Landscaping, Coolum
Dune sand at the beach, acreage under the mountain.
Landscaping in Coolum covers two quite different jobs: tight beachfront blocks on dune sand, and larger sloping acreage sites inland toward Mount Coolum.
Our Coolum Beach project is one of the clearest examples of the first: pool, planting and daily outdoor living resolved into a single calm composition on a coastal site.
The QLD Group designs and builds complete outdoor environments across the Sunshine Coast, holding QBCC 15282728. Design and construction sit with one team on one contract, so the levels, the drainage, the pool and the planting are decided together rather than handed between trades.
What we build in Coolum
Scope
Pools and coastal surrounds
Concrete pools with coping and paving detailed for sand, salt and constant wind.
Coastal planting
Palettes that establish in dune sand and tolerate salt-laden wind, layered so the tough species shelter the soft ones.
Acreage retaining and terracing
Sandstone, boulder and engineered walls for the larger sloping sites inland.
Irrigation
Water management designed for soil that drains almost instantly.
Building in Coolum
Sand, salt and wind
Close to the beach, Coolum is dune sand. It drains almost instantly and holds very little moisture or nutrient in the root zone, so a planting palette chosen for richer soil will need constant intervention to survive. Choosing species that genuinely suit the conditions, and improving the beds that need it, is the difference between a garden that establishes and one that is permanently on life support.
The wind does as much damage as the salt. Coolum is exposed, and salt-laden onshore wind burns soft foliage, strips new growth and shortens the life of unprotected hardware. Planting needs a windward layer that can take it, sheltering the softer material behind, and built elements need fixings specified for a marine environment.
Inland toward Mount Coolum, Yaroomba and Point Arkwright, the sites change completely. Blocks are larger, the ground falls toward the headland, and the work becomes retaining, terracing and access rather than squeezing a layout into a small footprint. Larger sites also make sandstone and boulder walls viable, which weather into an acreage landscape in a way concrete sleepers do not.
Coastal hazard overlays apply to parts of Coolum. They do not prevent building, but they affect what is permitted and where, so we confirm what applies to your lot with Sunshine Coast Council before pricing.
Built in Coolum
Our work here
The disciplines behind it
What a Coolum project draws on
Common questions
Coolum, answered
What plants actually survive at Coolum Beach?
Species that tolerate free-draining sand and salt-laden wind, arranged so the hardiest material sits on the windward side and shelters softer planting behind it. That structure matters more than any single plant choice, because unprotected soft foliage burns regardless of how well it was fed.
Have you built in Coolum before?
Yes. The Coolum Beach coastal oasis in our portfolio is a coastal property where pool, planting and outdoor living were brought into one composition. It is documented with photography in our Selected Works.
Do you work on the acreage blocks around Mount Coolum and Yaroomba?
Yes, and they are a different kind of project. Larger sloping sites are about retaining, terracing, access and getting plant to the work area. They also suit sandstone and boulder walls, which settle into an acreage landscape better than sleeper walls do.
Does a coastal hazard overlay stop me building a pool?
Generally no, but it can affect what is permitted and where it can sit. We confirm the overlays on your specific lot with Sunshine Coast Council before pricing, so the approval pathway is known before you commit.
Also on the Coast
Where else we build
Ready to start the conversation?
Have your Coolum property looked at properly
A structured site visit where we walk your property, look at soil, access, levels and drainage, and tell you what is genuinely possible before anyone quotes a number.