A Mornington Peninsula local, born and bred, Sam Hoban grew up in Mornington and stayed in the area until his late teens. Going in search of a new life and adventure, Sam travelled extensively overseas before returning to Melbourne and living in the metropolitan area.

It was when it came time for Sam to invest in real estate that he decided to make the Mornington Peninsula his home again. With both he and his wife from the area, setting down roots here made sense.

Says Sam, “We love the Peninsula, and life on the Bay, so we settled back into the area very quickly. It of course took a bit of adjustment from city life, where the only outside space we had was a 2m x 3m balcony on the third floor of an apartment building. Coming back to the Peninsula it's so wonderful to have a patch of dirt to dig in and to have an outdoor space and a garden - which is what we were both really missing in our lives. Having a connection to the earth is so important for us now.”

Ground Space is a relatively new business – only six months old. Sam has worked in the Nursery industry for around 12 years though, predominantly with native plants. He started out working with a wholesale nursery before getting involved with the Mornington Peninsula Shire doing contract work. “Now that I am working for myself I can explore the types of garden maintenance that I really enjoy.”

The main point of difference with Ground Space is that Sam is moving toward being emissions-free wherever possible. Explains Sam, "About 90% of my tools are commercial-grade battery operated, which means they run clean and they run quietly. The result is that the work I do is less disruptive and less noisy, which is particularly beneficial for aged care and hospice facilities, and for families who have young children. I have also been able to operate chemically free so far which is really important to me."

"Instead of using herbicides I have a propane burner torch that not only takes out existing weeds, it renders the next generation seeds unviable. Whilst they’re not emissions-free, using this system avoids a build-up of chemical compounds and residual chemicals in the earth. I haven’t had to use chemicals to date, there are other solutions. In fact I hand pull a lot of weeds!"

Sam’s garden maintenance offering includes weeding, hedging, planting, lawn mowing, tree-pruning, clearing overhead branches and mulching. “I really enjoy garden transformation, and working with my clients to see how they relate to their outdoor space on a day-to-day basis. I see my role as one that helps them achieve their needs. Many people have a love/hate relationship with their outdoor space in terms of maintenance and design, but it’s so important for all of us to have an outdoor area that we feel comfortable with. Ground Space is all about guilt-free gardening!"

You can contact Sam Hoban from Ground Space on 0403 279 531.

www.danckert.com.au