Tag: lawn care calgary

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Lawn Maintenance Alberta

Lawn Maintenances Tips in Calgary

There are a lot of elements to proper lawn maintenance in Calgary not just mowing the grass every week or so.  Here are some:

Fertilization

Like all living things, turf needs nutrition.  One way to ensure healthy grass is to be sure it gets fertilized correctly.  A fast release fertilizer is a quick shot of food.  It will give the lawn a good growth spurt but will not do much for the root system.  Slow release will give the grass ongoing, though declining fertilizing.  It is also important that you apply the fertilizer in the correct proportion.  Too much or too soon will cause your grass to “burn” or be damaged to the roots.  It is a good idea to feed the lawn at least in the spring and in the fall.  Slow release in the autumn means the grass crowns will have something to rely on during the long winter months.

Weeds

sod vs grass seed calgaryJust because they are green, doesn’t mean they are good.  To start with, a healthy lawn is more resistant to weed infestation.  The unwanted plants just won’t be able to compete with the strong turf.

Pre-emergent – In the early spring, it is a good idea to apply a pre-emergent.  This is a product that will help prevent new weeds from your lawn.  It will not do anything for those weeds that have already seeded in your lawn but will prevent new ones from sprouting.  Be sure to choose a product that will last the entire season.

Herbicides – This is a product that can be used to kill those weeds that have popped up.  It is important that you only kill the weeds and not the entire lawn, or you will have a huge problem.  A good method is to walk around with a five-gallon sprayer and just hit the surface of the leaves of the offending plant.  Be sure that your product has a spreader sticker in the mix.  That will keep the herbicide on the leaf so that it can kill the plant rather than letting the liquid just run off.

Natural death – Like most plants, weeds will only have a limited life span.  The concern of letting them just exist and then die is that they will propagate themselves during the span.  That means you will have more weeds of that type next season.

Disease and Insects

Most lawns are disease free.  If there is a problem it is usually a fungus caused by watering issues.  It should be rare that a lawn would need to be treated for disease.

Insects, however, are probably pretty plentiful.  Back to the premise that a healthy lawn that is properly maintained can withstand a few insects.  In fact, most turfs can handle bugs.  The problem with using an insecticide is that it will destroy the beneficial insects along with the destructive ones.  That includes pollinators like bees and even flies.  The use of pesticides is greatly discouraged.

If you would like help with your annual lawn maintenance, Project Landscape is ready to help.  Just give us a call and we will be happy to see what we can do to help you.

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Lawn Care Calgary

5 Good Reasons for Hiring a Lawn Care Service Company in Calgary

If you spend a lot of your weekend time trying to mend your lawn, then you should let professionals take care of them. Lawn care services in Calgary can care of all your gardening needs while you enjoy your weekend. There are many benefits of hiring professionals, and some of them include: Landscape Experts Calgary

  1. Reduce the Labor Work

Lawn care is a work of labor, and people often experience sore muscles and injuries after spending a good part of their day working on the yard. Moreover, if you are older, then you are at a higher risk of getting injured during these laborious tasks.

So, if you struggle with any illness, mobility issues, or do not feel like mowing your lawn, you can greatly benefit from lawn care services in Calgary.

  1. Mitigate the Chances of Accidents

Unfortunately, many people are not aware of the fundamentals of lawn care. And if you have  little knowledge, then you could end up damaging the lawn.

Whether it is under or over watering your plants or cutting the grass a little too short, these little things can damage your lawn in no time. When you leverage professional services, it eliminates the chances of errors.

  1. Save Money in the Long-Run

Hiring lawn care services in Calgary allows you to save money in the long run. Want to know how? Consider the kind of money that you would have to spend on buying the equipment, chemicals, and other care products for maintaining your lawn.

These services can help you save money that you otherwise end up spending on these products. Moreover, with professionals working on your lawn, you can avoid spending money on correcting the mistakes you made.

  1. Your Lawn Receive Consistent Care

As a modern homeowner, it can be difficult to build and maintain an effective routine. When you hire lawn care services in Calgary, they will ensure that your garden is taken care of on a regular basis.

They will show up at your house at a predetermined period each week to handle the different required tasks. Moreover, they would handle more than what you would do on your own.

  1. Increase the Value of Your Home

A healthy-maintained yard increases the overall value of the home. And if you decide to put your home for sale at some point, a beautifully maintained yard will definitely increase the value, thereby allowing you to make more money. When professional lawn care experts are taking care of all the work, you get a yard that looks clean and elegant all the time.

Final Thoughts

Maintaining a lawn requires constant physical effort. Moreover, you also need to have the right knowledge to carry out different tasks. Hiring lawn care services in Calgary will help you money and time in the long run.

When your yard is in the hands of skilled professionals, you can be happy knowing you’ll be getting a beautiful yard that accentuates the overall appeal of your home.

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Lawn Care Calgary

6 Important Fall Gardening Tips For Your Lawn

A little planning and preparing can rev up and help your lawn be ready for the winter. And Fall is the best time to clear out your lawn beds, manage  the quality of the soil, get sod ready, and minimize issues in the new growing season. It is also the perfect time to plant spring-blooming bulbs and pick out summer bloomers.

Once your lawn has been prepped in the right way, you can rest assured knowing you’ll get the most out of your fall gardening. Below are some fall gardening tips to help you along the process.fall landscaping tips calgary

  1. Best Crops for Fall

When you are choosing what plants to harvest during the fall, gardeners often recommend root and green vegetables. Leafy green vegetables like mache, chard, spinach, lettuces, arugula, etc. and root vegetables such as radishes, rutabaga, carrots, and bets, etc. can grow in shorter and colder days of the fall.

  1. Getting the Timing Right

Late summer is the ideal time to start your fall gardening. In order to determine the dates you want to start growing each variety, consider the date of maturity mentioned in the seed catalog.

Add  one or two weeks to this date to consider the shorter length of fall days. Subsequently, counting backward removes the day from the average first fall frost date.

  1. Flower Gardening

Plants that bulb should be stored in a cool, dry place. And the best time to do bulb planting is between middle and late November. Hyacinths, iris, crocus, tulips, and daffodils are some of the best choices. Moreover, it is also an ideal time to separate perennials with perennial seeds for the next spring.

  1. Clean Out the Unwanted Growth

The end of the season is the time to take out dead vegetable plants and clean out the weeds and plant debris. Moreover, you shall also winterize the lawn water features and furniture. Raking leaves away from your lawn as well as mowing them using grass catchers are the best ways to prepare your autumn garden. Additionally, the mix of carbon and nitrogen offers a great cover for the vegetable garden. It enhances fertility and prevents weeds.

  1. Organic Gardening

You can make good use of the fallen leaves. Spread the fallen leaves on the ground and run a mower over them. They are easy to break down. After that, you can add organic amendments to the beds. Moreover, they pull double-duty, acting as an important mulch layer for the winter months.

  1. Stretch the Season

Extend the fall harvest a month extra by protecting the plants from hard freezes. Here is how you can do that:

  • Covering low-growers using a thick layer of straw leaves or mulch. You can simply pull them aside during the day.
  • Floating row cover
  • A clear plastic tarp

Autumn is the perfect time to put the garden to bed. By taking some preparation time now, you can save a lot of time and effort next spring when the growing season comes back. Above, we have shared some useful to-do lists that will help you to with your fall landscaping this year.

Contact Calgary Lawn Care Experts today if you need help or assistance with your landscaping needs.

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Lawn Care Calgary Lawn Maintenance Alberta Uncategorized

4 Benefits to Over Seeding Your Lawn

Another way to maintain the magnificent lawn of your Calgary home is over seeding. This method is planting directly grass seeds over the existing turf, without tearing up the grass or the soil. Bare spots are easily filled, the density is improved by the turf, kinds of grasses and the color of the lawn.

When is the ideal time to over seed?

Winter weather, scavengers and general wear and tear turn your wonderfully lush green grasses to brown and bare patches. The simple remedy of reseeding helps prevent future problems. Late summer or early fall are the right time to over seed as atmospheric temperatures and soil are most favorable for optimal degree of seed germination and growth. The new seedling will be established before the setting of winter providing adequate moisture, the proper fertilizer and enough sunlight. Better environment simulates seeds to grow and develop. Initially, you need the right temperatures, good seeds, and a simple watering solution as a circular sprinkler. The ideal reseeding time for lawn located in cooler climates up north is spring or fall. Lawns in southern warmer regions must start reseeding from late spring to summer.

Benefits-to-Over-Seeding-Your-Lawn-calgary-

4 benefits to over seeding your lawn

  1. Erosion reduction

The grasses with root systems that are fibrous are compact and are firmly bounded together.  Densely planted and reseeded lawn guarantee that soil and water are absorbed by the right root zone, reduction runs-off and loss of soil. As a rule, it improves the overall health of your lawn because it has firm grip on the nutrients and moisture that it needed to survive.

  1. Uplift appearance

To improve the looks of your lawn, plant fresh batch of seeds to fill all the patches that are browned brown and bald areas that are destroyed by pets and pest. Rake the spot, plant the seeds, and be sure to keep soils evenly watered until seeds start germinating. Use sprinkler to move around allowing target watering. A dense lawn looks great and inviting. It is pleasing not only to the eye but it feels fabulous underfoot.

  1. Risk of pests & disease reduction

Over seeding is one best solution for preventing and combating pests and disease. If your lawn had been devastated by particular pests, don’t apply chemicals, instead plant seed varieties that grow well in your climate.  The right seeds do not require much amount of water and are highly resistant to diseases. A combination of grass seeds and lawn daisies are another wonderful mix as they attract and support beneficial insects and pollinators.

  1. Increase Thickness

If a thick carpet of lawn is what you’re after, over seeding can do this too. Serving seeds at the proper time and the right water amount water will alter a thinning & sickly lawn into a healthy and verdant stretch of green. Blades of grass will fuse into a solid surface becoming sturdier durable. It will develop the capacity to withstand heavy foot traffic and alleviating natural weathering and environmental stress.

Reseeding your lawn is the best option to facelift your place without including the building. Your Calgary home has more appeal with its healthy-looking and verdant lawn. If you plan to sell you would rather stay rooted right where you are.

For more information about lawn care in Calgary, check out https://www.projectlandscape.ca/ for more information today.

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Landscaping Calgary

The Importance of Regular Lawn Care

Lawn spaces add to the beauty of your landscaping in Calgary and the curb appeal of your property. The green grass is soothing to the eyes and lends a very refreshing and lively feel to the immediate environment. While it’s always a pleasure to have some lawn space in your landscape, the grass will require regular care and attention. It is important to focus on regular lawn care because it will ensure:

  • Resilient And Strong Grass- To ensure that your grass is strong and resilient, mowing is essential. The recommended height for mowed grass is about 3 inches. When cut, the weak shoots are left behind and the healthy and strong grass shoots will grow. 
  • Even Grass Growth- One of the most common grass problems is uneven growth. The good news is that it can be easily fixed with regular mowing. When you set a good mowing schedule and keep the grass at a certain height, it helps improve the overall growth. This is because shorter grass distributes and absorbs resources much quicker. This consistency is crucial for the growth and maintenance of your lawn.
  • Mulching- This is one of the most important aspects of lawn maintenance. Mulching returns all the necessary nutrients after mowing to your lawn. If mowing is conducted frequently, mulching has to be done with the shorter blades of grass. This is much healthier for your lawn as longer blades of grass are not as healthy or rich in nutrients. A basic mulching feature is present in almost every lawn mower and can mulch along with every mowing, as long as the grass hasn’t grown excessively.
  • Quicker Recovery-  Calgary lawns have to endure exposure to the elements, pest infestations and constant wear and tear. The best way to ensure that all of these conditions don’t impact the quality and appearance of your grass is to ensure it’s maintained with regularity. A poorly maintained lawn will not be able to sustain itself well.

In addition to all the points mentioned above, the right nutrients, aeration schedules, pest control applications and de-weeding will help keep your grass disease-free, healthy and looking great right round the year.

Lawn care can prove to be a very tedious and time-consuming task if you have to handle it yourself. It is a good idea to hire professionals like us for us for the job. For any more information about our expert landscaping Calgary services, feel free to contact us at 403-407-5777 or drop us a line via this Online Form and we will revert shortly.

 

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Lawn Care Calgary

Why you should hire a professional lawn care company

Lawn Care – Do-It-Yourself Vs. Professional Care

In today’s world, the craze for DIY is increasing day by day and there is many who think they can tackle the lawn care too on their very own. A gaze at the lawn  might make it look very simple and the process of maintaining as per a DIY enthusiastic is just mowing it once in a week, watering it and adding fertilizer. But, do you really think it is it?

It is important to understand that maintaining and safeguarding a healthy lawn is a lot of work. Proper mowing along with fertilizing is needed and some things like aeration or pest control can be well handled by the professionals. 

Let us now have a look at some of the factors which indicate that hiring a Calgary landscaping pro for your next project is better than doing it yourself.

Mistakes in Mowing:

Mowing is often considered easy and a number of people who have a lawn do mow the grass. But, in many cases, the grass is mowed too short so that they can get some time between each mowing. Grass which is short can get damaged easily by insects or diseases. On the other hand, professionals are aware of the fact that the grass should not be cut short and at least one part of the grass blade has to be left intact. This will increase the strength of the roots and the lawn too will look attractive. The professionals also maintain their mowing equipment well and hence can complete the task in no time.

Using Fertilizers:

Though it takes just one trip to the fertilizer aisle, choosing the right one for the lawn can be confusing. Most of the times, homeowners apply too much of fertilizer or do it wrong and this will affect the root growth of the grass. Wrong usage of the same can at times even burn the lawn down. Calgary lawn care experts know how and how much fertilizer has to be used. Once you hire their services, they come in at the right time and treat the lawn.

The equipment used:

Homeowners do not have upgraded equipment all the time, but it is not the same with professional services. They make use of quality and professional equipment and hence it does not even cause any damage to the grass when used.

Environment concerns:

Improper use of fertilizers not only damages the lawn but also poses a risk to the environment. Excess fertilizers that are left on drive ways can get washed away and they then enter the ground, polluting the ground water. When you hire the our expert services, they take proper safety precautions and follow the said application procedures.

The knowledge:

Well, as a home maker you might love your lawn but you cannot forget the value of knowledge an expert in this field has. Experts can take care of weed control, de-thatching and aeration. They know what the lawn needs, leaving no scope for any mistakes.

Remember that your time is valuable and you save on your time too by hiring professional lawn care services.  If you need an expert in this industry, look no further than Project Landscape Ltd. We offer free quotes!

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Landscaping Calgary

A Complete Spring Landscape Maintenance For Calgary and Surrounding Areas

One of the reasons why Calgary is such a beautiful city is its gorgeous terrain.   Walk around the city and you will notice that its grandiose look is attributed to the design of its greenery and properly maintained residential residence or commercial property. Spring is just in our door so it’s spring cleaning time. As plant-lovers, make a checklist for spring landscaping maintenance for the city and surrounding area.

Spring Landscape Maintenance Checklist

Clean Up by removing leaves & winter debris

Your green grasses will turn to brown when covered by fallen leaves and lawn debris as they strangled the plants, and welcome the entrance of lawn fungus, mold spores, and plant diseases. During fall, leaves from your own trees, as well as your neighbors’ trees, fall on your grounds or are blown onto your driveway covering your flower beds and destroying the look of your yard.  It will take days of raking and disposing of these leaves since your areas have areas many trees.

It is admitted that dead leaves are good fertilizers for soil as they provide a natural source of carbon for the earth. For this reason, some people choose to leave the leaves where they fall. Don’t leave dead leaves on your grass, because when fall on your lawn, theses leaves cover the green grasses and cut out rays of the sunshine so they start turning brown. Rake the leaves removed it but do not burn and allow them to sit in your garden.

Weeding

Weeding is the process to remove out the weeds. Weeds are unwanted plants grow alongside useful crops. Weeding I is a requisite as they compete are competitive plants as they reduce the useful crop yield by acquiring space, fertilizers and nutrients from the soil. Fallen leaves and lawn debris will brown your lawn, choke out your plants, and advance the growth of mold spores, lawn fungus, and plant disease. One of the best ways to control weeds is by using an organic fertilizer. They stop weeds all the way down to the root, without drawing seeds to the surface. It’s important to rid your garden of weeds because they rob your soil and your plants of important nutrients and water.

Edging Beds

Edging helps define the gardening space by marking it off from the rest of the yard. The border pieces create either straight or curved borders to establish the gardening area. Create a clear edge between your lawn and planting area; to include your driveway, lawn, sidewalk, or another landscape. With clear edge, beds and borders seem to sparkle. The edges of flower beds look unfinished as they are often deteriorated by the harsh rain and snow during winter months. As part of lawncare, define the edging of your beds in order to to keep a defined space and their intended shape. Edging isn’t required for a planting area, but installing a border offers functional and aesthetic benefits for your landscaping.

Mulching

Mulch can be any material used to lay or spread over the soil like a soil’s covering. The primary use of mulch is to retain moisture in the soil as well as, suppress weeds. Bed garden will look more attractive as it keeps soil looking cool. As they decompose, organic mulches improve the soil’s fertility. As a garden technique, mulching is beneficial for plants when it is done properly. The soil is covered with mulches from bark of the tree, chips of wood, fallen leaves, and other organic material. Its sole purpose is to preserve moisture and improve soil condition.

Your landscape benefits much from mulching saving you much of time. It is eco-friendly and time saver in maintaining an awesome look and feel. It is also eco-friendly for it recycles garden waste into mulch. Mulching care for your plants and ensure that they are healthier. Lay new pine, mulch or pine straw into the beds and especially all around the roots of the trees to stop weed growth, keep moisture in, and improve your landscape’s appearance. Morton Arboretum in Chicago conducted a study that showed that applying organic mulch increases the organic matter in the soil.

Seasonal Color

Redesigning your home or commercial property with the right seasonal colors bring in all the fun. Here are some palette samples for this season.

  1. For burgundy tones choose from plants like Purple Pixie Loropetalum, Sedum Spectabile, Venus Purple Garden Mums, Colossus Red Blotch Pansies, Giant Red Mustard and Redbor Kale.
  2. For peach tones try Georgia Peach Coral Bells, Ursa Pink Garden Mums, or Salmon Petunias.

Seasonal color is best with white flowers, such as Alyssum, Dusty Miller, Grandeur White Garden Mums, Nagoya White Kale, Delta White Pansies, and White Violas.

These ranges of colors from the bright green hue of the stem to the deep purple body of the eggplant acknowledge the color of aubergine. Add the hues of purples: Lavender Petunias, Midnight Petunias, Purple Fountain Grass, Ornamental Ember Peppers, Delta Lavender Shades Pansies, Delta Violet Pansies, Penny Blue Violas, Penny Violet Violas, and Nagoya Red Kale.

Love this whole metallic accents trend going on right now and this eggplant-inspired color palette works really well with warm metallics like gold, copper and bronze. This color palette also makes the perfect excuse to host a wine and cheese tasting garden party!

Calgary and neighboring area are up and ready to begin its Spring Maintenance as the checklist is complete. Go head, clean-up, weed, edge and mulch. Plus don’t forget the important task of selecting seasonal color. Wonder what it will be this year?  Still, early spring cleanup tasks always takes place at the time of the year. Remember that lawncare is a never ending task. Go ahead start removing burlap from trees and shrubs as the weather gets warmer. Look for those branches that die with winter. Prune them to encourage new growth. Cut back perennials that looked withered and pull out old dried branches if they cannot be revived. Then look around and be aware that it is March. Hail to March that makes you aware to take a good look at your garden to see it is better to thin out crowded beds and transplant new plants to fill in bare spots. This is a sound advice for any resident to retain its beautiful landscape!  Get a free quote now!

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Landscaping Calgary

5 Benefits to Aerating Your Calgary Home or Business

5 Benefits to Aerating Your Calgary Home or Business

Top landscaping companies look after Calgary lawn care of residential homes and commercial buildings so they always look their best. Companies offer myriad of services like application of pest control, lawn mowing & maintenance, seed hydroseeding, as well as landscape care, design and architectural services. One of its specific services is aerating or aeration.

Why aeration?

Aeration is one part of lawn care for it involves perforating the soil with tiny holes to allow entry of air, nutrients and water to penetrate grass roots. Your lawn is in need of aeration if it suffers from an excessive thatch problem. This is the result of heavy trampling on the ground when used as neighborhood & children’s playground or racetrack. In another case, heavy traffic stripped or buried the compacted the topsoil of newly constructed lawns. It is not necessary to aerate your lawn every year, especially if your grass is healthy and thriving. Make aeration a part of your spring clean up.

5 benefits to aerate your home or business lawn

  1. Soil compaction reduction. When soil is loose, they plunge deeper into the soil to look for essential resources of water particularly in times of stress.
  2. Lesser thatch issue. Whenever thatch that is composed of roots and grass stems is accumulated faster; there is an excessive need for aeration for it becomes the best environment favorable to pests and disease.
  3. Greater access to the root zone. Aeration perforates soil allowing air, food and moisture easy entry to root zone for nutrients to be absorbed.
  4. Enhances seed germination. As aerated holes provide seeds a secure concealment place, they are able to germinate easily.
  5. Immediate improvement of the appearance of your lawn. Aeration and overseeding helps lawn attacked by animals, fungus or insects. Seeds germination within 7-10 days.

So now you know the importance of aeration

Lawn aeration tips

Here are some basic lawn aeration tips to get you moving in the right direction:

  • You need a core aeration machine that can be rented from any local equipment rental store. If your lawn us large, you might need the machine for the entire day. , Be thorough, no reason to rush the process.
  • Read the manual before operating the machine. The machine is not user-friendly and will give you hard time to operate.
  • Don’t wear lawn aeration shoes as they do not only cost money but will only cause more soil compaction.
  • The night before aerating, water your lawn to make the ground a bit softer so the core aerator can remove deeper plugs.
  • Always mark the location of your sprinkler heads!
  • For heavy-traffic areas of your lawn, go over with machine two to three time more.
  • Be very careful in operating your core aerator on an incline. These are very bulky and can easily tip over if not handled properly.
  • Aeration is a good method of treating either residential or commercial Consider aerating a part of your spring clean up.

Incorporate these tips in your Calgary lawn care repertoire and you’ll soon be reaping the many benefits of lawn aerating or aeration.

Located in Calgary, Alberta, we serve the commercial and residential community of Calgary, Okotoks, Airdrie, Chestermere and surrounding areas.

Contact Project Landscape Ltd. for a free landscape quote or snow removal estimate at 403 257 4059. Or fill out the contact form to schedule an onsite consultation.

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Landscaping Calgary

Understanding the Risks of Hiring an Uninsured Landscape Contractor in Calgary

If you have made plans to hire a landscape contractor to perform work at your commercial or residential property, it is important you ask yourself a question – is the contractor insured? Most of us often get carried away by the big vans these landscaping experts come in, with their employees wearing the uniforms with passes. So, we do not dig deep into details and know if the contractor has a valid insurance or not.

If the landscaping contractor does not have insurance, you as the property owner can be held liable if any employee from the said company gets injured in your premises. There are a number of insured and experienced Calgary landscaping companies you choose from, but you need to verify a few details before hiring them for the work. Let us understand the importance of this in more detail.

Lawsuits can be quite expensive

None of us want to think about the worst case scenario, but it is always better to be safe than to feel sorry at a later stage. You need to check if the employee working at your office or commercial space has the worker’s compensation insurance. It is important to check this as operating the heavy landscaping equipment come with a lot of risks. You do not want to get into any legal issues yourself for such accidents.

Accidents can happen anytime 

Though a number of Calgary lawn care companies are professional and have well-trained employees, accidents can still occur. Anyone in your property can get injured due to some equipment that is left behind or there can be an occurrence of any incident that is completely out of your control. This is what makes it important to check if the contractor you are planning to hire carries general liability insurance for claims coverage. A general liability insurance provides the protection against any 3rd party injury claims. This insurance also covers the cost of treatment, the court fees and much more.

Coverage for the company’s property

Imagine that a costly equipment of the contractor gets stolen from your premises. Who can be held responsible for the theft? Homeowners or commercial property owners also need to check if you Calgary landscape contractor has all the company’s equipment covered. If not you might end up paying for the lost equipment.

It is important to understand that insurance is not an option for landscape contractors. One also needs to check about what kind of practices the contractor follows to prevent any kind of accidents from happening. A reputed landscape firm will for sure have timely training programs for their employees and also follow strict policies for handling as well as storing the equipment they use. You can also find out about the equipment maintenance as there can be an occurrence of accidents due to the use of faulty equipment. Ultimately you only want to hire the company that can provide you with the best services, at the best price and also follows a safety culture.

Looking for detailed feedback or a free landscaping quote? Get in touch with Project Landscape Ltd. today!