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Your Garden... dle gateway to your home The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, June 14, 2005 - B3 Tackling your landscape is a daunting task. Knowing who to talk to, what steps to take and of course finding out how much landscaping costs, is equally, if not more daunting. Mike and Julien at the Garden Wizard pride themselves in caring for people and ensuring that no one is left in the dark. THE FIRST STEP IN LANDSCAPING IS UNDERSTANDING ITS IMPORTANCE. Your garden is the gateway to your home. It is the first thing people notice when they pass by your property and like it or not leads people to draw instant conclu- sions about you, your family, and your lifestyle. Landscaping is a highly recognized investment to your home. In fact, statistically it is one of the three top ways of improving the value of your home, recovering up to and in some cases surpassing, 100% return on invest- ment. Along with kitchens and bathrooms, Real Estate experts agree that spending money on your landscape pays big dividends. Aside from the investment potential and simple curb appeal, landscaping saves energy by reducing air conditioning needs up to 75% and maxi- mizing winter solar heat gain. Trees and shrubs absorb and filter noise, and most importantly increases health by filtering pollutants, releasing oxygen and reducing stress. WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT? Call the Garden Wizard, a landscape design and con- struction company. The main focus of our projects are integrating plant material, stonework, water features and lighting into residential homes. We guide our clients through a step by step process, starting with a one hour consultation to observe and listen to the clients desires and wishes. The staff at Garden Wizard then develops a landscape plan charged out at $75/hr. Clients can expect to pay between $225 and $750 for their property to be professionally designed. The design is the most critical part to the entire project as it takes into consideration an array of criteria. Slopes, drainage, entertainment/play area, seasons of interest, privacy, noise, budget to name a few. A professional design is the map to your dream garden. SO, WHAT DOES IT COST? As far as the actual installation of a landscape project it depends. Do you want the Pinto or the Porsche? Typically Garden Wizard clients are spending between $5,000 to $50,000 on increasing the usable space to their property. Experts say to budget approx. 10% of the value of your home towards landscaping. At the Garden Wizard projects are almost always broken up to meet budget and timing so don't worry about tackling everything all at once. Approach landscaping the same way as when you decorate your home, one room at a time. Think about a living room ... how much do you spend on one room? You have couches, t.v.s, paint, pictures, lamps and so on ... and that's just one room. Let the Garden Wizard develop an easy approach to your outdoor rooms .... Backyard patio and plantings this year ..... front walkway next year. WHO IS THE GARDEN WIZARD? Mike and Julien are in their sixth year of pleasing clients and beautifying properties in the Milton/Oakville area. They each have extensive field experience along with a diploma in Horticulture from Niagara College. They employee a crew of three and come equipped with all the necessary tools to implement the project of your dreams. Mike and Julien are local Milton residents and enjoy two energetic Weimaraner dogs in their spare time. The Garden Wizard process is relaxed and informative; professional and enjoyable. From the design to installation the Garden Wizard has a passion and it grows. TFIC 905-208-6699 www.gardenwizard.ca See our ad on pg B8 colour to your garden & hardy specimens for foi round character and co 7429 Fifth Line, Milton arune of Ro s Right at the east end Saturday, June 18th, 10-11 a.m. of Main Street 905-876- 4100 r 7wI a îrfr 1 i - It's not too late ta add fill in blank spots! O SHRUBil5k - Beautiful, undation and accent plantings. DA R- Evergreens add year lour to your yard. 2j/ M