When the conversation around the spring dining table turns to landscaping, most Calgary homeowners immediately start talking about lawncare tips or how they are planning on upgrading their flower beds this summer. While these are both undoubtedly important aspects of landscaping, there’s plenty more to think about to turn your garden into a year round oasis as well as to introduce some much needed functionality.
Start With The Macro
Every homeowner has their personal preferences when it comes to landscaping, and there will always be parts of the process that you are more interested in than others. Those passion projects tend to be where we put most of our time, and it’s easy to get lost in the weeds (pun intended!). However, to get the best out of your garden all year round, you need to start with the big picture and get some data and information to help you create a plan for each section.
Create a Sun Map
The first step in making a year round landscaping plan is to have an idea of how much sun the various sections of your garden gets. In Calgary, the answer to this will be “a great deal” due to our high number of sunny days, but you need to factor in the shade caused by trees and your home. Over the course of spring, summer and fall (i.e. from the last snow melt to the first snow fall), pick a dozen data points spread out around your garden and spend a day watching how much sunlight each section gets. With this information, you’ll be better able to work out which areas will suit plants that need full sun, and which areas will likely stay damp for longer after a heavy rainfall.
Factor In Water Supply
Depending on the size of your garden, watering can either be a chore that takes forever, or something that you can automate with a sprinkler system from your phone. While it might not be feasible to have dozens of metres of hose and irrigation pipes running everywhere just to save yourself a few minutes each day, you can redesign your flower beds so that the plants with the highest water needs are nearest to your outdoor water supply, and that plants that need frequent rainfall can be placed together to so you can run an efficient irrigation system to keep everything well hydrated all year round.
Work With Calgary’s Climate
The years of Victorian botanists bringing foreign plants back home and forcing them to grow in non-native climates are long gone, but there persists a trend for some homeowners to buy plants and shrubs that don’t belong in Calgary. They then spend countless hours and dollars trying to change the climate to suit the plant, rather than the other way round. Instead, you can get a beautiful and functional landscape by picking plants and flowers that are native to Calgary and that match the high sun and low rainfall of the city. Choosing items for your landscape that attract and nourish local pollinators will also bring plenty of colorful flowers and flying insects to your yard, and if you have trees and shrubs that produce fruit, you’ll immediately notice an uptick in production and quality when you have plenty of pollinators visiting your garden.
Move To The Micro
Once you’ve got the broad overview of how your garden is going to look, it’s then time to make specific plans for each section. A good place to start is to look at what needs proactive landscaping, such as setting up an irrigation system, digging a new bed or reshaping existing plots to match the sun map. Then you’ll want a weekly or biweekly maintenance list, which will include watering those things that you can’t get to with your irrigation, weeding and fertilizing (the latter more so at the start and end of summer), and regular lawn care. This structured approach will help you keep on top of everything you need to be doing to keep your garden looking great all year round.
Get Professional Help
All of this might feel a little daunting or overwhelming, especially when you start with the macro view. If you don’t have much gardening and landscaping experience, it’s easy to feel lost when faced with a blank canvas, which is when you want to get in touch with our landscaping experts at Scoop Cut N Shovel. We offer a wide variety of landscaping help, from a basic planning meeting to map out your needs and desires down to the micro level maintenance work. You can also sign up for our lawn care subscription package which gives you access to our team of lawn specialists. They will come and walk your lawn with you, helping to patch and feed the bald areas before taking over your mowing schedule to leave you free to enjoy your garden.
Bundle To Save More
Once you’ve experienced the benefits of professionals working on your landscaping to-do list, you’ll be looking for other ways to outsource your property maintenance chore list. Fortunately, Scoop Cut N Shovel has a subscription package for your year round needs. In the winter, you can hire our team to come and dig you out of any snowstorm, keeping your driveway and walkways clear of snow and ice all winter long. If you have dogs, we’ll come and pick up your dog waste and dispose of it for you on a regular basis. When you need a spring or fall clean up session (including getting rid of all those leaves!) we’ll be in your yard before you know you need us. You’ll get our best value when you bundle multiple subscription packages together, and our ultimate savings comes when you sign up for our year round property maintenance package which gives you access to all of our services all year. Let us take care of everything for you so you can enjoy a beautiful and functional garden in your own time.