Landscaping

8 Ways to Use Sand in Your Commercial Landscaping Projects

12 Apr 2021
8 Ways to Use Sand in Your Commercial Landscaping Projects

As a commercial landscaper, you’ve likely done a lot of work over the years, and in hundreds of different houses.

Core to the process of good professional landscaping is the usage of good materials. You want a solid foundation on which you build off the rest of what you do. After all, you live and die by the quality and look of your work, so it makes sense that you constantly want to innovate and figure out how to use new materials.

One such unique product you can use in your projects is sand. There are actually a surprising number of uses for this landscaping sand, and here we’ll detail exactly what you can do with it!

1. Edging

One of the most visually appealing and functionally practical uses is to edge around the property you’re working on with sand. Essentially, you want to just create a border around pathways, sidewalks, or along property lines. 

This simple application immediately improves the look of your home, just based on visuals. However, there are also functional purposes to edge around with sand. It’s critical in preventing erosion. By setting hard boundaries, you reduce the risk that these parts of your current project will wash out or receive too much water over time.

When it comes to what type of sand you can use, there are countless options, but a supplier like Peel Landscape Depot can help you decide what’s the best for your client’s needs.

2. A Rock Garden

This is a more niche choice that will depend on the whims of your latest client. A Japanese rock garden comes from a long and ancient practice of pouring down sand and then arranging rocks in an aesthetically pleasing way.

They’re absolute beauties to look at, and you may find yourself even Zenning out in the creation of one. Planning and designing such a rock garden can really bring inner peace and help turn your latest client’s yard into a place of tranquility that they’re sure to enjoy. There’s also room for a lot of creativity here, whether you want to make fountains, landscapes, or just stepping stones.

3. Walkways

Creating walkways will require using a material slightly more adjacent to sand, but that still falls within the category. Using pea gravel, you can add a variety of colours and textures to the yard you’re working on. It’s popular because of how inexpensive it is and how well it works for flat and textured areas.

More importantly, you can use the material to lay out an entire walkway to walk down. Alternatively, try lining small gardens or doing the aforementioned edging, except this time around trees or other foliage. The possibilities are endless, and will mostly depend on the whims of your customer.

4. Weed Prevention

This is a service you can offer for those who find themselves struggling with an overgrowth of weeds on their party. Even if they’re not currently struggling with this, it can work as an early form of prevention, which is naturally the best medicine. Basically, when using the weed wraps that you may put under rock and mulch beds, simply put down a layer of sand as a base. It’ll add another layer of defense against weed growth.

You can also try placing sand under aggregate materials to add stability and reduce weed growth. After all, there’s nothing that loses a customer faster than getting a yard perfect only for it to be suddenly overgrown with weeds sprouting up all over the place.

5. A Beach Retreat

A slightly more Western alternative to the Japanese rock garden, this option is for those customers who really want the feel of the beach right in their backyard. 

For this project, you need to clear an area of grass, weeds, and other dirt. Once that’s been done, put down a layer of gravel, and then lay down some soft sand (there are many options). You’ll need a sizable amount to achieve the desired effect, but if done well, you’ll have created something that’s completely unique and which offers an air of summer days and luxurious comfort.

6. Dealing With Aggregates

Building off on a tangent to weed prevention, you may find that sand is perfect as a base foundation material for other aggregates that you end up using in conventional landscaping projects.

Over time, aggregates will settle if they don’t have a stable foundation, ruining their look. Because of sand’s unique physical properties and traits, it’s perfect to use a tamping tool on it and compact the underlying material, creating a stable foundation for your landscape or construction project. 

7. Playground for the Kids

This is one to sell to those who have a bunch of rambunctious little kids. If you’re landscaping for these people happens to include the creation or modification of a backyard playground, then sand is an invaluable tool.

Critically, it prevents young kids from falling and hurting themselves on a hard surface. Whether you’re just creating a sandbox or a larger play area, the material is perfect for providing a soft, fun surface that reduces injury and inspires the imagination.

8. Between Pavers

The final suggestion we have for you is to use sand as a stability tool for walkways. If you’re using stone or concrete pavers, sand works as an excellent foundation layer and helps to keep pavers from shifting too much. It can even stop breakage, preventing client revisions. Make sure to use a gritty sand here.

Final Thoughts

While the possibilities for how sand can be used in a landscaping project aren’t endless, they’re pretty darn close. You’ll find them perfect for customers with niche requirements that need a beach or a rock garden, and you’ll also appreciate how well it works for a variety of basic foundational needs.

For more information on how you can incorporate a bit of sand into your commercial landscaping project, particularly if you need landscaping with sand in Brampton, reach out to us at Peel Landscape Depot. You can call us at 1-888-290-1216 or contact us through our supply page located right here.