People in Edmonton want their yards looking sharp, and want to create a sanctuary without having to leave their property.
APS Landscaping’s Troy Fougere said he is getting calls and messages all day and evening from people wanting to get quotes on landscaping jobs.
“Last year, the pandemic, was busy. We kind of expected it to slow down a little bit this year, and this year, for us, was a little bit crazier,” Fougere said.
“We usually book eight weeks in advance so this year we’re about 16 (weeks in advance)… We are probably booking until the end of August right now.”
Many landscaping companies are experiencing a busier season than usual.
Blue Isle Landscaping’s Chantelle and David MacArthur said people should call now if they hope to get work done this season. While availability is booking up fast, there are also supply issues.
“So it’s making sure we have adequate time to order those supplies and install them,” Chantelle said.
It’s hard to exactly pin point why so many are choosing to get work done on their yards, but Chantelle thinks it’s in part because people have realized how nice it is to have a sanctuary right at home.
“The pandemic really put a lot of lives on hold. You can’t travel so what are you going to do? Maybe live in your backyard.”
“People enjoying themselves at home, and almost sticking to that train of thought of making this what you want it to be,” David added.
David said people are really into gas fire places, and using boulders and water features to texturize backyards.
Fougere also believes the housing boom is playing a role in people wanting landscaping done.
“There’s a lot of people maybe selling their houses, from Ontario, or B.C., we are seeing moving here, and there’s lots of new houses going up,” Fougere said.
There is still time to reach out to a company and get landscaping done, but even if everything else works out, the weather also has to cooperate.
“We have a feeling it’s going to be a wetter summer,” Fougere said. “Last summer it was kind of dry so it was nice, so we will see what happens.”