Key Facts:
- Melbourne garden and lawn maintenance company Must Have Maintenance is changing its approach to routine garden care in response to Melbourne's water storages recording their steepest annual decline since the Millennium Drought, falling from 86% to 75.1%.
- The company has made warm-season turf varieties - couch, buffalo, and kikuyu - its default recommendation for clients, as these can reduce household water use by up to 70% compared to other grass types when correctly maintained.
- Must Have Maintenance is now applying a 75mm layer of mulch to garden beds as a standard part of routine visits rather than an optional add-on, significantly slowing moisture evaporation and reducing watering frequency.
- The company reviews and adjusts clients' irrigation scheduling to concentrate watering in the early evening, when evaporation loss is lowest, and is upgrading older systems to drip and subsurface irrigation that delivers water directly to root zones.
- Must Have Maintenance services residential and commercial properties across Melbourne's eastern and south-eastern suburbs, and holds approvals as an NDIS Home Help Services Provider and a WorkSafe and TAC Services Provider.
MELBOURNE, Australia — 29 July 2026 — Must Have Maintenance, a Melbourne garden and lawn maintenance company with more than 3,000 jobs completed since 2018, is changing how it approaches routine garden care after Melbourne's water storages recorded their steepest annual decline since the Millennium Drought, falling from 86% to 75.1% on inflows running 36% below the 30-year average. The company says the drop reflects what its crews already see across Melbourne gardens: lawns and beds still maintained the same way they were a decade ago, in conditions that no longer suit it.
"Most gardens in Melbourne are still being watered and maintained like the climate hasn't changed. We're seeing cool-season grasses installed in full sun, irrigation running in the middle of the day, and garden beds with no mulch cover at all. In dry conditions, those gardens struggle and use far more water than they need to," said [Spokesperson Name], [Title] at Must Have Maintenance.
The company has made warm-season turf varieties its default recommendation for clients replacing or establishing lawn. Couch, buffalo and kikuyu are suited to Melbourne summers and, according to the Victorian Government, can reduce household water use by up to 70% compared to other grass types when correctly maintained under the state's permanent water-saving rules. Those rules require all watering systems to operate between 6pm and 10am, conditions under which warm-season turf performs considerably better than cool-season alternatives.
For established gardens, Must Have Maintenance has been applying mulch to garden beds as a standard part of routine visits, rather than as an add-on. A 75mm layer of mulch significantly slows moisture evaporation from the soil surface, reducing how often beds need watering. The company also reviews irrigation scheduling with clients and adjusts run times to concentrate watering in the early evening window, when evaporation loss is lowest. For clients with older or poorly configured systems, the company's irrigation installation team is upgrading setups to drip and subsurface systems that deliver water directly to root zones.
"These are not complicated changes. But when you apply them consistently across a whole garden, the difference going into summer is significant. The garden uses less water, holds up better in heat, and costs less to maintain," said [Spokesperson Name].
Must Have Maintenance services residential and commercial properties across Melbourne's eastern and south-eastern suburbs and holds approvals as an NDIS Home Help Services Provider and a WorkSafe and TAC Services Provider.
About us:
About Must Have Maintenance
Must Have Maintenance is a Melbourne-based garden and lawn maintenance company servicing residential and commercial properties across the city's eastern and south-eastern suburbs. Founded in 2018, the company provides a full range of outdoor maintenance services including lawn mowing, turf installation, irrigation installation, hedge trimming, weed control, garden landscaping, tree pruning and green waste removal. With more than 3,000 jobs completed and a 4.8-star Google rating from 109 reviews, Must Have Maintenance is an approved NDIS Home Help Services Provider and holds WorkSafe and TAC approvals. The company operates seven days a week with crews available within 30 to 90 minutes of booking.
