Landscaping in Edmonton

Sod installation Edmonton lawns actually take to comes down to what is underneath. We strip and remove the old material, correct the grade, bring in and level screened topsoil to a real depth rather than a dusting, and roll the sod tight so the seams knit instead of drying open. Laying fresh turf over compacted clay with an inch of soil on top produces a lawn that looks perfect for three weeks and thin for the rest of its life.

The sod window in this region is wide but not unlimited: from the time the ground has thawed and the farms are cutting in spring through to fall, with the caveat that sod laid late needs to root before the ground freezes. Midsummer installs are entirely workable, they simply need more water.

The first two to three weeks decide the outcome. New sod needs deep, frequent watering, and in an Edmonton July that means daily, early. We tell you exactly what the schedule should look like when we leave, and if you have irrigation we set the zones for a fresh-sod programme and then dial them back once it has rooted.

Grading is the least visible part of a landscape and the one that decides whether it works. Clay does not drain — water sits on it. If the ground beside a house does not fall away from the foundation, spring melt and summer downpours pool at the wall, and clay soils swell and shrink as they wet and dry, which moves flatwork, patios and steps with them.

We set a positive slope away from the building on every side, tie into the swales between properties rather than pushing water at a neighbour, and correct settlement where backfill has dropped over the years. On newer lots there is usually a lot grading plan the property has to conform to, and we work to it.

Where water genuinely has nowhere to go, the fix is drainage rather than more soil: a swale routed to the street or lane, a rock course, or a properly bedded drain. It is cheaper than repeatedly regrading a low spot that refills every spring.

Beds are where a yard gets its character, and they are also where poor prep shows quickest. We excavate the bed to depth, edge it so mulch and rock stay put instead of migrating into the lawn, and prepare the soil for what is going into it rather than dropping plants into unamended clay.

Plant selection matters more here than in most of the country. We work with trees, shrubs and perennials suited to the local hardiness zone, planted at the right depth and staked where the wind demands it, because a marginal species that survives one mild winter will not survive the next cold one.

Mulch, decorative rock and boulders finish the job and cut the maintenance. Mulch holds moisture through the dry stretch of a prairie summer and suppresses weeds; rock and boulder work gives structure that looks the same in October as it did in June. Where beds meet turf we often pour a concrete curb or edge — it holds the line permanently and makes mowing and edging faster every week for years.

Commercial grounds have a different brief: they have to look consistent, survive foot traffic and equipment, and be maintainable on a schedule. We install and rebuild parking lot islands, boulevard turf and beds, entrance plantings, seasonal colour beds and the curb and walkway work that separates them from traffic.

On commercial sites the landscape usually has to cooperate with everything else on the property — drainage, snow storage in winter, sight lines, and where a plough can realistically push snow without destroying a bed every February. We plan for the winter use of a site while we are still building the summer one.

If you want the same crew back through the season, ongoing mowing, bed care and seasonal clean-ups run under our yard maintenance service, and winter clearing under snow removal, on one contract.