Landscape Design
A scale plan of the yard, drainage and paths included, with a plant list suited to the Townships climate. The drawing settles the slopes before the shovel moves.
See the service →TerraViva — Sherbrooke, Eastern Townships
A yard built for the Townships climate
Design, lawn, walls, patios, planting and irrigation: TerraViva levels with a laser, compacts gravel in lifts and lays drainage before building, so no thaw shifts the work. In Sherbrooke and the Townships.
2%minimum slope to move water away from the foundation
15 cmthickness per lift of compacted gravel
8municipalities served across the Townships
The method
A yard is planned before it is dug
The slope is set with a laser and the drainage goes in before the first paver. Here is the order every TerraViva job follows.
01
Laser survey
The slope, the runoff direction and the frost depth are recorded on a laser level, so water moves away from the house at the first rain.
02
Stripping and drainage
The organic soil is removed and gravel compacted in fifteen-centimetre lifts, with the French drain laid before building.
03
The build
Pavers, blocks, sod or plants: every element goes on the prepared base, level and at the right slope.
04
Finish and mulch
Cedar mulch, polymeric-sand joints and a rolled surface: the job closes clean, ready for the first rain.
Our services
What we build around Sherbrooke
Lawn and Sod Installation
Leveled topsoil, Kentucky bluegrass sod rolled out and watered on a tight schedule. A lawn that roots before the first frost.
See the service →
Retaining Walls
Stone or block wall with a compacted gravel footing and a French drain behind it. Townships soil freezes over a metre deep: the drain decides how long the wall stands.
See the service →
Patios and Interlocking Pavers
Clay or concrete pavers on a crushed-stone base, joints in polymeric sand. A level patio that does not shift in the thaw.
See the service →
Tree and Hedge Planting
Cedars, spruces and hardwoods planted at the right spacing, staked and mulched. The root collar stays above grade: that is what saves the tree come spring.
See the service →
Irrigation Systems
Rotary heads or drip lines by zone, a controller on a timer and a rain sensor. Each zone waters its fair share, without drowning the lawn.
See the service →The company
A landscape that holds the Townships frost, not two seasons
A failed yard shows itself within the first year: a paver that sinks in April, a lawn that yellows in August, a wall that leans two centimetres after the winter. These flaws almost always come from what is hidden — poorly compacted soil, a missing drain, a grade set by eye. That is where we start.
After five winters, a well-laid yard has not moved a millimetre: the paver stays level, the hedge keeps its line and the drain carries the thaw as it did on day one. That is what we warrant in writing, structure by structure, using materials chosen to take the frost and the temperature swings of the Townships.
- Stripping to the mineral soil on every job
- Gravel compacted in fifteen-centimetre lifts
- French drain laid before building
- Written warranty, structure by structure
In the field
Drainage tells the truth about a landscape
The first place a bad job shows itself is at the edge of the patio, where a paver sinks in April because water pooled underneath all winter. That dip is not the paver failing — it is the base settling where the drainage was never thought out. The crushed-stone base and the French drain are what keep the surface flat through the freeze-thaw cycle, and they are written into every quote.
The seasons order the work. Sod and plants go in from spring to early fall, when roots can take hold before the frost; walls and patios run a little longer, but the base must be compacted before the ground freezes. TerraViva reserves the warm window for anything living and keeps excavation for dry ground, because compacting mud is how a wall leans a year later.
Frost and thaw test a base harder than steady cold. A January thaw loads the soil with water, then the freeze makes it heave. That is why the gravel goes in lifts and the drain runs to daylight — two barriers that take the movement, so the surface does not.
Reviews
What homeowners say
A thirty-square-metre paver patio installed in four days, on a well-compacted crushed-stone base. The polymeric-sand joints have h…
Marc-André T. — Rock Forest
Block retaining wall behind the house, with a French drain and a filter fabric. The lot sloping toward the lake held water and the…
Isabelle P. — Magog
New lawn in Kentucky bluegrass sod over soil levelled with a plank. Watered on TerraViva's schedule, it rooted before the October …
David L. — Sherbrooke
A two-metre cedar hedge planted at the right spacing, with cedar mulch and stakes. Eleven cedars all took, none wind-burned. The s…
Geneviève R. — Coaticook
Zoned irrigation with rotary heads for the lawn and drip lines for the beds, plus a rain sensor. The water bill did not rise and t…
Pierre-Luc M. — Lennoxville
Service area
Areas served
The blog
Latest guides and advice
2026-09-12
The stages of a landscape plan, from the visit to the build
Site survey, path layout, plant choice: a landscape plan follows a precise order. Here are the four stages and what each
2026-08-28
Front yard: the entry, the lawn and the neighbour's eye
The front yard is seen from the street before it is lived: the entry, the lawn edge and the feature tree make the first
2026-08-15
When to lay sod: the calendar that decides whether it takes
Spring or early fall: sod goes down when the soil is warm and the nights are cool. Here are the windows, the summer trap
A yard to rethink in mind?
Describe the lot, send a few photos and rough dimensions: we prepare a detailed quote, slope and drainage included.
Request an estimate