Kingslea

Here are a couple before and afters from kingslea. We used real clay brick for the patio and kingston hue for the wall.

Munro Residence

This project was completed just before the first big freeze in early December. We built a large temporary structure to keep snow off and increase nighttime temperatures. This is a cinder block wall on a concrete footing. We clad the exterior with tiger stripe coursing sawn top and bottom. We hand chiseled the stone and installed with no mortar joints to make it look like a dry stack wall (matching dry stack walls around the property installed last year).

Munro Continued

Here is a nice shot of the back garden.

Ellis Park

This was a tricky job involving multiple poured concrete retaining walls clad in tiger stripe natural stone. We even had to have a pump truck deliver the concrete as the walls are two flights of stairs above street level. In addition the planting and stepping stones are actually sitting on the garage roof! The middle shot shows how we finished the corners on the retaining wall. I actually shaped those corner pieces myself. Enjoy.

Warwick

Difficult space = our specialty

Cottingham

The cottingham project involved a geometric zig zag shaped walkway design by Victoria Taylor. We used Halton 'Autumn Brown' for the walkway and Northern Natural Split drywall for the retaining wall and step. The variation in colour is particularly striking when the flatwork is wet. You can also see the level of detail where we cut custom stones to fit around the existing drain (bottom right). We also planted large swathes of grasses and daylillies in the garden beds (of course we need to wait until next summer to show you).

Efficiency = Productivity

Strategic placement of materials ensures that we will have the materials we need where we need them. This reduces hours of moving heavy stones around the jobsite, saves time, money and reduces worker fatigue

Cottingham excavation

The excavation at cottingham illustrates the importance of having a design. We excavated precisely for the patio to ensure that we were not wasting time, energy and money on moving soil that did not need to be removed.

Yews of the world unite!

While working on the Cottingham installation we got involved with a very large mature yew (Taxus x media). The client agreed that we could prune it for shape, but ultimately decided to remove it entirely. Pictured here is the final plea for mercy, or is it defiance? Yew decide.

Stewart Residence

Sometimes you get a client who really lets you be creative. This project involved mixing different types of stone in leaf and berry shapes. The outline of the leaf and stem is actually coursing (twice the thickness of flagstone and installed first). The green leaf pieces were then custom fitted so that the cuts look like veins. Each piece was hand chiseled to give a more natural look. The Ecoman crew really stretched to bring this project in on time and budget. Special mention goes out to Mike who's attention to detail and commitment to quality were a critical component of the finished product.
P.S. I hope to get good pictures of this with plantings and other touches in spring

Greenroof Installation

This pictures shows the different components of a typical green roof. The product we are using for this install is xeroflor. This type of system can be installed on virtually any type of roofing membrane. On the bottom left you can see the root membrane being installed. This is followed by drain mat designed to allow moisture that percolates through the sedum mats to run off towards the scupper. On the top right you can see the moisture retention fleece. This acts as a water reservoir that will supply moisture to the plants during periods without rainfall. Finally the sedum mats are installed (see bottom left). Clients often ask me about the possibility of a green roof on their residential property. Here are some tips and guidelines for a typical residential project.
1) initial phone call and consultation
2) engineer report (requires hole in ceiling to examine roof joists)
3) working backward from engineer report decisions can now be made regarding system, accessible vs. inaccessible, depth of soil and type of plants.
4) architect may be required to submit drawing to city for permit
5) quote, contract and scope of work agreement
6) safety plan for installation (notice both Rachel and Rohan are tied off)
7) installation!
8) monitoring and maintenance
It has been my experience that a typical residential green roof project takes about 1 year to go from step 1 through 7! so patience is a virtue.

Brigid is better

A very dear client had asked us to do some garden work in the back garden. Upon our arrival we learned that Brigid had a stroke. We completed our work as best we could under the circumstances. I remember feeling sad that she would miss the beautiful fall colour of her Cercis canadensis tree. On a whim I selected a few nice ones and made a platter. Cheers Brigid to your health!
PS As usual inspiration provided by David Leeman

Badscapes

We often come across gardens where the previous work is incomplete, shoddy or carelessly finished. Here we have a garden with some yews that have been planted too high and backfilled with construction fill. The soil is compacted heavy clay. This is typical of new construction sites where heavy machinery has been used to construct the house. You can see the Yew (Taxus spp) needles starting to yellow already.

Spring Urns

Sometimes a client just needs to freshen up the space. This particular client successfully sold the house this spring. It is not often that the gardener moves with the client to the new house but in this case we are really happy to have a customer for life.

The beauty of a dry stack wall

People always ask me about the difference between dry stack walls and mortared walls. The example pictured here is a dry stack wall meaning it is built without mortar or concrete footings. This wall has been built using natural stone. One nice thing about dry stack stone walls is the fact that they can be rebuilt from time to time. This particular wall has been rebuilt four times in thirty years! We rebuilt this wall the summer before last and it has held up quite well. PS If you look closely you can see that we rebuilt this wall with hand tools, look for chisel marks on the top right (no loud gas powered saw on this project).

Fall colour at the Lewis Residence

Busy season = no posts! Now I can start posting some of the great shots from this season. Stay tuned.
This garden was installed back in 2006. It is great to see the boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) completely hiding the fence.

Late March with Barry

Disclaimer: This is not an ecoman garden, in fact the closest we have come to working in this garden is to deliver composted duck manure on the driveway!
Hamamellis x intermedia 'Jelena'
Cyclamen coum
Hellabores galore and much more

Barry Parker = Inspiration

So great I had to post twice!
My first time in Barry's garden I was speachless, and have come back many times to see the latest developments and find inspiration.

Mixie Mixie

Reclaimed brick and ledgerock.

Thank You Sam...