Fern Ridge

Wild Life Friendly and Pollinator Supportive Garden

After over 10 years of working in my garden along traditional lines, e.g. vegetables, flowers, fruits and a grass lawn, I realized that things needed to change (including not having to dig in my late 70’s!) Given the changes that we face, I looked at creating the above.

I found an expert, I call him my Landscape Architect, who developed a superb design which included over 100 plants in 50+ species, almost all Canadian Nativars. That was the easy bit given that a) we are in Brampton (brick clay anybody?), b) the house we purchased back in 2010 had been a rental and one group had covered much of the garden with stones for their dogs (no more mud in the house!) and c) there was little evidence of investing in improving the garden. At this stage, I was introduced, by my Landscape Architect, to Marcus Kotyk and Fern Ridge Eco-Landscapes – for which I am genuinely grateful.

Marcus and his team set out on 3 specific improvements, which work together to create a delightful result. First, improve the soil (clay and stones). Second find and obtain the plants, I have little experience of this. Third, plant them. I did much of this for smaller plants but the really challenging items were planted by Marcus and team. As well as many other difficult plants, this included a Red Oak which can support 400 species of Lepidoptera.

All this was done quickly. The Landscape Architect said do not do it all at once as the complexity goes up fast, so we did this in 4 seasons – Summer and Fall in 2022, and Spring and Summer in 2023. Already the plants are driving ahead. For example, the Red Oak is twice as high as when Marcus and team planted it.

Last fall, the quality of Fern Ridge’s work was very clearly demonstrated by the pollinators – a key objective. To quote our Landscape Architect, watching a video in Fall 2023, “WOW! That’s amazing activity…and variety too! Warms the heart!”

P.S. We already have Wildlife Friendly Certification.

I first encountered Marcus when he was a student in horticulture at our local high school. His enthusiasm and eagerness to learn caught my attention immediately. Eventually I came to mentor him for several years, first as my employee and then when he started his own company. I continue to be impressed, now by his skills at eco-landscaping, his horticultural knowledge and the fact that he’s simply a good person – one whom I’ve come to trust with the installations of my own landscape designs. He’s way ahead of the pack and I’m proud of the fact that he’s not slowing down in his learning. I recommend him and his company without reservation.

Marcus and his team were recommended by another landscaper to solve our backyard drainage issues and they did! We now have two beautiful rainwater gardens that have solved the issue.
We also have a lovely front garden that Marcus designed and installed with plants that are primarily native and flower at various times.
Marcus and his team have been a pleasure to work with and we continue to use their services.

Marcus and the team at Fern Ridge Eco-Landscapes were recommended to us by Sean James and they exceeded all our expectations in installing Sean’s landscape design. From the permeable driveway, to the raingarden, to the flower bed, they paid great care and attention to all aspects of the prep and installation.

It’s a rare contractor that makes you feel like you’re collaborating to build the best possible final product but Marcus certainly achieved this. Not only are we very pleased with the result, Marcus has been generous with his advice and time after the fact to ensure that we’re 100% happy and that everything is working out as planned. And we’ve had many neighbours ask about and admire the arrangement and plantings.

We’re very happy to recommend Marcus and Fern Ridge to anyone seeking sustainable, beautiful landscapes that they’ll enjoy for many years to come!

Marcus and his team provided a wonderful design we will be using to transform our property over the next several years. The attention to detail when installing our new fire pit area next to our living retaining wall has given us confidence in their workmanship. We are looking forward to moving ahead with the next phase of our project with our planting and rain garden.