Muddy Boots provides three primary services: year-round maintenance, big clean ups, and small installs.
Maintenance: I like to break down my maintenance work by seasons. In the spring and summer we manage growth and weeds: pruning, shearing and weeding. In the autumn we enter leaf-clean up mode, and stay on top of cutting back herbaceous perennials. In the winter we have fun improvement projects – adding plants, mulching, edging. The winter is also the best time for pruning, transplanting, and adding new plants!
Big clean ups: We start a big clean up with a walkabout to make a plan on exactly how to tackle a garden that needs attention. Sometimes all we need is time to prune and weed; sometimes we’ll want to bring in new plants and mulch. This time is a good opportunity to set goals such as: making a drought-tolerant garden, making the garden low-maintenance, or creating a pollinator patch. This is also a good time to step back and make sure that the garden has a nice overall appeal.
Small installs: When it comes to creating a new garden, or improving an old one, there are endless choices! The process of designing and installing a garden is different every time. We always start with a vision, or a few big ideas to play with. We’ll refine our plan together through emails and meetings, sometimes we’ll take a field trip to the nurseries! My absolute favourite work is designing and installing new gardens – it is deeply satisfying to take ideas to paper, choose and bring in plants and soil, and turn our vision into a beautiful garden. And then to watch it grow over the years!