The most effective way to upgrade your home’s curb appeal is to hire a landscaper. Even if you consider yourself to be an accomplished gardener, contracting a landscaping professional is still extremely important when it comes to renovating your home’s exterior. A comprehensive landscaping design can enhance not only your front and back gardens, but it also meanders down walkways, marches up stairways and surrounds water features both large and small.
As you may know, landscaping involves more than just lawns and gardens. When you hire a landscaping company, they will create a cohesive visual experience that incorporates elements of hardscaping, softscaping and sometimes lighting (if your landscaper doesn’t do lighting, you’ll need to contact an electrician).
Hardscaping
Hardscaping refers to any hard materials that are incorporated into the landscape. This can include retaining walls and stairs, walkways, driveways, firepits and patios. Some landscapers also incorporate pergolas, fences, decks and gazebos into their service offerings.
There are typically 7 common hardscaping materials:
- Concrete
- Stone
- Pavers
- Wood
- Brick
- Rock (loose)
- Composite Decking
Softscaping
The part of landscaping that most readily comes to mind is softscaping. These are the gardens. Your flowers, trees and shrubs.
While there are some very dedicated DIYers out there, most homeowners will need the services of a professional landscaping company when taking on an outdoor home renovation.
Hardscaping adds structure and architectural interest to your property. It defines gathering and walking spaces, frames pools and gardens, and anchors the overall look.
What to look for in a landscaping company
Just as you would when hiring any other home service worker, you’re going to want to do your homework first. Go online to read reviews and to see any examples of their work. Beyond that, there are some other things that you’re going to want to ask about.
Information to ask about before hiring your landscaper
- Proof of workers’ compensation insurance
- Proof of liability insurance
- Contract Information
- Warranties
- Client References
To make asking these questions easier, Landscape Ontario has created a printable scoring document that you can use during the process of hiring a landscaping company. Find it here.
Browse the landscaping contractor listings here at eieihome.com to easily connect with local Canadian landscaping companies in your area.
