The Gilded Grove

This 1700sqft front yard started out as a damaged, unused lawn space. Our clients dreamed of a pollinator paradise that was the prettiest yard in the neighbourhood.

What we did:
✔ Removed the invasive groundcover and Rose of Sharon shrubs
✔ Created natural wooden stairs and maple wood chip paths
✔ Designed and planted pollinator-friendly shrub borders, slope stabilizing shrubs, tree accents, ground cover areas, and perennial areas.

💚 Perennials includes: Helenium, Echinacea purpurea, Coreopsis lanceolata, Heart-leaved Aster, Spotted Bee Balm, Wild Strawberry, Woodland Phlox
💚 Trees & shrubs includes: Serviceberry, Red Osier Dogwood, Kelsey Dogwood, Flowering Raspberry, Witherod

From the client:
🤩 "I’m so excited for all the pollinators to come"

Permeable Paving: Treadable paths that manage water. 🌧️♻️
Here are some of our favourite options - curated to our clients' needs and foot traffic.
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In urban areas, most surfaces (roofs, roads, sidewalks) are impermeable, causing runoff and flooding.
Let’s change that by managing rain on-site:
💚 Restores the earth's natural water cycle.
💚 Traps pollutants before they hit our waterways.
💚 Replenishes our aquifers instead of overtaxing city sewers.

Fun Fact: These systems are like icebergs—the real magic happens underground! When built with deep stone reservoirs, they double as infiltration trenches, absorbing and sequestering far more water than meets the eye. 💧

Throwback to our little Winter pruning of these native Cedars!
Its a great way to open up the space and provide some brightness while maintaining the health and integrity of these beautiful trees.

❄️ Why prune in the Winter?
Winter is ideal for pruning most woody plants, as they are dormant - minimizing stress, energy loss, and disease transmission. They're able to heal well and grow beautifully come Spring.

Throwback to our little Winter pruning of these native Cedars!
Its a great way to open up the space and provide some brightness while maintaining the health and integrity of these beautiful trees.

Why prune in the Winter?
Winter is ideal for pruning most woody plants, as they are dormant - minimizing stress, energy loss, and disease transmission.

So grateful for our 2nd season and thankful for every pollinator habitat and rain garden system we got to create this year! 🙌🥰

💚 96% of our plantings this year consisted of native, near native, and nativar plants this year

* Renowned ecologist Doug Tallamy recommends a minimum of 70% native plant biomass in residential landscapes to support local food webs, particularly insect populations which are crucial for bird survival.

This front yard was filled with overgrown invasive groundcover and a downspout directed straight into the lawn.

What we did:
✔ ️Removed the invasive groundcover and pruned the existing bushes
✔ ️Extended the garden space and redesigned the flagstone path
✔ ️Created a river rock swale to direct the downspout water into the garden
✔ ️Designed and planted a pollinator-friendly ground cover selection with perennial accents that tie in with the surrounding gardenscape.

💚 Perennials includes: Pearly everlasting, Bearberry, Butterfly milkweed, Marsh marigold, Turtlehead, Echinacea, Woodland Strawberry, Blanketflower, Helenium, Cardinal flower, Moss Phlox

From the client:
🤩 "Wow, what a big change. I look forward to eating the strawberries and bearberries"