Landscaping · Orleans, ON
Landscaping in Orleans
Garden beds, edging, mulch and river rock, gravel and stone areas and yard restoration for Orleans homes, from Convent Glen and Queenswood Heights to Fallingbrook, Chapel Hill and Avalon. Beds are shaped to shed water off the Champlain Sea clay under much of the suburb.
- Landscape fabric
- Mulch
- River rock
- Decorative gravel
- Clear stone
- Concrete slabs
- Topsoil
The local picture
Landscaping in Orleans
Clay that stays wet moves with frost, and a bed that holds water against the foundation keeps the clay beside it wet. In Orleans the bed is reshaped to fall away from the wall, and river rock goes where a downspout lands.
Front beds here spend the winter beside a driveway and a plowed street, with salt and grit along the edge. Beds along the drive and the curb are planned for that, with low edges and cover that can sit under a snowbank.
Landscaping across Orleans, decade by decade
Korvex Construction does landscaping for Orleans homes: garden beds and edging, mulch and river rock, gravel and stone areas, stepping paths and yards restored after drainage or fence work. A call or WhatsApp message to 613-880-7679 books the free site visit, and the scope and price come in writing after it.
The oldest Orleans streets have mature foundation plantings to rebuild, and the newest phases have builder sod and an empty strip along the house. Both start the same way: the soil along the wall is shaped to fall away before anything is planted or covered.
Snow, salt and the City boulevard
The lawn strip beside an Orleans street is City boulevard, and the City’s gardening guide notes that it also serves for snow storage. Snowbanks may be removed after heavy snowfalls, the City is not liable for damage to boulevard gardens during winter operations, and salt and grit on streets and sidewalks can affect the soil next to them. Containers and plant supports must be off the boulevard by November 15.
Beds near the curb or the driveway are planned for winter: salt-tolerant plants, which the guide recommends beside sidewalks and streets, and low edges a shovel can pass over.
Near the escarpment and the ravines
Parts of the Orleans Escarpment are protected by the City as urban natural features. Under the Site Alteration By-law, grading, fill and clearing within 30 m of an Urban Natural Feature need the City’s prior written approval, while landscaping and the upkeep of yards remain permitted under its other rules. Beds at the back of such a lot are finished level with the existing ground, with no new fill pushed toward the edge.
At the site visit
What we check on a lot in Orleans
- 01
Slope of the ground along the foundation
- 02
Where each downspout lands, for river rock
- 03
The boulevard line and where the snow gets piled
- 04
Salt along the driveway and the curb
- 05
Distance to the escarpment or a ravine
How we build it
How a garden bed is built to drain
A bed that keeps its shape and keeps water off the foundation is built from the bottom up. The Barrhaven front bed went in this order: soil reshaped, landscape fabric, fresh soil, mulch, finished to its edges.
- Grade first
The slope away from the house is set before fabric or mulch goes down. A bed that tilts toward the wall stays a drainage problem however good it looks.
- Keep the wall clear
Soil and mulch stop below the siding. Mulch piled against parging keeps the coating wet, and wet parging cracks.
- Edges that hold
Every bed meets a paver border, an edging or a cut lawn line, so the mulch stays in the bed and the grass stays out.
- Work around trees
Beds near mature trees are laid out around the roots, and the City’s tree rules are checked where a large tree is close.
- Locates before digging
Buried lines are marked before beds are dug out or a pad is set.
- Leave it tidy
Old soil, sod and debris leave the site with us, and the yard is cleaned up when the work is done.
- Mulch or river rockAn even layer that covers the soil, kept below the siding and the parging.Spread evenly
- Fresh soilBrought in over the fabric where the bed is planted.Raked to the slope
- Landscape fabricKeeps soil and stone apart and slows weeds; cut around trees and existing plants.Laid over the soil
- Reshaped soilWeeds and roots cleared, the surface shaped to fall away from the house.Falls away from the wall
“Vlad and his crew installed my patio in 2 days. Did excellent work and vlad answered any and all questions I asked. I highly recommend Korvex Development for any job you may require.”
Joe Ayoub · Patio installed
“Did awesome work! had them repair a leany fence and they were on time, cheap and super professional”
Josh Cohen-Collier · Leaning fence repaired
FAQ
Landscaping in Orleans: common questions
Will a front bed survive the snowbanks on an Orleans street?
It can, when it is planned for them. The City uses the boulevard for snow storage and is not liable for damage to boulevard gardens in winter, and road salt affects soil near the street. We keep the bed on your side of the property line where possible, use low edges and suggest salt-tolerant planting near the curb.
Can the City plant a tree in front of my Orleans house?
Possibly, through the Trees in Trust program. The City supplies and plants a street tree at no charge for homes with street frontage, one per household or two on a corner lot, if the site passes its checks, including 7 m from other trees or obstacles. The owner pledges to help water it for the first three years. Requests go through a service request or 3-1-1, and we lay out new beds to leave room for the tree.
Can you landscape the front of an older Orleans house?
Yes. On a 1970s or 1980s lot the job often starts at the foundation beds: old shrubs and soil out, the grade along the wall restored, fabric, fresh soil and mulch or stone in, and a new edge to the lawn and the walk. The free site visit sets the scope, and the price follows in writing.
Why do patios and walls move on Orleans clay?
Much of Orleans sits on Champlain Sea clay, which holds water, and water in the ground expands when it freezes. A thin or poorly compacted base, or a surface that slopes toward the house, lets that movement show. A compacted granular base, fabric where the soil needs it and a set slope away from the house keep it in check.
Book a free landscaping estimate in Orleans
Tell us what you want built and send a few photos. We come out, look at what sits under the job, and give you the scope and the price in writing.