It was 1992, and while Stuart Mercer was still at Tafe, he was asked whether he’d be interested in looking at a job in Duffy’s Forest, in Sydney’s North.

A 5 acre property greeted Stuart with proposed paving, retaining walls, turfing and an abundance of planting. With a can do attitude Stuart confirmed he could do the job, then was left to think exactly HOW he was going to do it! Stuart called in his reinforcements, his mates Tom, Deano & Russell. Together they did what they knew best and cracked on with the job. After a month of work the client was so happy they asked Stuart if they could continue with the rest of the job on a do and charge basis. Little did Stuart know, the qualities of running a successful landscape business were already emerging.

Soon after this job a partnership was formed between Stuart and Tom. A joint bank account was the first step and then a business name a close second. The business name turned out to be a lot harder to come up with than signing up for a joint bank account. The first two names considered were Mirrabooka and Aldinga. Stuart and Tom knew they didn’t want to be Green and Gold Landscapes, Aussie Landscapes or anything similar, even at this early stage, both Stuart and Tom knew they wanted to stand out from the crowd with a name to match. Tom had recently been working on a property down on the South Coast by the name of Kiora and this name clearly grabbed their attention. With the swift switch of an “i” for a “y”, Kyora was born.

Work came in from everywhere. With a reputation for hard work, professionalism and quality workmanship, Kyora quickly found its feet amongst a growing number of landscape businesses. Work started coming from builders and developers and over a 4 years period Kyora completed more than 50 projects around the Lane Cove, Epping and Eastwood area. This period served as an introduction to the commercial side of landscape construction having to work to deadlines and dealing with numerous trades. At this same time, Kyora made a name for itself on newly created street called ‘The Greenway’ in Terrey Hills. This exclusive street is located in the middle of the privately owned Terrey Hills Golf and Country Club. As the development of multiple properties took place, word got around that Kyora were one of the only company’s that prepared the gardens properly. Being horticulturalists from the get go, garden preparation was always a top priority. Over 23 years have passed and the evidence is still clear what difference quality garden preparation makes. To this day Kyora still has clients on The Greenway.

Tom and Stuart parted ways in 1997 after Tom decided to relocate up to Noosa Heads, Queensland. From this time on Stuart has lead the Kyora charge.

Today

In the years leading up to present day, Kyora has formed numerous relationships and undertaken many exciting projects both commercial and residential. Kyora has worked with Pittwater council since 2004 and has enjoyed working on projects including the upgrade of Boondah Reserve, upgrade of Mona Vale Shopping Centre and the construction of Newport Sport and Recreation Centre. Kyora also works closely with well known Horticulturalist and columnist for The Australian newspaper, Helen Young. Since a chance meeting in 2003 while volunteering at the Sydney Garden Show, Stuart and Helen have shared the same passion for providing ‘Horticulturally correct’ garden’s.

Kyora endeavours to this day to pay particular attention to quality of service, horticultural practices and workmanship. Having grown significantly in the last 5 years, Kyora now employ over 40 staff and have experts in all fields including estimating, consultation, design, construction, irrigation and maintenance.

Into The Future 

Kyora has a vision to become a leading landscape design, construction and maintenance company. Kyora strives to provide a quality, friendly, knowledgeable and professional service. We are currently working with Greenwalls Australia and are excited about the prospects of designing and installing Greenwalls around Sydney. Kyora has been working on core values within the company and are looking to continuously educate our employees in the construction and horticultural aspects of the trade. Kyora is striving to attract a high standard of employees whom fit the core values of the company and maintain a workforce of the highest quality. The future is looking good!

Written by Nick Mason