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Edmonton Fall Home Show: Make the most of your outdoor living space

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The fall is the perfect time to plan for how to extend your outdoor world with advice from landscaping and garden experts.

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Craig Topilko, of GTS Landscaping based in St. Albert, likes to assess a yard for any outstanding issues before planning the landscaped space of a customer’s dreams. Photo by Supplied /Postmedia
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Between fire tables, wind screens and all-season televisions, many hardy Edmontonians have found creative ways to extend patio season at home. But for those still searching for the coolest trends in outdoor living spaces, there is the Edmonton Fall Home Show, Oct. 13 to Oct. 15 at the Edmonton Expo Centre.

Some of the 175 vendors and exhibitors at the Fall Home Show include garden and landscape companies like Newhart Landscaping, The Great Outdoors Landscaping and Greentree Outdoor Living.

Greentree is a local design-build company that will bring a team of designers to the home show to help homeowners explore a wide range of projects. Landscape designer Breanne Sheppard says the cooler season is when they can lay the necessary groundwork for projects like decks, fences and pergolas.

“We can arrange free consultations during the show to get a head start on outdoor projects, preparing the design and get homeowners set up for their project and to be first in line in the spring,” she says.

Craig Topilko, of GTS Landscaping based in St. Albert, says that before homeowners execute plans for an outdoor space, especially if they have an older home, they should have their yard assessed for issues.

“Some people want a fancy patio or new fence and more trees. But if you just bought a house and the home inspection says there are challenges, you don’t want to spend money refurbishing the yard without making those problems go away first,” says Topilko, who has been a landscape renovator for more than 25 years.

Problems can include settlement, foundation issues and drainage problems that causes heaving concrete or damaged landscaping. These are issues that don’t present themselves in new home construction, but most certainly come with an older home in one way or another.

“People call us because they know what they want but are at a loss as to where to start. We’re good at going into an old property and figuring out what the problems are before we talk about the fancy stuff,” says Topilko, who will be at the show for all three days. “If you want to talk about problems and technical things with your landscaping, that’s what I’ll be there to do.”

He says fall and winter are the best time to plan a new yardscape for the next season when landscapers aren’t as busy, and the details can roll out at a relaxed and thoughtful pace.

The Edmonton Fall Home Show runs Friday, Oct. 13 from noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Save $2 per ticket by purchasing online at edmontonfallhomeshow.com

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