Landscaping · Ottawa, ON
Landscaping in central Ottawa
Garden beds, edging, mulch, river rock and stone areas for central Ottawa yards, from the Glebe and Sandy Hill to Old Ottawa South and Alta Vista, planned around City trees, the grade and heritage rules.
- Landscape fabric
- Mulch
- River rock
- Decorative gravel
- Clear stone
- Concrete slabs
- Topsoil
The local picture
Landscaping in central Ottawa
Front yards on older central streets are small, and many share their ground with a City tree and its roots. We measure the trunk and its root zone before drawing the bed, then shape the soil to fall away from the foundation before mulch or stone goes down.
A narrow side yard is often the only path water has to the street. The City’s Site Alteration By-law lists landscaping, interlock and retaining walls among the things that can obstruct a drain or swale, so a side bed is kept low and out of that path.
Landscaping for central Ottawa front and back yards
The Glebe, Sandy Hill, Old Ottawa South and Alta Vista
Korvex Construction does landscaping for central Ottawa houses: garden beds and edging, mulch and river rock, gravel and stone areas, stepping paths and yard restoration after other work. Call, text or WhatsApp 613-880-7679, or send the request form, for a free on-site estimate; the scope and price follow in writing.
In the Glebe’s Clemow Estate East Heritage Conservation District, the City’s plan describes small front yards with small lawns, mature trees and flower beds or rock gardens, and few fences. It encourages owners to keep existing landscaping and mature trees, asks that new trees be deciduous species with a broad canopy, and rules out new front yard parking spaces.
The boulevard in front of your house
City rules for gardens on the road allowance
On many central streets, the lawn between the sidewalk and the road, and sometimes a strip on your side of the sidewalk, is City boulevard. Residents may garden there without a permit under the Use and Care of Roads By-law, within limits: digging by hand only, plants no taller than 1.0 m (0.75 m inside a corner visibility triangle), no tree planting, and no garden within 1.0 m of the trunk of a City tree.
Raised beds on the boulevard may be wood, galvanized steel or composite up to 45 cm high, and the guide excludes concrete, stone, rock, brick and pavers. A stone border or paver edge therefore stops at your property line.
Large trees and new beds
Inside the critical root zone of a protected tree, the City’s tree by-law forbids raising or lowering the grade, extending a hard surface or significantly changing the landscaping without its approval. Where protection applies, fencing at least 1.2 m high goes around the outer edge of that zone before work starts. A new bed under a mature maple is built at the existing grade, with fabric and mulch in place of new fill.
At the site visit
What we check on a lot in central Ottawa
- 01
Whether the street sits in a heritage conservation district
- 02
Where your property line meets the City boulevard
- 03
City trees and large private trees near the bed, and their root zones
- 04
How water leaves the side yard today
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 central Ottawa: common questions
Can I put a stone border or a raised bed on the boulevard in front of my house?
Partly. The City’s boulevard guide allows raised beds of wood, steel or composite up to 45 cm, kept 0.6 m back from the sidewalk and out of the strip between the sidewalk and the road. Concrete, stone, brick and pavers are excluded. We keep stone and paver edging on your side of the property line and check the layout against the guide.
How do I find out how much of my front lawn is City boulevard?
The City’s guide points to geoOttawa for the approximate property line and the size of the boulevard. We look at it with you at the site visit before the bed is laid out.
Can you redo a small front garden on a central Ottawa street?
Yes. Old soil and weeds come out, the bed is reshaped to fall away from the house, and fabric, fresh soil and mulch or stone go in with a clean edge to the walk. On a heritage street we read the district plan before drawing the layout, and the written price follows the free site visit.
Can you regrade my yard if water sits near the house?
Yes, within the City of Ottawa rules. Owners are expected to keep the grades from the original grading plan and keep swales open. We check what applies to your property, then plan slope and drainage inside those limits so water moves away from the foundation.
Book a free landscaping estimate in central Ottawa
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.