One of our favourite things to do is revitalize gardens. Here is a garden in Mississauga we worked on this summer. We built a front landing, steps and a glass railing a few years ago. They had us back for this one!
Refurbishing a garden is fairly straightforward. The design is important but knowing how the plants work with each other is arguably even more important.
The front garden was a designed and “purchased” planting. The back yard was more “free form”. We divided and moved perennials, re-located plants, designing and deciding as we worked.
The overall effect was fantastic.
The key is our experience and knowledge of plants. We have over 40 years experience in horticulture and landscaping.
We will remove and dispose of most of the plant material, edge the bed, replant and water in using mycorrhizal fungi. Our favourite product of choice is RootRescue.
We try to limit our purchases to a few select suppliers. Our reasoning is we prefer to build strong relationships with our customers and suppliers. This helps build a rapport.
The next image shows the front gardens completed. The three dogwoods in front of the window are “rescues” from the original landscape. We treated the dogwood (and the other plants we transplanted) with RootRescue, a mycorrhizal fungus product. Soil health is key to plant health.
To the left hand side of the bed is a Bloomerang Ever-blooming Dwarf Lilac standard. To the right is a Swiss-stone pine. We prefer to use natural pine mulch. We believe it is the most natural looking mulch. As natural pine mulch decomposes, it adds so much to the soil biome.
The homeowner had all sorts of rocks and small pieces of garden art through the gardens. We had to remove all of these before we started. Once we were done, Keaton went through the gardens and arranged the stones and art pieces. Our client loved what Keaton did!
The weeping Cercis in the background needs a thorough pruning next spring. A few of the hydrangea have been transplanted to create this mass planting.
Front garden and tree well. All edged and mulched.
Landscape lighting is often done poorly. The result of landscape lighting should be very subtle. We use uplights to accent particular landscape features. The reflected light then helps “light the way” for people. The effect should be of a brightly lit full moon evening. Not an airport runway…
These WAC lights are terrific. The beam width is adjustable as is the brightness. We adjust the shroud so there are no “glare bombs” – bright light that people within the landscape will see. You should see the light on what you are featuring, not the light itself.
As usual, if you have any comments or questions, please reach out to me at matt@verdantlandscaping.ca. We would be happy to help restore your garden!
