
Landscape construction across SydneyPools
Pools sited into the fall of the land rather than against it, with retaining and access resolved at concept stage on sloping sites.
Pool design across SydneyAreas we work across the North Shore
Lower North Shore
Upper North Shore
- Gordon
- Pymble
- Turramurra
- Wahroonga
- St Ives
- Warrawee
- Cheltenham
Featured North Shore Projects
Artarmon
An entertainer's deck and dining terrace built into the shade of an established garden canopy.
Lane Cove
A poolside cabana and multiple entertaining zones for a growing family, with boundary planting for privacy.
Cheltenham
Sandstone flagging and ballast walls pick up the character of the home's 1950s architecture.
Cammeray
A pool and entertaining garden built around an existing Jacaranda the design was written to protect.
North Shore council & site considerations
Landscaping on the North Shore usually means talking to council before you talk to a bricklayer. Tree preservation controls apply across every North Shore LGA, pools generally need a Complying Development Certificate rather than a full DA once slope, site classification and any bushfire overlay are confirmed, and the exact rules shift suburb to suburb. We handle this correspondence as part of the design process assessing canopy impact, slope and overlays before we design around them, not after construction stalls.
North Sydney Council
Cremorne, Neutral Bay, Cammeray, Mosman. Tree preservation orders apply to established natives over a set trunk diameter.
Willoughby City Council
Artarmon, Lane Cove, Willoughby, Northbridge. Canopy-retention controls shape retaining walls and pool siting on sloping blocks.
Ku-ring-gai Council
Gordon, Pymble, Turramurra, Wahroonga, St Ives. Strictest of the three — an LEP built around tree canopy cover.
North Shore FAQs
Yes, we work right across the North Shore, from Cremorne and Cammeray on the harbour side through to Wahroonga, Turramurra, Gordon and St Ives at the top. See the full list of suburbs above.
Sloping, rock-shelved blocks are the North Shore norm rather than the exception. We design pools into the fall of the land, with retaining, terracing and access solved at concept stage rather than worked around afterwards.
Yes. We manage DA and CDC documentation for North Sydney, Willoughby and Ku-ring-gai councils, including the tree preservation and canopy-cover requirements specific to each.
A typical design phase runs 4–8 weeks depending on site complexity and council pathway. Construction timelines are scoped once the design and approvals are locked in.
Always. Mature canopy is one of the reasons people buy on the North Shore, so we design to retain protected trees rather than around a removal that may never be approved.
Harbourside gardens (Mosman, Cammeray, Neutral Bay) tend to be compact, view-oriented and built for entertaining. Upper North Shore gardens (Wahroonga, Turramurra, St Ives) are larger and leafier, shaped by deep setbacks and established bushland.