What kind of garden bed are you after?
Garden beds can be pretty simple, or they can turn into a bigger landscaping project depending on what you’re starting with. Here are the main types of garden bed work we do so you can get a better idea of what makes sense for your yard.
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Planting beds
These are your traditional garden beds for flowers, shrubs, and perennials. We remove the sod and roots, prepare the soil, set the grade, install the edging, and finish everything with mulch. If you want us to handle the planting as well, we can do that, or we can build the bed and leave the planting up to you.
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Rock beds
Rock beds are a good option when you're looking for a cleaner, lower-maintenance area rather than somewhere to grow a lot of plants. We prepare the area, install landscape fabric, add the rock, and make sure the edging keeps everything where it belongs. They're commonly used around the house, along fences, or in areas where grass and plants have a hard time growing. We'll also let you know if we think mulch would make more sense for your particular spot.
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Rebuilds
Sometimes a garden bed just gets away from you. The shrubs have grown too large, the original edging is falling apart, or weeds have taken over. In those cases, we'll strip out the old bed, remove the roots and stumps, correct the grade, and rebuild it from the soil up.
- Building since
- 2014
- Rated on Google
- 5.0
- Working across
- Winnipeg and southern Manitoba
Why garden beds fail in Winnipeg
We get called in to rebuild garden beds that were installed a few years ago, and there are usually some pretty simple reasons why they didn't hold up. Winnipeg's clay soil, frost, spring runoff, and freeze-thaw cycles all need to be considered when we're building a bed.
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Clay turns a new bed into a bathtub
A lot of Winnipeg yards have heavy clay soil, and it doesn't drain particularly well. If we simply dig out a hole and fill it with good garden soil, water can collect underneath it instead of draining away.
That's hard on plants and can leave roots sitting in wet soil. We deal with the soil over a wider area and set the grade properly so water has somewhere to go instead of creating a little bathtub underneath your new garden bed.
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Beds sink
Fresh soil and compost settle over time. If we fill a bed perfectly level with the edging when we install it, there's a good chance it'll be sitting low after a season or two.
That's when mulch starts spilling over the edge and grass starts working its way into the bed. We allow for that settling when we build and fill the bed so it stays looking right as the soil settles.
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Frost moves the edging
Winnipeg winters are hard on garden bed edging. Lightweight plastic edging and shallow spikes can move when the ground freezes and thaws, leaving you with a wavy edge the following spring.
Depending on the look you're after, we'll recommend steel edging, concrete curbing, or stone and install it properly so it stays in place and keeps a clean line between your lawn and garden bed.
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Spring melt takes the mulch with it
Spring water has to go somewhere. If the garden bed is flat or graded the wrong way, melting snow and rain can run straight through the bed and carry your mulch onto the driveway or sidewalk.
We look at the grade when we're building the bed so water moves where it should instead of washing everything out.
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Beds built against the foundation send water at the house
This is one we take seriously. A garden bed right against the house needs to be graded so water moves away from the foundation, not toward it.
Winnipeg's clay soil expands when it's wet and contracts when it dries. The last thing you want is to create a drainage problem right beside your foundation. If we're building a bed near the house, we'll make sure the grade gives water a path away from it.
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Landscape fabric buys you about three years
Landscape fabric has its place, but we don't recommend it for every garden bed.
Under rock, it makes sense. Under a mulch planting bed, not always. Weeds can still grow from seeds that land on top of the mulch, and once organic material builds up, those weeds can root right through the fabric.
If you don't need it, we won't sell you on it. We'll recommend what makes the most sense for the type of bed we're building.
Recent garden bed projects
Five yards, all finished in rock: black, grey slate and river rock, with the edging holding the line against the lawn.
How we build a planter bed that holds up
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Strip and excavate
We remove the sod, roots, and existing material and excavate to a depth that makes sense for what you're putting in the bed.
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Fix the soil and the grade
We prepare the soil across the bed rather than only improving individual planting holes, and we set the grade so water drains properly.
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Edge it
We install the edging you've chosen, whether that's steel, concrete curbing, or stone, and set it properly so it can handle Winnipeg's freeze-thaw cycles.
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Fill and finish
We bring in the right soil, allow for settling, and finish the bed with mulch or rock at the proper depth.
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Clean up
Once we're finished, we clean up the work area so you're left with a garden bed that's ready to use and no landscaping materials in the yard.
Mulch or rock?
If you're deciding between the two, we'd usually lean toward mulch for a planting bed. It's better for most plants, helps hold moisture through a dry Winnipeg summer, and adds organic material back into the soil as it breaks down. You'll need to top it up every couple of years, but it's straightforward to maintain.
Rock makes more sense when you're after a decorative, low-maintenance area rather than a bed full of plants. It's a good choice along a driveway, around the perimeter of the house, or in hot, dry areas where keeping plants watered is a challenge.
The main thing to keep in mind is that rock doesn't mean completely maintenance-free. Seeds and dirt still collect between the rocks, and weeds can eventually grow there. Rock also holds and radiates heat, which isn't ideal for every plant.
And once you decide you want to change it, rock is a lot more work to remove than mulch. So if you're planning to plant the bed heavily, we'd generally recommend mulch from the start.
Rebuilding a garden bed that’s gotten away from you
A good portion of the garden bed work we do is rebuilding existing beds. Maybe the shrubs have outgrown the space, the edging has disappeared, or the whole area has become more weeds than garden.
We'll remove the old plants, roots, and stumps properly before rebuilding the bed. From there, we can correct the grade, prepare the soil, install new edging, and finish it with fresh mulch or rock.
A front yard that's been untouched for twenty years can look completely different once the old beds are cleaned up and rebuilt. If that's what you're dealing with, send us some photos when you ask for a quote and we'll let you know what we're working with.
What garden bed installation costs in Winnipeg
Every garden bed is a little different, but these numbers should give you a general idea of where projects typically fall.
New planting bed, mulch finish: $1,200 to $3,500 for a typical front bed.
Rock bed: $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the size, rock selected, and amount of preparation required.
Edging on its own: $10 to $25 per linear foot installed, depending on the material.
Tear-out and rebuild: $3,000 to $8,000, depending mostly on what needs to come out and how much rebuilding is required.
The biggest things that affect the price are the size of the bed, how much excavation is needed, the edging material, whether we're removing existing plants and roots, and how easy it is to get materials into the yard.
For example, a front bed that we can access directly from the driveway is a different job than a backyard bed where everything has to be moved through a narrow gate by wheelbarrow.
If you have a budget you're trying to stay within, just tell us when we come out. We'd rather tell you honestly what we can accomplish for that budget than recommend a project that's more than you wanted to spend.
Plant selection for Zone 3
When we're building a garden bed, we want you to have plants that actually have a good chance of making it through a Winnipeg winter.
Winnipeg is officially Zone 3, although conditions can vary quite a bit depending on where the bed is located. A sheltered, south-facing bed beside a brick wall is very different from an exposed corner of a wide-open yard.
Some reliable choices for Winnipeg include daylilies, hostas for shade, ninebark, potentilla, Karl Foerster grass, and Russian sage in sunny locations.
If you're looking for a full perennial planting design with specific colours, combinations, and year-round composition, we can point you toward a local designer we trust. Our focus is building the bed properly so it's ready for whatever you decide to plant.
Common questions
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When's the best time to install a garden bed?
We typically install garden beds from May through October. Spring and fall are especially good times for planting, while summer installations are also fine as long as new plants get enough water while they're establishing.
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How long does it take?
A straightforward single bed can usually be completed in a day. Larger front-yard projects or beds that require a full tear-out can take two to four days.
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Do you remove the old bed?
Yes. We can remove the existing plants, roots, stumps, soil, and old edging as part of the rebuild.
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Do I need landscape fabric?
Under rock, we generally recommend it. Under a mulch planting bed, usually not. We'll recommend what makes sense for the type of garden bed you're installing.
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Do you plant, or just build the bed?
Either works. We can build and finish the bed for you, or we can include planting as part of the project. Just let us know what you're looking for when we put together the quote.
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Do you work in my area?
We serve Winnipeg and surrounding communities including Headingley, Oak Bluff, La Salle, East St. Paul, and West St. Paul.
What Winnipeg Homeowners Say
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Great experience working with Jordan and Heavyscape. They landscaped both my front and back yards, installed pavers, built a fence, and constructed new stairs and a landing. Throughout the project they were flexible and thorough, approachable and easy to work with. Communication was excellent, the price was fair, and great quality of the work. Highly recommended.
mupayet
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Great experience with Jordan and his team. Communication was good and work on project was professional. Highly recommended. Would work with again.
Paul Laporte
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Great job! Good experience with planning, Jordan made improvements to our plan and the function is even better than we thought. Crew was friendly, organized and fast. Very happy with the experience and quality of the work.
CJ T