 Access to the gardens was made easier in 1887 when a crossing was made over Saltwater Creek.Between 1887 and 1891 Fitzalan landscaped the ground, planted colourful garden beds and constructed a perimeter fence to keep out goats.He built a small cottage in the garden and established the Edge Hill Nursery, constructing a long shed roofed with coarse canvas in which he raised seedlings and cuttings and in 1887 cut a main garden path, about wide, through the reserve at his own expense, planting specimen and fruit trees along its length.