Chinook Landscaping and Design – Landscaping Calgary Specialists
Calgary, Alberta
403-452-8552
Mon-Fri 8:00 AM- 5:00 PM.
Chinook Landscaping Calgary

Landscaping Calgary Blog

Read all the news about Chinook Landscaping in Calgary

Chinook Landscaping CalgaryLandscaping Calgary Blog
06 Mar 2019
0 Comments By david Gardening, Landscaping Calgary

Chinook Landscaping is now open for spring estimates!

Chinook Landscaping is now open for spring estimates.  We provide free landscaping estimates and consultations to Calgary Homeowners.  The estimate includes a walkthrough of your property and a consultation on your landscaping needs and requirements.  We will also take time to explain our company history to you as well as show you pictures of our work and explain the landscaping process clearly.

We can provide you with an estimate on all of your landscaping needs including:

Landscape Design
Patios and Walkways
Retaining walls
Sod installation and removal
Tree and shrub removal and installation
Paving stones
Fences and Decks
Underground Sprinklers
Landscape Lighting

We love to explore new landscaping ideas with our Calgary clients and take great pride in creating beautiful spaces for your front or back yard.  Visit our estimates page Call us today for your free estimate.  403-452-8552

Click or drag a file to this area to upload.
05 Mar 2019
0 Comments By david Landscaping, Landscaping Calgary Awards, Uncategorized

Chinook Landscaping awarded Best Landscaping Company by Build Magazine

Chinook Landscaping and Design is proud to announce they have been award Best Landscaping Company In Calgary by Build Magazine.  Chinook Landscaping works very hard to make sure all of their clients are completely satisfied with their landscaping.  It is a great honour to be recognized by the industry for this prestigious award. Have a look at other rewards Chinook Landscaping has won.  Landscaping Calgary Awards

22 Feb 2019
0 Comments By david Gardening, Landscaping Calgary

Growing Strawberries in Calgary

It is never too early to start planning your summer gardens.  Strawberries are a great addition to any garden in Calgary.  Growing strawberries in Calgary is much more fruitful than it used to be.  There was a time when growing strawberries in Calgary was difficult because there were very few hardy strawberry varieties to choose from but that has all changed in recent years.  Thanks to new varieties primarily from Washington and the East Coast of Canada, hardy, bountiful strawberry varieties are now available.

Many new strawberry varieties to choose from

Older strawberry varieties like Tristar were ever bearing strawberries that would produce fruit throughout the summer.  But the fruit form this variety was sparse with small berries and low yield.  Now new varieties like Kent allow Calgary gardeners to enjoy June bearing strawberries.  The Kent strawberry is a large juicy and very sweet berry that has excellent yield.  Combining a June bearing strawberry with ever bearing strawberries is a great way to produce strawberries from June until October.

Grow your strawberries in the ground or not?

Strawberry gardening is not just limited to in ground plantings anymore.  You can choose to grow strawberries in containers, hanging baskets or even in straw bales.  The highest yield will likely still come from in ground or straw bales but if your growing area is restricted then container gardening is a great choice.

Wider strawberry rows equals more fruit

If you are planning on creating a strawberry garden then don’t just plant single rows of plants.  Instead, plant a single row and then allow the plants to runner.  The runners are shoots that come off the mother plant and eventually these shoots become baby strawberry plants. You can train the runners by hand or hoe and place them in areas where the soil is open and the plants will have room to mature. Be careful not to cut the runners as these long stems provide nutrients to the baby strawberry plants.  Once the runner plants take root they will start to create a wide row of strawberries.  We recommend about a 2-3′ wide mat of plants for high yield.

Strawberries need protection during our cold winters

Wintering you strawberries correctly is very important especially in Calgary’s very cold climate.  In the fall after the frost starts to hit your plantings you can start to cover them up for the winter.  You can choose a variety of covers for the plants protection including wheat straw, leaves or mulch.  Make sure you create a good think protective layer over top your strawberries of at least 8-12″.  This protective covering will insure you have much less winter kill and a much greater yield of fruit come summer time.

Your local Calgary will have a good selection of June bearing and overbearing strawberries plants.  They are typically available in early May.

For more information on growing strawberries in Calgary see these links:

How to grow strawberries in hay bales

Strawberries in Alberta

 

14 Feb 2019
0 Comments By david Gardening, Landscaping Calgary

Lots of snow is hard on the back but great for trees and shrubs!


We all grow tired of shovelling snow during our long Calgary winter season but your trees and shrubs are happy as can be under all that white stuff!. Lots of snow can be hard on your back but its great for trees and shrubs.

Some think snow is bad for plants

Clients often ask us if a heavy snowfall with be detrimental to their plantings. Calgary is famous for its warm chinook winds that blow in throughout the winter months. Temperatures can change by 20c in a matter of hours. This constant warming and thawing followed by freezing can be very hard on trees, shrubs and perennials. It can expose them to root damage if there is not enough snow fall. This is why a heavy snowfall and thick layer of snow over your plantings is a very positive thing and vital to your plant health.

A blanket of snow is a blessing for your shrubs and perennials

The more snow the better the protection will be to your plants. If you are running out of places to pile your snow then you could choose to pile it on top of your plantings to give them some help during the winter months.

Shrubs don’t like lots of salt

If the snow you are removing is mixed with salt then it is best to avoid putting it on top of plantings. The salt can damage the plants come spring time when the snow melts. If you have several feet of snow on top of your plantings then it would be helpful to move some of it once the very cold weather is over and spring is getting close. Leaving a foot or so on top your plants will ensure they are protected in case there is a last minute big freeze.

12 Feb 2019
0 Comments By david Gardening, Landscaping Calgary

Yardsmart and the Calgary horticultural Society.

We wanted to let you know more about Yardsmart and the Calgary Horticultural society.  The Calgary Horticultural Society is a place where horticulturists, amateur gardeners and anyone who is interested in gardening can meet to learn more about landscaping and gardening.  They have weekly meetings, workshops, how to seminars on everything to do with horticulture and plants.  Not only are they a great resource for homeowners interested in gardening but they are also a great place to network and meet other people who have similar interests.  You can learn about planting trees and shrubs, ,   Plantings and lawn care and many more aspects of gardening in Calgary.

Yardsmart and the Calgary Horticultural Society promotes organic gardening and water wise landscaping.

Organic gardening and gardening without the use of pesticides is becoming more and more popular in Calgary and across North America.  Yardsmart and the Calgary Horticultural Society promote organic gardening and water wise landscaping.  They offer tips on growing your own vegetables, organic composts that you can make yourself and great ideas for producing large yields from your organic garden. Yardsmart and the Calgary Horticultural Society also focus on water conservation and some creative ways to minimize water use for your garden and landscaping including the use of underground sprinklers and rain barrels. You will also learn how to avoid common landscaping mistakes

To learn more about Yardsmart and the Calgary Horticultural Society visit The Calgary Horticultural Society website

07 Jan 2019
0 Comments By david Landscaping Calgary

Chinook Landscaping wins 2019 Consumers Choice Award!

For the fourth year in a row Chinook Landscaping has won the Consumers Choice Award. In this new Alberta economy we have worked harder than ever to work with our customers and bring them excellent value while maintaining a high standard of quality workmanship. All of the staff at Chinook Landscaping would like to thank our loyal customers for their repeated business year after year.  And thank you for voting us the #1 landscaper in Southern Alberta again this year.  We look forward to serving our existing customers and new customers in 2019.  Check out some of the other awards we have won here.  Landscaping Calgary Awards

19 Nov 2018
0 Comments By david Uncategorized

Spring 2019 – Landscaping Estimate

We are now inviting clients to get on our spring estimate contact list.  Be at the top of the list for your free estimate and consultation by filling out our Spring 2019 Estimate Request Form    We will contact you in mid February -early March of 2019 to arrange for your landscaping estimate.

Your free landscaping estimate and consultation will include:

An on-site walkthrough of your property.
Recommendations as to whether your project would benefit from a landscape design    
Introduction to our landscape designer if necessary.
Explanation of our services
Discussion about various landscaping components that would work best for your property.
Free detailed estimate.

Click here to complete your Spring 2019 Estimate Request Form

03 Nov 2018
0 Comments By david Gardening, Landscaping, Landscaping Calgary

Chinook Landscaping and Property Brothers

HGTV’s hit television renovation show Property Brothers chose Chinook Landscaping and Design over hundreds of landscaping companies in Calgary to design and install a new landscape for an upcoming episode. Working with Jonathon and Drew of the Property Brothers was a lot of fun and a great experience for all our staff.  We can’t show you any photos until the show has aired but check out HGTV for news on Calgary episodes coming soon.

See the TV episode here:  Property Brothers 

Oakridge Property was the site for the home renovation project

The property is located in the community of Oakridge and the lucky homeowner was thrilled to have Property brothers and Chinook Landscaping completely transform the exterior and interior of her home.  We completely redesigned her front yard.  Oakridge is an older community located in SW Calgary.

Lots of tree and shrub removal to start with

The front yard landscaping was a real mess when we started as it had not been landscaped for many, many years.  We needed to do a lot of tree and shrub removal and garden bed clean up to get things underway.  The haul out for the project was enormous and left as with a clean slate to work with.

Landscaping components we used in this makeover

We installed a new creative curves paving stone walkway utilizing Techo bloc Blu paving stones from Burnco Landscape with matching mowing pavers as borders around the garden beds. A large Autumn Blaze Maple tree was installed in the centre of the yard and we planted numerous shrubs in the garden beds then added a mix of 20mm rundle rock and black mulch. To warm up the landscape we installed a cedar privacy screen at the side of the yard.  The privacy screen also created a subtle divider between the two properties.

Watch for Chinook Landscaping and Property Brothers coming soon!

24 Oct 2018
0 Comments By david chinook landscaping, Landscaping Calgary

Define your borders!

Defining your borders is the key to great looking landscaping.  There is nothing that helps you create a great looking landscape more than defining the borders of your garden beds and tree wells.  You can use various border materials to define your borders such as stone mow pavers, Vinyl edging, aluminum edging, clean line edging, natural edging, raised or natural stone, concrete curbing.  Define your borders with creative curves or straight lines depending on your preference. Not only do defined borders give you a great looking landscape but they also help with maintenance of your yard by helping to keep grass from growing into your garden beds or mulch or decorative stone spilling on to your lawn.  If you are on a budget then you could choose to simply edge out a defined border around your tree wells or garden beds.  This will need to be done one time per season at a minimum.  A more permanent border like edging or mowing pavers will eliminate the need for hand edging giving you a lower maintenance landscape.

04 Sep 2018
0 Comments By david Uncategorized

Fall is a great time for landscaping in Calgary

Fall is a great time for Landscaping in Calgary!  Did you know that trees, shrubs and sod do much better when planted in the cooler fall months than they do when planted during our hot summers? Trees, shrubs and sod start to go dormant in fall and therefore they are far less likely to go into shock when they are planted.  Summer is in the middle of their peak growing season so it is very hard on plantings and sod, especially with our hot, dry summers.  The cooler fall weather combined with the plant dormancy cycle means you can don’t have to worry about planting trees or shrubs or laying sod.  Chinook Landscaping and Design typically installs plantings, paving stones, retaining walls and all other landscape components right up to and beyond Halloween.   Visit our website at landscapingcalgary.org  for more or Call us at 403-452-8552 for your no cost estimate.