Keeping it green

SmartScape Landscaping uses a natural approach to create beautiful custom landscapes in the Kootenays

This is an example of a private home in the Kootenays that was xeriscaped by SmartScape Landscaping. — Photo courtesy Libby Peter

For Libby Peter, who is the owner of SmartScape Landscaping in Kimberley, there’s a lot more to landscaping than just installing plants and shrubs that look pretty. Her company specializes in native plant landscaping and xeriscaping—which means designing with landscaping techniques based on water conservation and the utilization of plants indigenous to the region. According to Peter, this approach requires less maintenance than traditional landscaping and it helps to promote the natural biodiversity of the region.

Peter started SmartScape Landscaping in 2003 when she saw there was a need for native plant landscaping in the Kootenays.

“I built a house in Kimberley and after I built it I thought, ‘You know, I would love for this to look like it just popped up in the forest and that my yard could look like a chunk of grassland,’ ” said Peter. “And then I thought, ‘Why don’t people landscape with native plants?’ So I looked it up online and, at that point, nobody was really doing it, so I thought, ‘Well, that’s what I want for my yard, so maybe other people want that.’ I started the company and we were busy the first year and have been busy ever since.”

SmartScape Landscaping has designed and developed many residential and commercial landscaping projects around the Kootenays. Peter said her company is the main landscaper for the City of Kimberley and that SmartScape Landscaping has been employed by Kimberley Alpine Resort, the Forest Crowne neighbourhood in Kimberley and the Bull River Guest Ranch east of Cranbrook. The company has also landscaped private homes in Jaffray, Fernie, Cranbrook and Invermere.

From start to finish, Peter is committed to providing her clients with an exceptional product. She will spend hours with them, sharing ideas and creating a unique vision for each landscape.

“I’ll probably come back once, twice or three times,” said Peter, “depending on if it’s a tricky area for sunlight. I’ve been known to park a chair outside of someone’s property and sit there and think about it, because it is more important where we place our plants than in traditional landscaping, because we are hoping they will grow without supplemental water and plant food.”

In addition to native plant landscaping and xeriscaping, SmartScape Landscaping installs irrigation systems, waterfalls, ponds, streams and pools as well as retaining walls, decks, stairs and fences.

For more information on SmartScape Landscaping, see their website.