Commercial Landscaping Services

The experts at The Grounds Guys are trained in horticulture and landscape design. We never back down from a landscaping challenge because we have the knowledge, experience, and training to bring even the most ambitious landscape ideas to life.

When designing a landscape, we apply elements of unity, scale, balance, harmony, simplicity, symmetry, variety emphasis, and sequence to creatively integrate lines, form, texture, and colour to create a landscape design you and your employees can be proud of.

Once the initial plan has been developed, we will review the design with you. The design will indicate how space on the plan relates to space in your actual property and the relationship between sizes of specific elements of the design. We’ll review the landscape contrast and the differences in tone, texture, mass, or color between the various landscape design elements. We’ll review plant combinations and/or pairings that highlight a specific area and allow each plant to shine.

Based on the contour of your property, we may propose changes in ground elevations or grade. These may take the form of a mound, swale, or combination of the two.

We will determine a focal point for the design, an element in your landscape design that is meant to be most prominent. The focal point can be a plant, boulder, statuary, gathering space, or other landscape feature.

We will also take the ecological aspect into account to create a landscape design that is compatible with a site's environment in both appearance and sustainability without negatively impacting the surrounding environment.

When recommending or accessing the choice of plants within your design we will consider the hardiness scale, which accesses the ability of a plant or tree to survive near freezing and subfreezing temperatures. Since many factors can determine cold hardiness, we will review/discuss various options.

Selecting the right plants is important to the health and appearance of your landscape design. When developing a successful landscape, consideration must be given to the following: 

• Sunlight (intensity and duration)
• Moisture (quality and quantity)
• Weather (wind and temperatures)
• Soils (drainage and compaction)
• Hardiness zone (survivability)
• Competition (existing plants)
• Location (structures and utilities)

Incorporating annuals, perennials, and biennials can help add year-round colour to your landscape design.

Since size, orientation, and perceived mass of elements can all play a role in your design, we factor “balance” into many of our design concepts. We also suggest using trees and/or shrubs to provide privacy, block a view, or as a natural boundary or barrier within your design. Specimen trees can be used to focus or attract attention to a specific area of your landscaping. They can be unique, with interesting features that offer lots of character.

Topiaries are among the most flamboyant of specimen trees and can be incorporated easily into several different landscape designs.

We may also incorporate accent plants that provide interest and generally stand out in the landscape due to their color, texture, and/or blooms, although they do not set the structure of the garden and primarily serve as an aesthetic element.

Once installation of your design has begun, changes to the original scope of work should be initiated through a change order. Once requested changes are reviewed and approved, they will be implemented.

As the landscape ages, it gets overgrown and outdated. Updating your landscaping can rejuvenate your property and provide a renewed enjoyment and sense of pride for employees and customers. It can also improve the curb appeal of your business.

As we finalize your design, we also factor in watering requirements and water consumption. We believe water management and conservation should always be a consideration when developing a landscape design. Therefore, our designs are “water wise,” so plants, trees, and shrubs can survive periods of limited water availability. Many of the plants we choose are environmentally friendly because they decrease the amount of water needed to maintain a healthy landscape and help reduce water requirements and your bills.

In some cases, we may utilize a xeriscaping design, which requires very little or no water, with drought-tolerant plants and more hardscaping.

To reduce the water requirement, we can also incorporate a rock garden into your design that consists of stones with plantings that complement and thrive in the rocky environment. We can also include a rain garden into your landscape design that allows rainwater to gradually soak into the ground to nourish your landscaping.