When it comes to commercial lawn maintenance, the benefits of hiring a professional landscaping company in Calgary are obvious. They make it easy for businesses to put their best face forward while saving time and money on handling large plots themselves. And, since the best companies operate year-round, there is no problem meeting all your lawn’s maintenance needs in every season.

Still, understanding the costs associated with Calgary landscaping companies is also important. Of course, the price will fluctuate with the company you choose, along with the services performed and the size of the property. Below, we’ll look at these factors in more detail.

The Cost Factors Involved with Commercial Lawn Maintenance

The Company Performing the Work

Choosing the right Calgary landscaping company is an important decision, as it will affect the overall cost of the service. Larger companies can often perform the work faster but at a heightened cost. Conversely, smaller businesses may not charge as much for their services but can offer fewer services. Making the right choice for your business depends on the needs of your lawn.

The Size of the Property

The size of your business’ property will also affect the cost. Many landscaping companies will charge based on the size of the plot since it is an accurate measure of the work they put into the property. For instance, mowing a lawn will take longer the larger it is, requiring more time and effort to be done right.

The Services Performed

Another factor that will affect the price of your monthly property maintenance is the services performed. Several services are essential to maintain the health and beauty of your property, like aeration, power raking and so on. Trying to avoid these additional costs may save you money in the short term, but, in the long run, you will end up repaying more to restore the health of your lawn, so it is best to follow the advice of your landscaping company and do them all as needed.

Get Your Landscaping Company Quote Today

Other costs will factor into your commercial lawn maintenance too, but the ones described above usually have the largest impact. Still, when planning for upgrades to your lawn, like fences and features, you’ll want to get a quote from an experienced and professional landscaping company.

At Making a Difference Landscaping, we understand the importance of creating spaces that resonate with our clients. If you want us to help you achieve your landscaping vision or provide quality maintenance to your hard work’s results, please don’t hesitate to give one of our specialists in Calgary a call to discuss any of your questions.

When it comes to fall landscaping in Calgary, there are a few things you can do to really improve the quality of your soil, plants and aesthetics before the dreaded winter. Some of these are simple things, like cutting back brambles and branches, and others may seem over the top, but are actually best practice, like keeping your lawn free of leaves and natural detritus.

Today, we offer several of these tips and some of the best ways to manage them before the frost comes along. Let’s get started!

Calgary Landscaping Tips for Fall

Keep Your Lawn Clean

It might seem counterintuitive to clean all the dead organic matter off your lawn since it will naturally biodegrade through the winter, but this actually helps in a few ways. One of the ways it helps is by reducing the risk of rot and plant death underneath the detritus. Another way it helps is by giving you the opportunity to collect a fair amount of good quality organic matter, which we’ll talk about using later on.

Cut Back Your Bushes and Brambles

For landscaping in Calgary, an essential part of fall preparation is cutting back your brushes and brambles. This will help prepare you for the subsequent growing season, and you can also take advantage of the more dense organic matter for your increasing pile of “waste” matter.

Compost & Mulch Your Garden Beds

Now that you have a large collection of leaves, wood scraps, dead grass, clippings and other organic matter, you can apply these to great effect in your garden beds. By laying a healthy layer of these materials over your garden beds before winter, you give them time and space to decompose and release their nutrients into the soil. As a result, the spring season will see a replenished and reinvigorated garden bed that will produce larger, healthier plants. It’s the perfect cycle!

Calgary Landscaping Done Right

If you don’t relish the idea of using your existing materials to great effect or handling all the other necessary fall gardening activities (aerating, raking, watering, seeding, mowing, etc.), don’t worry! MAD Landscaping is here to help make your property maintenance and landscaping desires a reality and to maintain them with expert care and attention.

The cost of landscaping in Calgary is often a variable amount. There are many reasons for this, but three main factors bear the most consideration. These factors are the type of landscaping services, the size of the project and the company performing the work. Below, we look at each of these factors in more detail, so make sure you read through to get all the necessary information!

Front Yard Landscaping Cost Considerations

The Company Doing the Work

The first factor to consider is the company doing the work. Every company has different overhead costs that affect their rates, such as the experience of the workers, the quality of their equipment or the cost of owning and operating a physical location. Remember, the cheapest landscaping in Calgary, and the most expensive, are both poor options. Instead, find a company you trust to do the job right, and base your decision on the quality of the work rather than the price.

The Landscaping Services Requested

Much like every landscaping company is different, so too is every house different. What your front yard needs to look beautiful and complete could vary wildly from even your next-door neighbour. Choosing the right services for your property should be done in consultation with your chosen company, and prices will fluctuate based on your need for power raking, aerating, vegetation trimming and other relevant services.

The Size and Complexity of Your Yard

The size and complexity of your yard will help determine the overall cost of your Calgary landscaping. In the same way that you can expect the price to go up if you include your backyard in the service, you can also expect the cost to decrease if services are seasonal or simple.

Contact MAD Landscaping Today for Your Quote

MAD Landscaping provides quality services for all our clients, whether they are looking for property maintenance, landscaping or something else. Contact us today to get started.

When it comes to landscaping design in Calgary, there are many different routes to follow. Some people choose to focus on garden beds and flowers, while others are more interested in creating beautiful, natural environments. For the latter group, a great tool for them to employ is the retaining wall.

Retaining walls go well with landscape construction and landscaping design in Calgary because they are highly customizable and also perform more than one function. Not to mention that they can create a natural rock wall, modern brick barrier and any number of other gorgeous styles. Get inspired for your own retaining walls with the ideas below!

The Purposes of Retaining Walls

Keeps Soil in Place

Garden beds can be made in any number of ways, but using Calgary landscaping design and retaining walls is one of the best options. The method allows you to accurately size your garden bed and give it a more decorative look at the same time. Plus, the durability of retaining walls means that you won’t have to worry about splitting or rebuilding any time in the near future.

Stabilizes Slopes

Retaining walls can also help stabilize slopes. This is particularly beneficial where there are steep slopes, but they can be used to great effect with gradual or irregular slopes as well. Their sturdy construction helps compact and solidify the sediment, creating a denser, more tightly packed structure.

Helps Prevent Flooding

For buildings near a waterfront, retaining walls can be the perfect protection against flooding. These are often specifically designed to handle river overflows and reduce the likelihood of your home or business flooding.

Start Your Calgary Landscaping Design Today

Retaining walls serve many functions, but that they can be aesthetically pleasing is just icing on the cake. To learn more about how to use retaining walls on your property, property maintenance in general, or to start your next landscaping project, contact us today!

When it comes to Calgary landscaping design or maintenance, several factors can influence the cost of the service. For instance, the type of service you are looking for. Though, that is only one example of the factors involved. We look at a more complete list of what’s involved below.

The Factors Affecting Commercial Landscaping Costs

Your Selected Services

The services you select will influence the cost of commercial landscaping. If you just need the grass mowed, the service will cost less than if you are including landscaping design, aeration, vegetation trimming or other landscaping services. As many commercial landscaping companies offer rates based on the type of landscaping service, it is important to know what you need and want from these professionals.

The Company Performing the Work

The company you choose to perform the landscaping services may also affect the cost. Larger companies may have more overhead, whereas smaller companies may have difficulty finishing the work on a timely basis. At MAD Landscaping, we make it our business to ask you the right questions to better meet your needs and deliver another level of service. To meet your vision, we maintain our approachability so that you always feel comfortable voicing questions, concerns, worries or opinions as you want. It is important to find a company that you can work with consistently and openly to help build a lasting relationship of trust and appreciation.

The Size and Complexity of Your Yard

Commercial properties can vary greatly in size, meaning that the price for maintaining them will also vary. Consider the amount of green space a gas station has compared to that of a mid-sized office building; the difference in the amount of work should be apparent.

The Cost of Commercial Landscaping Maintenance

For accurate quotes on Calgary landscaping design, property maintenance and more, contact MAD Landscaping. Our friendly staff have the expertise necessary to give you an accurate estimate of the costs associated with your property, and can provide you with scheduling information and answers to any questions you may have.

Although gardening and landscaping in Calgary ought to be a fun way to enjoy the outdoors during spring, it can get a little stressful, especially when trying to figure out the best time and sequence to do all your lawn care activities. Still, with the right spring lawn care schedule, this stress will quickly fade away.

A Simple Calgary Landscaping Schedule for Spring

One of the best resources for deciding on a spring lawn care schedule is the City of Calgary’s website. The city wants to ensure that people have all the information necessary to maintain their lawns, as it helps the city prevent invasive species from being planted and unattractive or dangerous lawns from becoming a consistent problem. They even offer different gardening guides for lawns with different sun coverage.

The City of Calgary’s guide provides a helpful schedule which includes the following activities:

mowing
aerating
dethatching
fertilizing
seeding
sodding

Each of these activities is necessary for successful landscaping in Calgary, and the order they are in is generally considered the best way to approach the maintenance. However, we would also include a few other steps that are not listed here.

For instance, at the start of the list should be yearly equipment maintenance and inventory. You want to ensure your lawnmower is oiled, fueled and ready for the season. Similarly, it helps to inventory the tools, seeds and materials you have so that you know what you need to restock or use up this spring.

Additionally, we would recommend adding weeding to the end of the list. You’ll probably find some weeds as you go about the other activities, but once everything is planted, and in place, you’ll want to keep an eye out for weeds too. This will prevent your hard work from being overrun by undesirable plant species.

Simplify Your Calgary Landscaping with MAD Landscaping

Wouldn’t it be nice to have your Calgary landscaping done for you? No worrying about schedules, carrying heavy soil and fertilizer or planning out a whole garden sounds pretty great. If you want all the beauty without all the hassle, call MAD Landscaping and see how we can help with all your property maintenance and landscaping in Calgary needs.

Can’t you just smell it in the air? That’s right; spring is on the way. Our cooler temperatures are becoming rarer, and we’re all getting a little stir crazy from another winter spent mostly inside. Clearly, the transition is on the horizon.

What does this mean for landscaping in Calgary? It means that it is almost time for weekend gardeners, amateur landscape designers and life enthusiasts to get out and explore their backyard. But lawns are never the same after winter, so what should you do to prepare your lawn for spring?

Three Parts to Spring Lawn Preparation

Planning

During the long winter months, you should put some time into planning your garden. This means considering new garden areas, the materials required to build them and any tasks necessary to complete before beginning new projects.

Equipment Maintenance

Maintaining your gardening equipment is an important part of any property maintenance in Calgary. This includes ensuring that you have the right inventory of tools to perform any new gardening tasks, and it also means checking your electrical equipment for signs of wear or damage. Additionally, you should ensure that your lawnmower is ready for the season, long before your first cut.

Raking/ Overseeding/ Weeding

These three activities should all occur after the winter thaw. For Calgary landscaping, removing the upper layer of detritus by raking is essential to a healthy space. Similarly, overseeding any areas you wish to populate with flowers must occur early to give the strongest the best chance of survival. And along with planting, of course, comes the chore of removing anything in your garden that you DON’T want.

Inspirational Calgary Landscaping

Power Raking/ Aerating

For those with a heavy thatch build-up, power raking is an effective way to remove this old layer of dead plant material. Aerating the lawn also helps to break up mineral deposits, introduce oxygen into your lawn and improve the appearance and health of your grass. We offer these services during our spring clean-ups as a way for you to avoid the costly rental fees and equipment upkeep.

And, for anyone looking to get all the beauty of a well-tended garden without any of the hassle, we are the perfect choice. Our professional and experienced staff, along with our keen eye for landscape design, make us the best choice for landscaping in Calgary.

Weeding. Just the name alone is enough to send shivers down our spines with memories of hunching and slaving over our ground in years past. This gardening chore could be the worst part about the whole process of landscaping in Calgary, with endless hours and study devoted to the subject.

But what if there was an easier way? What if you could remove weeds from large areas with relatively simple methods that are good for the environment and your backyard alike? These are exactly the questions that we set out to answer today, so continue on below for more information about Calgary landscaping.

Landscaping in Calgary: 3 Methods of Weeding

The Newspaper Method

The newspaper method is our most straightforward yet unconventional method of weeding. While newspapers might not seem like much of a deterrent against stubborn weeds, in actuality, this could not be further from the truth! Here’s how it works in four easy steps:

1. Water your soil

The first step is to give the existing dirt a good watering. Make sure you water all areas you plan to cover with newspapers.

2, Lay down your newspapers

Lay down a single sheet of newspaper, using its size to your advantage. If you have any existing plants that you would like to keep, cut holes in the newspaper for them to fit through.

3. Water the newspapers

Water the newspapers after they are placed. This will help keep them in place during strong winds.

4. Lay down new earth

Finally, lay down a new covering of dirt.

The Cedar Mulch Method

The cedar mulch method is just like the newspaper method, except for the final step (covering with new soil). However, cedar mulch also provides several benefits compared to newspaper, not the least of which is the more attractive appearance of your garden beds. Plus, the smell of cedar functions as a natural insect repellent.

The Wet Method

For those who prefer to spray these chlorophyllic crusaders, several solutions are effective, but none so much as vinegar. The acid helps to burn and kill plants.

The Dry Method

Several powders can also be used for removing weeds in large areas. Cornmeal, salt and baking soda are all safe methods of weed removal.

The Easy Method

If you want the easiest way to remove weeds from a large area, just call us, and we’ll be happy to help you with weed removal, landscaping and property maintenance in Calgary!

Your lawn is a statement to the world about your home. Maintaining the gardens and plant life within is a great way to show off your gardening skills, increase the curb appeal of your home and make something beautiful. Ultimately, this is the goal of landscaping design in Calgary.

However, the winter months can cause all sorts of problems for your lawn. Below, we look at some of the common issues that winter brings, and afterwards, how to solve them.

Winter Conditions that May Cause Problems

Compaction

Depending on the annual snowfall in your area, compaction can lead to problems on your lawn. This will be most evident in the spring, when an increase in weeds may indicate compacted soil.

Salt Damage

During the winter, salt spread on the roads can wreak havoc on your lawn. Excess salt can kill plants and impede the growth of new life.

Dog Urine

The excessive nitrogen in dog urine can put the nutrient balance in your lawn in disarray. This may lead to brown spots that require reseeding and extra care in the spring.

After Winter Activities

Once winter is over, acting quickly can make a big difference in the quality of your landscaping design in Calgary. Here are some of the best activities to do after the colder months.

Grooming the Grass

Like long hair after a winter spent inside, your grass needs some tender love and care after the winter months. Consider raking up any dead grass and detritus once the snow has melted. Be careful not to step in overly moist patches of mud, however. This can leave a lasting impression on the soft and overly saturated soil early in the season.

Aeration & Seeding

If there was a particularly heavy snowfall and you are worried about compaction, aeration and reseeding are crucial spring activities. They are also a great choice for stubborn bare patches and brown spots on your lawn.

Fertilization

Fertilizing your lawn right after the spring melt can help your grass grow fuller. It can also help your lawn over time, as the nutrients in the fertilizer will be stored in your grass’s root systems.

Another Calgary Lawn Maintenance Solution

If you would prefer to have a beautiful lawn without all the gardening, labour and maintenance, contact us today! We offer property maintenance to transform your lawn into a modern oasis.

The most beautiful landscaping in Calgary is the home that looks great and feels interesting to look at. Achieving this goal, however, can take more than a few tries and a lot of patience. But for the front yard, in particular, it is essential to start the process early.

Below we look at some of the most common advice to start you on the right path to achieving a wonderful and lush front yard.

Landscaping Design Tips & Tricks

Don’t force a single feature

Although a great feature can have lasting appeal, like a fountain or tree, it can also affect your yard’s entire look. Therefore it is essential to look at the layout of your lawn and choose a design that fits its natural contours.

Don’t purposely lengthen your walkway

Walkways are a central area for provocative and interesting design, but that does not mean you should purposely lengthen it for aesthetics!

Don’t use opposing landscape techniques

Your Calgary landscaping should follow a consistent pattern and theme. So, if you want to have a wild and unmanaged look, perhaps it is better to leave it in the backyard oasis. Or vice versa, but consider your curb appeal for maximum results.

Do keep your entrance clear

The entrance to your home should be warm and inviting, and your landscaping design will play a critical role in achieving that look. Make sure guests and on-lookers can see a clear path and keep overgrown shrubs away from the perimeter.

Put in a flowering tree

Flowering trees look gorgeous for the few short weeks that they bloom in the summer. For a simple design that makes a big splash, just one of these can have a hugely positive impact.

Do Use the surrounding area to select foliage and plants

Remember that your local surroundings are the perfect source material for your garden and planting dreams. Take cues from other homes and the natural landscape to inform your landscaping decisions for plants that will look great and last throughout the changing seasons.

Your Source for Calgary Landscaping

Hopefully, you have found some inspiring and interesting ideas for your own lawn in the coming spring season. For help sourcing materials, designing to your lawn’s contours, and the actual gardening, trust the experts at Making a Difference Landscaping inc.! We look forward to hearing from you soon.

At Making a Difference Landscaping inc. we understand the importance of creating spaces that resonate with our clients. If you want us to help you achieve your landscaping vision or provide quality maintenance to your hard work’s results, please don’t hesitate to give one of our specialists in Calgary a call to discuss any of your questions.