Ninebark, Eastern Red Cedar, Shrubby St.-John’s Wort, 3 Serviceberry Trees & Canada Anemone planted in 2021 (pictured in 2024)
The snow is melting. I know that winter isn’t quite over but this little glimpse of warmer weather is welcome after all the snow we’ve had recently. It’s actually getting me excited for spring! I can’t wait for the birds to come back, for the flowers to start popping up, but most of all I can’t wait for planting season!
Early spring is the best time of the year to plant new trees, shrubs, perennials, and grasses. The mild, wet weather gives them time to establish roots before the scorching heat in the summer. This means your new plants will have a better chance of survival with less maintenance.
Below you can see the one corner of the garden of one of my favorite clients. In the first picture, I had just finished planting some native shrubs, trees, and groundcover. In the second picture, you can see the garden 3 years later once the plants have had time to establish themselves and mature a bit. Every spring I go back to pull weeds and add mulch to this thriving native plant garden.
I’m looking forward to starting new projects in the spring to bring peace and joy to my clients in their gardens. One project I am particularly looking forward to is a wildlife pond extension. My client had a pond built by someone else a few years ago, but now wishes the pond was bigger. It’s already attracting lots of birds, small mammals, frogs, and other critters. The client is so happy with his pond but he wants more!
Native plant garden extensions allow us to reduce our carbon footprint by reducing lawn maintenance and sequestering carbon in the roots of the new plants. You might think that grass can also sequester carbon but with the mowing, trimming, and fertilizing you will cancel out any benefits the grass has. This is why a biodiverse, low-maintenance garden full of colorful native plants of all shapes and sizes is so important for reducing our carbon footprints.
Even though I advocate for reducing lawn sizes, I know many of my clients want grass for their kids or dogs to play in or just because they like the look. While it isn’t for me, I understand that there is a need for more sustainable lawncare practices. That is why, after 4 years of avoiding lawn maintenance work altogether, I am offering sustainable lawncare services for the first time this year.
To keep this new service aligned with my greater vision for the company, we are doing a few things differently. Firstly, we will be using a battery powered mower. This will keep noise and air pollution to a minimum. Secondly, we will only use organic fertilizers. Thirdly, we will only be providing biweekly service. Weekly service is a little overkill in my opinion and less sustainable. And finally, we will only be providing lawncare services in Ajax. Keeping our service area small will help reduce the carbon emissions from my vehicle. This service will allow us to employ people more consistently creating jobs for the community while meeting more of the needs of our clients.
Outside of lawncare, we will still be providing all the services I built the business on – garden design, wildlife pond building, tree planting, garden maintenance, weed removal, mulching, and more.
Here are some resources if you want to learn more about native plant garden design:
The 7 Layers of an Ontario Food Forest
Profitable Habitat Conservation and Forest Management
Top 66 Worst Invasive Species in Ontario
Permaculture Principles for Resource Management
For help with your next garden project, call or text me at 289-943-5477.
Thanks for reading!
Scott Carroll
Carroll Property Services
