How to Create a Sustainable Garden in Mississauga

With three large lakes less than 300 kilometers away, our climate in Mississauga is unique. Summers are warm and generally pleasant, but winters can be very windy with plenty of cloud cover. This presents a challenge when choosing perennial landscaping plants - they must be hardy enough to survive the winter without getting scorched on the hottest days of the summer. As in any climate, the best way to ensure that your landscape thrives is to use as many native plants as possible. Here are a few of our favorite local species to bring color and year-round life to your landscape: Milkweed Asclepias incarnata, also known as swamp milkweed or rose milkweed, is a native perennial that produces pink, purple, or white flowers during the summer. It can grow up to 150 cm tall, providing visual interest in larger flower gardens where it remains fully visible behind smaller plants. Milkweed thrives in damp soil and can handle both full sun and partial shade. Its blooms can be cut and used to beautify the inside of your home as well - milkweed flowers last longer after being cut than many other flower species. And as an added bonus, milkweed is one of the favorite foods of Monarch butterflies, so you just might attract a few very welcome guests to your landscape! Canada Anemone Canada anemone, native to the shores of Lake Ontario, is one of our favorite groundcover plants thanks to its interesting leaves and white flowers. While it can be too aggressive to plant near some smaller or more delicate species, it is great at filling in areas that remain too moist for more traditional lawn coverings. It’s low profile also allows you to mow over it without damaging it if you use proper lawn mower settings. If you are looking for hardy, low maintenance ground cover that also produces attractive flowers, Canada anemone is the way to go. Once it takes root in your lawn or garden bed, it will give you beautiful greenery for many seasons with very little effort! Red Dogwood Red dogwood is a favorite landscaping shrub in many northern climates thanks to its hardiness and adaptability. It produces white flowers in the spring, then white berries in late summer. Our favorite thing about this large shrub, however, is the winter color it brings. As its leaves fall in autumn, its red branches become the perfect focal point for a winter landscape. Native to North America, red dogwood can grow in dry conditions and can also tolerate standing water. It thrives in partial shade to full sun, and will provide great shade for your yard when it reaches maturity. It can grow to be 2 to 2.5 meters tall, but can also be trimmed back almost to the ground every few years if you want to keep it small. Whether you plant a single shrub or use it to line your property, red dogwood plants will serve you well for many years with just a little bit of tending!

If you have ever spoken to a landscaping professional, you have probably heard the word “hardscape” used. You may have even heard about the many benefits it can bring, both to you and to the environment. It’s hard to decide if you are interested in hardscaping if you don’t know what it is, though. So what exactly is a hardscape? Hardscaping refers to any landscaping element that is not living. It is the opposite of softscaping, which is the living, changing, and malleable parts of a landscape (i.e., your grass, trees, shrubs, and flowers). Hardscaping, on the other hand, is “set in stone” (and often made of stone as well!). Hardscaping elements can include everything from birdbaths to driveways. While much hardscaping is done with stone or concrete due to its durability and longevity, wooden decks and fences and even plastic accent pieces are also considered hardscaping. While hardscaping can bring great beauty to a landscape, it is more often used for its functionality. Landscaping elements like retaining walls and drainage systems can be essential to a healthy landscape, while sidewalks and patios allow people to enjoy softscape elements easily and safely. Not all hardscaping has to serve a functional purpose, however. One of our favorite types of hardscaping to design and install is water features. Though often mixed with softscape elements, water features are considered hardscaping when they use non-living materials to contain and circulate water (instead of letting that water drain into the ground). From simple fountains to elaborate koi ponds nestled in Japanese-style gardens, water features bring beauty and a calming atmosphere to any landscape. The most popular type of hardscaping we install in Mississauga is outdoor living spaces. From decks and patios (with and without outdoor kitchens) to fire pits with tiered seating, hardscaping can elevate both your entertaining potential and your own ability to relax and enjoy your property. Outdoor living spaces are completely customizable and can be designed to perfectly fit your space and your lifestyle. If you love spending time outdoors, a well-hardscaped back yard is essential! When designing a hardscape (even one as extensive as the outdoor living spaces we just mentioned), we are careful to keep hardscaping and softscaping in balance. While hardscaping can bring convenience and comfort to a landscape, too much hardscaping can make the space look sterile or commercialized. It is the living elements of a landscape - the softscape - that bring life and a peaceful ambiance to your yard. In an ideal landscape design, hardscaping and softscaping are interwoven seamlessly - flower beds surround the bases of waterfalls, held up by small retaining walls near where the patio meets lush, green turf. Gazebos are overshadowed by towering trees, and soft lights illuminate rock gardens that are home to both stones and succulents. When hardscaping and softscaping are in balance, our minds and souls can find balance as well when we linger among the landscaping. Ready to start your hardscaping project? Call our experts today for a free consultation and quote!