It’s May long weekend in Calgary next week, which is the city’s “official” start to the spring and summer planting and landscaping season. After the often-tumultuous weather of the Victoria Day holiday (right now the forecast is calling for cooler temperatures and rain) the weather settles down and warms up considerably.
If you’re thinking of making some changes to your residential or commercial property this summer, Mirage’s landscaping services run the gamut. We provide landscape design, landscape maintenance, landscape construction, irrigation and deck and patio building services in Calgary, and have three generations worth of experience to make sure your projects go right.
Here are five tips to help you visualize an outdoor oasis where you can enjoy your property every day the weather allow.
1. Create a plan.
As we don’t often have a lot of spare time to spend in our gardens (two days off a week simply is not enough), plus the fact that garden centres can be completely overwhelming and often don’t sell the correct plants for our planting zones here in Calgary, it’s easy to buy species that simply won’t survive no matter how well they are attended to. We know exactly which plants have the best chance of thriving in Calgary, plus which are the prettiest and hardiest, and also how to assess your shady and sunny zones so that we can include a number of different types of plants that will each offer a level of interest and beauty to your yard.
Before we begin your landscaping project, we will have a conversation with you to hear your goals for your property, and then provide you with a sketch of how we feel we can accomplish those goals. We will work together until all details are taken care of … before we start digging.
2. Be judicious in your choosing of shrubs, trees, and perennials.
We have already touched on this to some extent, but it’s extremely important to choose your shrubs, trees, and perennials wisely. Otherwise you are, frankly, just wasting your money, which is nothing anyone ever wants to do. Our landscaping services include judicious planting that will not only look good, but allow your chosen plants to grow and thrive. There are many pretty varietals that do well in Calgary, and can assist each other in staying happy and healthy when planted together properly. Taller shrubs can shade and protect smaller and more sensitive plants, while trees can be placed to shade your home while also providing privacy and security.
3. Think about how you will water.
There’s nothing more frustrating and time consuming than dragging hoses around to water and watching your sprinkler be ineffective in its coverage. We all know that the best time to water is early in the morning, as moisture has a chance to settle into the earth before the sun starts baking droplets into oblivion. But who wants to get up early on a weekend for this sort of task?
We highly recommend underground irrigation to simply your gardening life. For the expense of the initial installation the benefits are enormous. Underground irrigation uses water effectively, as different types of sprinklers can be set specifically to tend to your different garden areas, such as your perennial garden, your lawns, and even your hanging planters.
4. Remember entertaining, too!
We see this mistake often. People seem to think they need a large grassy area and fail to consider where they will place their patio area for sitting in the sun, barbecuing with friends and family, and just enjoying their yard. One landscaping regret we hear often comes from those who sacrificed their entertaining area for more green space. In all reality, unless you have children who enjoy rolling around in the grass and kicking and tossing balls, you may want to consider going a bit larger with your patio area so that you can easily move around and have as many people sitting as taking part in meals and together time a possible.
5. Don’t forget about the potential of a retaining wall.
Our landscaping services include the installation of retaining walls, which we believe work incredibly well in Calgary. Retaining walls are perfect for Calgary’s many sloped properties, providing more flat space that is far easier to mow, water and plant
Retaining walls can also save water. Given Calgary’s naturally hard, dry and arid earth, sloped properties can be terrible for wasting moisture. Sprinkler water will quickly run off the surface and into the gutters before it can be absorbed. Unless rain is relatively soft and prolonged, it won’t help either, and we all know that is rare for Calgary.
Retaining walls also add to the overall beauty of your yard. We build our retaining walls with beautiful brick choices, and are skilled in masonry. They are very easy to plant with interesting perennials and shrubs that will look beautiful and last well during our often-variable Calgary summers. They are just as easy to mulch in for our cold winters to provide additional longevity.
Contact Mirage for All of Your Southeast Calgary Landscaping Services
Mirage Landscaping is a family-owned company specializing in residential and commercial landscaping services for these southeast Calgary districts and communities:
Auburn Bay, Chaparral, Chaparral Valley, Copperfield, Cranston, Douglasdale, Heritage Pointe, Lake Bonavista, Mahogany, McKenzie Lake, Mackenzie Towne, Maple Ridge, New Brighton, Odgen/Lynwood/Millican, Parkland, Riverbend, Sundance, Walden, and Willow Park.
We are outoor ally all year round. Get started today by contacting Mirage for a fast, free project quote.
