Sunnyside Instant Lawn – TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda Installation
Mount Lofty House in Crafers South Australia was built back in 1852 by Yorkshire-born lawyer Arthur Hardy. Over 100 years the estate was bought and sold by numerous families. In 1983, deadly bushfires ravaged the area and Mount Lofty House among over 3,000 other buildings burnt down. In 1986, the building was restored and was turned into a luxury boutique hotel.
The Horbelt family purchased the property in 2009 with a grand vision to continue the legacy of the property long considered a treasured state icon.
Since 2009, the business operated in partnership by David Horbelt and Malcolm Beam, has seen significant additions to the existing property facilities. This included a conference room extension, the construction of Stables Day Spa and Hardy’s Verandah Restaurant, full renovation of all rooms and the recent development, a new six-star hotel, Sequoia @ Mount Lofty. With the extensive construction of new facilities, the gardens and landscaped areas were also developed.
Sunnyside Instant Lawns
Sunnyside Instant Lawns began working with Mount Lofty House in 2019. Sunnyside Instant Lawns is a family-owned turf business based in Mundulla owned by Andrew and Sheridan Rowett.
Mount Lofty initially made contact with Sunnyside requesting advice and lawn care products to help with the appearance of their fescue. This grass surrounded the cottage and gardens, beautifully complimenting this manicured garden area. Limited sunlight however in some areas was resulting in growth discrepancies. Sunnyside recommended and introduced Mount Lofty to the turf pigment ColourGuard Plus and fertilisers to improve performance and colour in these areas.
Turf Project
This relationship developed further with Sunnyside meeting David Tonkin, Guest Relations Manager at Mount Lofty House on site. With discussions had about the best turf solutions for the Mount Lofty fire track which leads to the helicopter pad surrounding the property and to repair some existing areas. It was important these grassed areas would provide an aesthetically pleasing and welcoming place for guests to walk.
New turf was also required for the newly built Sequoia Villas. The grass area in front of the villas was designed to be a daily meeting point for guests to indulge in local products, socialising and interaction with the native wildlife. 1000’s of native plants were recently planted making it a truly beautiful place to relax and enjoy the amazing Piccadilly valley view of the Adelaide Hills. This space also providing a pleasant, cool, resting and feeding place for the soon to be introduced kangaroos.
The water requirements for the turf to be selected for these areas needed to be minimal with limited water accessibility to the estate.
“Water management is a critical aspect to our business as we do not have mains access and therefore rely solely on our spring-fed water. Our spring supplies the entire estate.” Mr Tonkin explained.
Sunnyside recommended the grass TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda, a couch grass, that is the only grass currently recognised with the Smart Approved WaterMark in Australia for its water saving characteristics. TifTuf would provide a grass that could handle a lot of wear and foot traffic but would also withstand extended periods without irrigation when necessary.
Both Sunnyside and Mount Lofty worked together with a reputable landscaper in the Adelaide Hills to install the project. The Mount Lofty grounds team and landscaper prepared the area for the turf to be laid, with Sunnyside completing the installation of over 700m2 of TifTuf over 2 days. The finished result has provided a spectacular unity between the natural living areas and the Mount Lofty Facilities. Memorable moments that the estate had hoped to achieve deeply rooted in the local landscape, culture and hotel character, had come to fruition.
Mr Tonkin has been particularly pleased with the amazing water usage in maintaining the TifTuf. Or as he puts it rather the ‘lack of water usage’ that the grass has shown.
Mount Lofty are continuing to work with Sunnyside to develop a lawn care program including the use of plant growth regulator Primo Maxx and Oxafert Pre-Emergent Herbicide to maintain the best performance and visual that this incredible estate truly deserves.
