Page 23 - Dockside Magazine Muskoka, Summer/Fall 2018

“Working in stages can be a tremendously useful way to approach a project”
than with money. “Most people don’t want a major landscaping project to be taking place while you’re
at the cottage,” says Karen. “Sometimes the best way to avoid that is to simply break the work up over a couple of seasons.”
For one client couple, doing work in phases was partly a matter of dealing with the most urgent matters first as they contemplated the options for other parts of the site.
The couple had rented in Muskoka for years before finally purchasing their
own cottage. It had many
of the features they wanted
– including a large, level grassy area where their children could play – but the landscaping needed attention.
“The shoreline was really ugly,” the owner says. “There were a bunch of shrubs we didn’t like, including a lot of cedars, which can be real bug magnets.”
Consulting with Karen, they came up with a plan that would address the entire property in stages.
The first season involved tackling the overgrown shrubbery and relocating some rocks from an earlier landscaping project. Cedars
were removed and replaced with low-growing perennials that would allow a view of the lake without blocking the cooling summer breezes. Other trees and shrubs
were pruned to enhance the overall look of the property.
Planters were added and filled, and layers of mulch ensured that any disturbed soil was covered over.
In short order, the property was ready for a full season of cottage use, and a planting scheme was in place for the next year’s phase two work.
Time to contemplate
That intervening year lets homeowners wrap their heads around the project, says Karen.
“We work with landscape transformations every day, and have done for years,” she says. “It’s very easy for us to look at a set of plans and picture exactly what the property is going to look like when it’s done.”
For most homeowners, though, it’s not that easy. Even removing a single tree or adding a flower bed can have an enormous impact on the look and feel of a property. “When we do the work in phases, people find it easier to picture what the final project will look like.”
Sometimes, adds designer Megan Swan, that intervening year is a chance for the clients to make some changes to the plan. “It’s amazing how often someone will come back to us after year one with fresh ideas about what they’d like to
see in phase two,” she says. Those ideas often come in the form of photos – a garden they’ve seen in a magazine, or a place they’ve visited in the off-season.
“Once you’ve got a project of your own underway, you often see new plants or a particular look and say ‘that would be perfect at my cottage!’” she says. “Doing a landscape in phases lets us incorporate those discoveries.”
Phases also bring the delight of seeing the garden gradually unfold over years.
“This year, these clients will see the lush growth really begin on the lake side, while the new plants on the road side get established,”
says Karen.
“By year three, everything is really starting to fill in, and the whole place looks incredible.” DS
BY ANDREW WAGNER-CHAZALON
3343 Muskoka Road 169, Bala 705-762-1110 • info@watersedgelandscaping.com www.WatersEdgeLandscaping.com
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