For homeowners in Calgary, landscaping is usually overlooked during the winter months, as frigid temperatures and heavy snowfall make it a low priority for many people. However, if you’re creative, winter offers many unique home landscaping opportunities. Whether you’re aiming for practical strategies that help you limit snowfall accumulation around your home or decorative techniques that will add character to your home’s exterior, there are plenty of ways to use winter to your advantage.
Practical Approaches to Winter Calgary Landscaping
Well-placed hedges and shrubs can limit the amount of snow that collects in your yard and on your sidewalks. Ideally, you should choose coniferous varieties, as they will retain their leaves and needles during the winter months to create a more effective barrier. So-called “hardscape” elements, such as trellises, gazebos, standing stones and fence finials, can also reduce the amount of snow that stays on the ground, all while giving your yard a fuller, more serene feel.
Also, remember that large rocks have unique heat retention properties. When they are exposed to the sun, large rocks absorb and retain heat, which means that they help melt any snow which may fall in the ensuing hours. A well-placed collection of large rocks adds dimension and visual appeal to your yard while helping to keep the snow at bay.
Get Creative With Your Calgary Landscaping This Winter
While winter landscape lighting is usually associated with Christmas, you don’t have to take your lights down after the holidays if you choose your colors wisely. Instead of traditional multicoloured Christmas lights, you can put up lights of a single colour; white or amber works very well. Strung across the bare branches of trees, subtle uniformly coloured lights can really add a great deal of curb appeal and enhance your home’s sense of welcoming.
If you’d like to attract winter wildlife to your home, put out bird feeders and squirrel feeders in your yard. Having regular visits from hardy animals gives your home new life during the year’s darkest months.
For the adventurous homeowner, creating small ice candles and sculptures in your front and back yard can dramatically transform the look and feel of your home’s exterior. These features — which can be both abstract as well as representational — are particularly appealing after a light dusting of snow. Building them also gives you an opportunity to get outside and be active!
Finally, because we often experience chinooks during the winter months, it helps if you have a space for an impromptu winter barbecue. If that’s something you’d enjoy, be sure to keep some propane on hand and keep your barbecue accessible so you can take advantage of sudden bursts of warm weather.
If you have any questions about Calgary landscaping this winter, please don’t hesitate to contact us here at Mirage Landscaping. We’re here to help with all your home maintenance and landscaping needs, all year round.
