LANDSCAPING
DESIGN
At Alternative Landscaping, you can count on a professional approach to planning your outdoor spaces. As designers, we strive to creatively incorporate the elements and features important to you in such a way that the basic design principals of order, unity, rhythm, and function are taken into account. What is achieved is an engaging design that is both beautiful and functional, but also achieved within your budget.
Professional landscape design and installation is an investment in the future of your property. For residential properties, it increases usable living space; in both residential and commercial settings, it increases property value. Importantly, landscape design and planning helps avoid costly mistakes as it ensures plants and the correct materials are used properly.
CONSULTATION
Meeting with you and learning about your needs, wants, and dreams for your landscape project is where our process starts. After this takes place, a site visit is required to create a comprehensive landscaping plan. When you make an appointment with one of our designers, the first step is to complete our design questionnaire. We’ll then arrange a meeting with you and our design team which will last approximately one hour. The designer will review your completed questionnaire at this time. You’ll be provided a cost for the landscape design which will be payable at this time to move the design into reality. The designer does all site measurements from which they will prepare a computerized concept drawing. During a subsequent meeting at our office, the designer will review the concept drawing with you to ensure we are communicating the vision and function, then the plan will be finalized and printed. Build and estimating process follows the design process.
INSTALLATION SERVICES
We specialize in the installation and construction of:
• Total landscapes for residential or commercial projects
• Hardscaping – retaining walls, driveways, patios and walkways, ponds and water features, lighting, fire pits and fireplaces, and custom outdoor kitchens to complement your lifestyle and current property function
• Complete planting beds, complete softscaping, and outdoor living spaces that enhance surroundings.
YARD CARE
SPRING CLEAN UP
This is done as soon as the surface frost is sufficiently out of the ground which usually commences around the 3rd week of April. It consists of de thatching of all turf areas (does not include city boulevards), first mow & trim, bagging and hauling all debris away. It is important to remember that excessive thatch, like 25 Thatch, a tight mat of dead rhizomes, stems and roots, can build up under the surface of your lawn during the growing season.
Although some thatch is beneficial to lawns, too much blocks water, air and nutrients from reaching the soil. If thatch is thicker than ½", grass roots will grow in the thatch, not the soil. Power raking or hand raking followed by a short mowing with a high vacuum mower removes as much thatch as possible. To finish, the lawn will receive its first mowing and trimming of the season.
CORE AERATION & OVER SEEDING
Technically speaking, aeration is the naturally occurring process of air exchange between the soil and its surrounding atmosphere. Practically speaking, aeration is the process of mechanically removing small plugs of thatch and soil from the lawn to improve natural soil aeration. It’s commonly called “core aeration” in the lawn service industry. Core aeration can help make your lawn healthier and reduce its maintenance requirements through these means:
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Improved air exchange between the soil and atmosphere.
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Enhanced soil water uptake.
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Improved fertilizer uptake and use.
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Reduced water runoff and puddling.
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Stronger turfgrass roots.
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Reduced soil compaction.
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Enhanced heat and drought stress tolerance.
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Improved resiliency and cushioning.
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Enhanced thatch breakdown.
GARDENING
Wedding Shrub beds, natural areas with mulch and ground cover areas will be weeded on every visit during the year. We hand pull weeds within the canopy of shrubs or ground covers. We use selective herbicides for persistent perennial weeds and grass control as needed. There will always be some weeds present in a fertile growing environment. Our intention is to al-ways control weeds with no injury to shrubs, ground covers, or trees.
Shrub Care: It is important to remember that pruning plants is a process, not an event. There is no one-day of the year that all plants are to be pruned. Each species has very specific pruning needs based on flower production and the growing season. There will always be plants that require pruning in the landscape. First priority is pruning for bloom production, second is structure pruning for plant development and third is space management. Space management is most common in mature landscape environments. (Bed maintenance services subject to individual estimates.)
FIESTA PROGRAM
The best and most sustainable way to prevent weeds from invading your lawn is to maintain it by keeping it properly fed, cut weekly and watered on a regular basis. Thick healthy lawns are less likely to have weed infestations as weeds most often pop up where turf is thin and damaged.
Our program of products and services increases the overall health of your lawn. The Province has issued a ban on all herbicides and pesticides. An organic product called Fiesta has replaced this weed killer.
Our program begins in the spring with 2 applications 21-27 days apart. FIESTA product is applied in conjunction with our NEW Premium Liquid Fertilizer that will enhance the overall outcome of the Fiesta by slowly releasing over the first month. This is followed by a second application of Fiesta combined with a slow-release granular fertilizer that will continue to release over the next 8-12 weeks. The third application of Fiesta occurs in the fall, combined again with fertilizer additive. The fall application is a very important part of the Fiesta’s success for the growing season.
LAWN MAINTENANCE
Service typically consists of weekly visits to perform trimming, mowing and hard surface cleanup.
Commercial and residential services available, and are based on a 5 month contract.
FALL CLEAN UP
There are many benefits to having a fall clean up... it’s not just about the appearance of your property that should make you decide to have a Fall cleanup! By removing the leaves from the lawn, it helps to keep lawn fungus’, such as Gray and Pink Snow Mold, at bay. Snow mold is caused when there is an extended period of snow cover on ground that is not completely frozen. Snow mold can also occur under leaves that have not been cleaned up or among long grass that should have been mowed once more before winter set in. Leaves can smother the lawn and kill it off, which becomes expensive in the Spring when you get the new grass to grow. Last but not least, wet matted leaves are harder to clean up in the spring, which takes more time and thus your cost increases.
SNOW CLEARING
Residential Snow Clearing
Removal of snow from your driveway, front walk and entrance, city sidewalk. Price is based on a 5 month contract.
Commercial Snow Clearing
Removal of snow from all sidewalks, entrances and exits and any city sidewalk bordering the commercial building. Price is based on a 5 month contract.
Commercial Ice Management
Scrapping and chipping of all ice from sidewalks, entrances and exits, and/or application of ice melt products on iced areas. Cost of Ice melt products extra.
