Landscaping for Snow Removal – Newmarket Yard and Design Ideas
What does landscape design have to do with snow removal? In a snowy location like Newmarket, Ontario, there are actually several things you can do in your home landscape to make the chore of snow clearing simpler with less impact on your lawn and planting beds. If you use a Newmarket landscaping and snow removal service, they will thank you for making their job easier.
Landscape Layout
All of that snow has to go somewhere. When the weather cooperates, small quantities will melt in a few days, but there are times of year when snow begins to pile up after weeks of below freezing weather. Leave several open areas adjacent to your walk and drive where you can make big piles of snow when necessary.
Keep small shrubs and plants with fragile branching systems away from the edges of walks and drives. It will protect them from piled up snow from snow blowers or shoveling that may cause structural damage.
Drainage Systems
Providing a place for melted snow that drains from your sidewalk and driveway will help to protect your lawn and landscape from chemical ice melters and rock salt. Dig a trench 12 inches wide and deep along the edge of paved surfaces where runoff drains. Line it with landscape filter fabric and fill most of it with washed gravel. The top layer can be ornamental river rock or stone mulch.
An optional addition to this trench – often called a French drain – is a perforated drainage pipe. If you have a yard with a low place for the pipe to outlet, it will help to keep excess salts out of your plant beds. Be careful that you are not sending salty runoff into a stream or creek.
Materials and Surfaces
Smooth surfaces make for easier snow shoveling. Save mulched paths and walkways with small stones for the backyard garden or a side path that does not have to be kept clear of snow. It is fine to have unit pavers or flagstone as long as they are installed without bumps or dips in the surface. Concrete, unit pavers and some flagstone have surface texture that provides some traction while not being uneven enough to interfere with scooping snow.
Keep in mind that some regular brick and slate pavers can be extra slippery when ice is present.
These few simple steps will make winter safer and less stressful when it’s time for snow removal. Newmarket gets lots of snow each year, so it is best to account for it in your landscape plan. Keep surfaces smooth and allow places for snow and salt to go. Your plants and lawn will even be healthier when spring rolls around.
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