Design & build · Calgary and area
Landscape design and build in Calgary
Patios, retaining walls, new beds and water-wise yards, designed for hail, chinook winds, clay soil and a short growing season. You see a drawn plan and a fixed quote before anything is dug.
Building season runs from late April to the first hard freeze, usually in late October. Design work carries on all winter, so spring builds can start the week the ground thaws.
What we build
Sample “from” prices in Canadian dollars, before GST. Every quote follows a walk-through, because slope, access and soil change the work.
Patios and paths
Sandstone flagstone, concrete pavers or gravel, laid on a compacted base and sloped so meltwater runs away from the house.
from $9,500
Retaining walls and terraces
Block or natural stone walls that turn a slope into level beds and lawn. Taller walls can need engineering and a City permit, which we check before quoting.
from $6,800
Planting plans and new beds
Hardy trees, shrubs and perennials for zone 4 winters, hail and dry Augusts, placed so something flowers from May to September.
from $1,200
Water-wise yards
Less lawn, more native grasses, gravel mulch and drip lines. Built to look good through a dry summer with little watering.
from $7,500
Sod and soil
Heavy clay loosened and topped with screened loam before the sod goes down, so roots grow deep instead of sitting on a hard pan.
from $3,400
Fire pits and seat walls
Built-in fire pits and low seat walls for long June evenings, placed with the wind, the City’s fire pit rules and your neighbours in mind.
from $2,900
The process
From first visit to first summer
Most gardens take six to ten weeks from walk-through to last plant, depending on the season and the amount of stone.
- Week 1
Walk-through and wish list
We walk the yard with you, measure it, see how water drains and note where the sun falls. You tell us how you want to use the space and what you never want to maintain.
- Weeks 2 to 3
Concept plan
A scaled drawing with the layout, materials and a plant list, plus one round of changes.
- Week 3
Fixed quote and build window
A line-by-line quote and the weeks we will build. The price holds unless we find something hidden underground, and we tell you before anything changes.
- Before we dig
Locates and preparation
We request utility locates for buried lines, protect the trees and lawn that stay, and order stone and plants to arrive the week we need them.
- One to four weeks
Build
Base, stone, walls and soil first; plants last. The site is tidied at the end of every day and you get a short photo update each evening.
- Last day, and next spring
Planting and handover
We plant, water in, set up irrigation and walk you through care. A follow-up visit next spring checks how everything came through its first winter.
Designed for Calgary weather
Four things shape every plan we draw here.
Hail
Summer storms shred large leaves in minutes. We favour perennials and grasses that bounce back, and keep fragile plants under eaves or a pergola.
Chinook winds
Warm winter winds dry out evergreens while the ground is frozen. We place conifers out of the strongest west wind and plan a deep fall watering.
Clay soil
Much of the city sits on heavy clay that holds water. Patios are graded away from foundations, and beds get loam and compost before planting.
A short season
Frost can come in late May and again in September. Plants are chosen to flower in turn, so the garden is never all green or all over at once.
Questions people ask
Do I need a permit for a patio or retaining wall?
Most ground-level patios do not. Taller retaining walls, decks and some structures can need a City of Calgary permit. We check during the concept plan and include any permit work in the quote.
How early in spring can you start building?
As soon as the frost is out of the ground, usually late April or May. Designs signed off over the winter get the first build slots of the season.
Can you only design, or only build?
Yes. Some clients take our plan and plant list and do the work themselves. Others ask us to build a design drawn by their own landscape architect.
Start with a walk-through
Tell us what you would like to build and roughly when. Winter design bookings get the first spring build slots.