Landscape Tips
Help keep Regina beautiful by landscaping your front and side yard.
Effective January 29, 2019, new one- and two-unit residential front yards and side yards that abut a public street or a public pathway must be landscaped within two years of the issuance of an occupancy permit. There are many different options for soft landscaping such as grass, ornamental plants, shrubs, trees, turf, gardens, and other permeable groundcovers. Soft landscaping can also be supplemented with some elements of hard landscaping such as concrete and brick pavers however, it is important that most of the landscaping be soft permeable landscaping.
For information on Landscape Regulations, reference the Zoning Bylaw.
Landscaping includes a variety of options like plants, trees, grass or rocks available at your local home and garden center. Your chosen material must allow water to easily flow through. Using concrete to make your driveway larger is not allowed.
Dryland Turf
Dryland grass mix can keep Regina yards green with less water and can handle our dry summers. Adding clover to your lawn mix is also an option. Try it!
Perennial & Shrub Gardens
Not a fan of mowing grass? Plant perennials that come back year after year. There are colourful flowering perennials and groundcovers, ornamental grasses and fruit-bearing shrubs. Once established, these plants knit closely together and help prevent weed growth. Good options include Daylily, Haskap, Spirea, Chives/Onions, Iris, Peony, Dianthus, Spotted Deadnettle and Pussytoes. The Regina Floral Conservatory has information on perennial plantings appropriate for this zone.
Xeriscaping
A xeriscape garden needs little water and often includes native plants. Decorative boulders and mulch can be used to create a unique landscape. Good options include Karl Foerster Grass, Blue Fescue Grass, Yarrow, Sedum, Oriental Poppy, Johnny-Jump-Up, Juniper, Sea Buckthorn and Nanking Cherry.
Trees
When choosing a tree, think about the size of your yard, amount of sun and water. Small yard? Try a small tree such as: Romance Cherry, Crab Apple, True North Linden, Amur Maple, Upright Colorado Spruce, Top Gun Bur Oak, Showy Mountain Ash. Please note, new Ash Trees (Fraxinus spp.) are not allowed in Saskatchewan due to concern for the invasive species of Emerald Ash Borer.
Plants need water, but not all need a lot.
Plants grown in our city are used to a small amount of rain. When planning your yard, think about how much water it will need. Turf, for example, needs a lot of water to stay bright green. Take time to think about the value of water and how you can make small changes to use less for your yard.
Downspouts & Sump Pumps
Sometimes drainage from downspouts and sump pumps can cause unwanted pooling in your yard. A landscape solution for this is to create a rain garden - an area where extra water is captured and can slowly seep into the ground. Rock mulch and drought/water tolerant plants are used to accommodate changing moisture conditions. Rain gardens can be a beautiful addition to your yard and don’t require mowing! Please note, homeowners are not permitted to direct their pipes and downspouts onto adjacent properties.
Easements
When planning to landscape, ensure you don’t run into a pipeline or any other underground infrastructure in the easement. Contact Sask 1st before you dig a spot for your new apple tree.
Boulevard Care
By maintaining the side boulevards, you are helping to keep your neighbourhood looking beautiful.
A Boulevard is the strip of land between the curb and the sidewalk and between the sidewalk and the property line or, where there is no sidewalk, the strip of land between the curb and the property line.
The portion between the curb and sidewalk is often referred to as a separated or side boulevard, as it is on the side of the street and separated from the property by the sidewalk. It is typically planted with grass and trees and may be located at the front or side of a property. The portion of boulevard back of the sidewalk is also called part of the boulevard.
Separated Boulevard Care
Some properties in Regina have a separated boulevard. We appreciate it when property owners take care of the boulevard in front of, and at the side of their homes as part of their regular yard maintenance.
During the development of a subdivision, the developer typically plants the grass and trees and then maintains the boulevards until complete. After home completion, the City may allow the property owner to change the landscape of their front or side yard boulevard to match their landscaping, or to a low maintenance landscape instead. The owner will be required to enter into a maintenance agreement with the City as a condition of being permitted to change the landscaping on the separated boulevard.
Property owners can quickly create a low maintenance space with mulch or aggregate; or create a more lavish landscape with zone appropriate perennials, herbs, vegetables and native grasses.
Follow the Boulevard Landscape Guidelines and fill out the Boulevard Landscapes Agreement to transform your space.
Boulevard Planting Tips
Use these helpful tips to help you landscape your boulevard.
Removing the existing sod
For best results, existing material should be removed before it is replaced with new material. If it isn’t first removed, the grass and weeds may grow through the next layer of material. To dig up the existing sod:
- Cut the sod into parallel strips 1 foot wide using an edger or sharp spade. These strips can then be cut into 1- to 2-foot lengths, depending on the density of the turf and the thickness of the pieces.
- Pry up one end of a piece of sod and slide the spade or fork under it. Lift out the precut piece, making sure to include the grass’s fibrous roots.
- If the underside of the sod contains loose soil, a fork may work best, as this soil can be shaken back onto the surface when the sod is lifted.
- Use a shovel and fork to remove loose sections of turf material, making sure to remove the plant and roots while leaving as much soil as possible.
- Continue digging up the sod until you have a clean space.
- Do not dig too closely or deep around City trees. Take care to remove the layer of turf and no tree roots.
Annuals, perennials, low shrubs and vegetables
- Before planting, deposit a thick layer of fresh soil and compost, appropriate for the plants being planted.
- Prepare to water your newly planted perennials regularly for the first few seasons as they establish. Once the roots have been better established, they should require less water.
- Choose drought-tolerant plants appropriate for the Saskatchewan climate. The Regina Floral Conservatory has information on plantings appropriate for this zone.
Low maintenance landscaping ideas
- Cover the newly dug space with a layer of landscape fabric. This will ensure that no remaining weed seeds or grass will grow through the mulch.
- Apply a thick (at least 7 cm) layer of mulch on top of the landscape fabric. Some great low maintenance and cost-effective ideas are:
- Pine, spruce or cedar mulch
- Bark nuggets
- Small or medium pea rock, river rock or other decorative rock (all rocks or stones to be less than 40mm or 1.5 inch diameter)
Lawn Care
A healthy lawn will help prevent weed establishment and growth. Lawns require regular mowing, watering and fertilizing. To help water reach your grass roots, you should aerate your lawn and remove thatch.
Aerating benefits your lawn by allowing water, oxygen, and nutrients to reach your lawn's root system. It is best to aerate your lawn in the spring or fall if your lawn seems compacted, or before fertilizing to help nutrients seep into the soil. One of the best ways to fertilize your lawn and help the environment is to leave your grass clippings on your lawn.
Provide two to three cm of water every seven to ten days to grow healthy lawns with deep roots. Water in the morning or evening when there is less wind and heat. Set your lawn mower wheel height at 7.5 cm. Mowing at a higher height promotes vigorous grass growth with deep root systems, which in turn, discourages weeds and insects.
Overgrown Vegetation on Private Property
The Community Standards Bylaw applies to private property and regulates the maintenance of properties and structures in Regina. Property owners must not allow their property to become overgrown with grass or vegetation taller than 15 centimetres (6 inches). Intentionally planted vegetation such as shrubs, perennials or a vegetable garden are not considered a violation, even if the height exceeds 15cm.
Overgrown Grass Complaints
Before you make a complaint, consider if the vegetation is over 15 centimetres (six inches) high or not intentionally planted, such as a vegetable or perennial garden.
If you believe there is a problem with overgrown grass or vegetation at a property, submit a Service Request online. The complaint will be forwarded to Bylaw Enforcement and assigned to an officer for investigation.
If the officer determines that a property owner is in violation of the Community Standards Bylaw, the owner will be issued an Order to Comply requesting that the overgrown grass be cut. Failure to comply with the Order may result in a violation ticket being issued or the overgrown grass being cut by the City and the costs being applied to the property owner’s taxes.
Weed Control Act
The Weed Control Act is a specialized regime concerned with managing prohibited, noxious and nuisance weeds that may threaten humans, livestock, crops or the environment. Unlike the Community Standards Bylaw, the Act is not concerned with aesthetics.
Prohibited and noxious weeds are those specific species considered to be a threat to agriculture, human health, or the environment due to their invasive nature or toxic properties. Nuisance weeds are those species targeted because of their aggressive behaviour over native species.
Regina’s Good Neighbour Guide provides an overview of Regina’s municipal bylaws that govern city neighbourhoods and best practices for being a good neighbour.
