The finishing touches
The last crew on the site was the softscaping crew, which, in terms of workers, was the biggest. In the final three days of the project, workers filled the beds with loam, planted all the trees, shrubs and perennials, installed the irrigation system, placed some larger accent rocks, laid the sod and mulched all the beds with landscape fabric and washed rock. This final step provides a low-maintenance finish to the beds and the light colour serves to brighten up the garden.
Among the plants used is the space were many ‘old standards’ that fit the bill for low maintenance but also provide a good variety of seasonal interest with flowers and foliage variations. A Colorado spruce tree was chosen primarily for winter interest; the tree’s great blue colour also contrasts well with other plants. The Schubert cherry tree, whose grey bark, white flowers and green-turning-to-burgundy foliage provides four seasons of interest and anchors the back of the garden. Three Swedish aspens were strategically placed for privacy and vertical accent. Larger tree specimens were selected for a more instant effect.
Shrubs include wayfaring tree (Viburnum), dwarf Korean lilac, Diabolo Ninebark, potentilla, dwarf arctic willow and spireas, along with a few junipers for winter interest. All these require little in the way of special care and function to soften the landscape. The goldflame spirea and potentilla provide the separation between the fireplace ‘room’ and the rest of the garden.
For perennials, low-maintenance varieties were chosen that only require seasonal cleanup. As there wasn’t room for many different plants, the key was choosing species with interesting foliage. These include bergenia, daylily, Siberian iris, autumn joy sedum, and Pulmonaria. Others that provide a welcome splash of seasonal colour include creeping baby’s breath, alpine asters, Heliopsis, Liatris and leopard’s bane.
A satisfying result
Unlike many other jobs, which required some degree of finessing around unforeseen problems, this project went smoothly (save for the occasional weather-related issue) and resulted in a great future working relationship with the clients that has generated many much-appreciated referrals.
Clayton Ditzler is a certified landscape designer (CLD) with The Landscape Artist Inc., in Calgary. He has over 20 years of experience designing residential landscapes. He may be reached at clayton@landartist.com or by visiting www.landartist.com.
