Category: Landscaping Supplies

Gardening season is here and now that the days are so much warmer, it is a great time to get your garden ready for planting! Even if you don’t live on a large property or in a rural area, you can still enjoy all the pleasures and benefits of gardening. Once you start looking into it, you will be amazed at how much you can do in a small space.

If you live in a townhome or simply have a small yard without a lot of extra green space, Greely Sand & Gravel has the perfect garden boxes to get you started. Choose between our 4' x 4' Raised Garden Boxes or our 2' x 3' Raised Garden Planters. Both products are made out of premium wood and will add both aesthetic appeal and functional garden space to your yard. Our 2' x 3' planters can even be placed on your deck or patio to preserve yard area.

Garden boxes and raised planters have many benefits that make them the perfect option for you if you are new to gardening or have limited outdoor space. Besides offering a clearly defined and contained space for your garden, boxes and planters help reduce weed growth, limit the amount of maintenance required, and allow for easier access to your plants, since they are raised off the ground.

Interested in trying your hand at vegetable gardening? Our 4' x 4' Raised Garden Box is an excellent place to start. Made locally at The Woodsource from untreated, natural hemlock, our Raised Garden Box is safe for organic growing and even has an open bottom to allow your plants to grow deep and healthy roots. Paired with our Greely’s Topdressing Soil, which is certified for organic growing, you can rest assured that you are giving your veggies a great and safe headstart!

We recommend starting with at least 12" of Greely’s Topdressing Soil, in order to give your plants the depth and nutrients they need to develop a healthy root system. If you already have a small garden or raised garden box and want to revive it this year, spring is a perfect time to add a few inches of Greely’s Topdressing Soil or Greely’s Mushroom Compost (also certified for organic growing) to your soil. Simply add the new soil on top and blend well using a hand trowel to ensure it is incorporated into the existing soil. Once this is done, you are ready to plant!

Our 2' X 3' Raised Garden Planters are perfect for adding colour and aesthetic appeal to your deck, patio, porch, or yard. Made from beautiful, sturdy cedar, our Raised Garden Planters have an enclosed bottom to keep your deck or patio clean while allowing enough depth for your flowers to flourish. Our Greely’s Topdressing Soil provides all the essential nutrients needed to grow strong, vibrant flowers. Try mixing and matching different varieties and colour schemes when picking your plants to create a beautiful look in your Raised Garden Planter.

Spring is in full swing but it is not too late to add a stunning Raised Garden Planter or a functional Raised Garden Box to your property! Learn more about both these amazing products in our convenient online store and place an order today. We offer delivery of bulk landscape products such as Greely’s Topdressing Soil or Greely’s Mushroom Compost that can be added to your order for Raised Garden Planters or Raised Garden Boxes.

Still have questions or want to see our products for yourself before placing an order? Come visit our landscape depot at 1971 Old Prescott Road in Greely to see the amazing array of landscaping materials we have to offer. Our friendly team of experts will be happy to assist you!

With all the sunshine and spring-like weather we have been having here in the Ottawa area, now is a perfect time to place an order for delivery of landscaping products like Mushroom Compost and Greely’s Topdressing Soil!

Did you know that you can place an order for exactly how much of each product you need and choose the date you want it delivered? No more navigating through crowded parking lots with bags and bags of soil and compost in your cart. Simply figure out how much product you need, place the order, mark the spot for delivery, and our experienced and professional team will take care of the rest!

Both our Mushroom Compost and our famous Greely’s Topdressing Soil are high-quality, locally sourced products that are certified for organic growing. So not only can we offer you convenient, scheduled delivery, but you can have peace of mind knowing that you are getting the very best when it comes to landscaping products for your next project.

Not sure how much product you need? Once you have the dimensions of the space you need to fill, use our handy Cubic Yard Calculator (located on most of our product pages on our website) to figure out how many cubic yards you will need. We always recommend adding a little extra, just to ensure you have enough to finish the job.

For smaller orders, or if you need multiple products for a job, consider ordering our Greely Gardening Bags. These bags come in three convenient sizes: ¼ cubic yard, ½ cubic yard, and full cubic yard. And if you need one bag of Greely’s Topdressing Soil and another bag of Mushroom Compost, you can have them delivered on the same day and save $25! Considering adding a third or fourth bag? Each subsequent bag you order for delivery on the same day will have a $25 discount!

Our Greely Gardening Bags are delivered using a forklift as they weigh several hundred pounds each at minimum. Some things to remember when deciding where you want your bag placed:

• The forklift needs at least nine feet wide and twelve feet high for clearance to navigate through fences or other tight areas.
• We can deliver to backyards only if there is enough clearance and a clear path for the forklift to drive safely to the desired location.
• We cannot place bags over a fence.
• We generally do not place bags inside buildings or garages. If you would like to have a bag placed in a building or garage, we ask that you be home at the time of delivery and have an alternate location decided upon in case the bag cannot be placed in your desired spot.
• Our forklift cannot drive over a sidewalk or down a City of Ottawa path. When completing a delivery, the products and machinery must remain on the homeowner’s property.

If you require a larger amount of a product, we offer delivery by dump truck for loads ranging in size from one to 22 cubic yards of Mushroom Compost, Screened Topsoil, or Greely’s Topdressing Soil.

When ordering a bulk load, it is important to pick a spot to have it delivered where there are no overhead wires and enough space for the product to be fully dumped on your property, without blocking any necessary entries or exits. While we do have several smaller dump trucks, each load to be dumped will still require at least a 15’ x 15’ space. It is not required to have a tarp down before a product is dumped, but we do recommend it if you do not want your product mixed with whatever might be on the ground underneath it. A tarp can also make for easier cleanup once you have used all of the product. Again, you will need a tarp that is at least 15’ x 15’, depending on the size of the load.

Landscaping season is once again in full swing and here at Greely Sand & Gravel, we are excited to be providing the people of Ottawa with high-quality products and excellent customer service, no matter what your project might be. Still have questions about our products or our different delivery options? Give our office a call at 613-821-3003 - our friendly and knowledgeable staff would be more than happy to assist you!

With so many of us trying hard to eat local, it’s no wonder that having homegrown produce has become so popular. Many people are trying their hand at growing their food, in both urban and rural settings. Whether you have a small garden box or a large backyard vegetable garden, the type of soil you use is key to producing robust, high-quality produce.

At Greely Sand & Gravel, we are proud to offer our customers two top-quality products that are certified for organic growing. Both our Greely’s Topdressing Soil, and our Mushroom Compost are excellent options if you are pursuing organic growing, or just want to make sure that you are using the best quality soil for your plants.

Greely’s Topdressing Soil has been a customer favourite for three decades! This specially blended triple-mix soil combines screened topsoil, black peat, and locally sourced Mushroom Compost to produce a product that is easy to work with and is certified for organic growing. If you are starting a new vegetable garden, garden box, or potted plants, Greely’s Topdressing Soil is the perfect choice! No need to add any extra fertilizers or soil conditioners - simply fill the area with Greely’s Topdressing Soil, plant your fruits and vegetables, water, and harvest. We recommend giving your plants at least 12” of soil depth to allow a strong and healthy root system to develop.

Greely’s Mushroom Compost comes from Carleton Mushroom Farm in Osgoode and is an organic soil conditioner that provides a variety of nutrients and minerals to your plants. If you have an existing garden and want to improve the soil quality, simply add Greely’s Mushroom Compost to your soil at a ratio of one part Mushroom Compost to two parts soil, ensuring that the Mushroom Compost is mixed well into the soil. Spring is the best time to add Mushroom Compost to your garden, as it will improve soil health before planting season.

Wondering what it means that these products are certified for organic growing? To receive this certification from CSI (Centre for Systems Integration), we undergo rigorous testing and inspection of our screening and blending procedures, and must regularly test and inspect our products to ensure that there is no variance in quality and no deviation from the standards that must be met to be certified for organic growing. This also means that our products are not treated with any chemicals, even those that might aid in preventing weed growth because that could invalidate our certification for organic growing.

In addition to having confidence that their soil is clean and top quality, our customers regularly report that fruits and vegetables grown in Greely’s Topdressing Soil are larger, juicer, and more vibrant than those grown in other soils. We have been making this soil blend from a trusted family recipe for more than 30 years, and have seen the incredible results firsthand. Choosing Greely’s Topdressing Soil and Greely’s Mushroom Compost means choosing to give your garden a head start.

When you choose Greely’s Topdressing Soil, or our Mushroom Compost, you can have peace of mind knowing that you are using a top-quality product to grow fruits and vegetables that you feel confident eating. We are pleased to be able to offer our customers these products that are certified for organic growing and available now for pick-up or delivery. To learn more about Greely’s Topdressing Soil or Mushroom Compost, and the convenient delivery options we offer, simply visit our online store or give us a call at 613-821-3003. We are your local partner for high-quality gardening products, certified for organic growing!

School is back in, the weather is cooling down, and summer activities are wrapping up for another year. Although landscaping may be the last thing on your mind during the Fall season, September can be a great time to put in some work around your property to make sure it is ready for you to enjoy in the Spring. Have you been dreaming about that perfect patio or new walking path? Maybe you need to replace or fix your driveway or walkway before the snow flies. If an interlock or patio stone project is on your to do list this Fall, you need to call Greely Sand & Gravel to make sure you have all the right products, just in time!

One of our more specialized products that can hugely impact the success of an interlock or patio stone project is our Premium Bedding Stone. Premium Bedding Stone, also known as High Performance Bedding, is similar to gravel except that it is made up of tiny, angular pieces. The shape of the stones allows them to fit together well, creating an excellent base for patio stone or interlock bricks. Premium Bedding Stone is self-compacting, and is designed to resist shifting when weight is placed on it, making it stable and secure. In areas where water may accumulate, Premium Bedding Stone also provides excellent drainage.

When using Premium Bedding Stone as your base for an interlock or patio stone project, you will not need crushed stone or stone dust. Simply excavate the area, add landscape edging around the perimeter, and fill the space with a layer of Premium Bedding Stone. We generally recommend a depth of approximately 4” - 6” for your layer of Premium Bedding Stone.

If you haven’t yet selected your patio stones, we are pleased to offer a variety of options here at Greely Sand & Gravel. Our large patio stones are popular with our customers as they are quick and easy to install and add a timeless, functional feature to your property. We also have several more unique options such as our “Big Foot” and “Paw Print” stones which are perfect for a fun walking path. Whether you are looking for something classic and functional or want to add a whimsical feature to your lawn, Greely Sand & Gravel has patio stones to fit your vision. Come and see them at our landscape depot in Greely or in our online store!

Along with your patio stones and Premium Bedding Stone, don’t forget to add some other essential products that will give your project a completed look. We supply top quality landscape edging which will keep your lines clean and distinct and help prevent your stones from shifting after installation. If you are doing a project involving interlock stone, you will want to pick up a bag or two of our Polymeric Sand. Available in grey, beige, white, and black, Polymeric Sand seals the gaps between the individual stones. Once you have set all your stones in place, simply pour the Polymeric Sand on top and sweep it into all the spaces between the stones. A quick sprinkle of water from the hose and your Polymeric Sand will set - finishing off your interlock project.

For more information regarding our Premium Bedding Stone, pavers, patio stones, landscape edging, Polymeric Sand, and more, visit our online store today! We are also open and ready to assist you five days a week at our two conveniently located landscape depots. Just because the summer is over doesn’t mean it is too late to make your landscaping dream a reality this year!

A time-tested classic, Riverwash Stone continues to be one of Greely Sand & Gravel’s most popular products, year after year! This stone is both durable and beautiful and can be used in so many different applications around your property. From creating a sturdy walking path, to outlining your pool, to providing excellent drainage, Riverwash Stone serves so many different purposes, all while looking attractive and requiring little maintenance.

Greely Sand & Gravel’s Riverwash Stone is locally sourced from the Ottawa Valley. The stones are carefully cleaned and sorted according to size. Depending on the specific area where the stones are collected, there can be variation in shape and colour - part of what makes this product unique and versatile! While it may look dusty and grey on a hot and dry day, rinsing off your Riverwash Stone with a hose will bring out its vibrant colours. From tones of red and pink to blues, greys, and whites, Riverwash Stone is a truly stunning assortment of stones that mesh together to create a clean, eye-catching element in your landscaping.

When it comes to sizing, Greely Sand & Gravel offers five different stone sizes to fit every project:

• ⅜” - ⅝”
• ¾” - 1 ½”
• ⅞” - 1”
• 1 ½” - 2”
• 2” - 5”

To create a walking path or a base for a patio, you generally will want to choose a smaller stone size to provide more stability. If your project involves making a border around a pool, garden, or along the edge of your property, a bigger size of stone will help fill the space and create a strong visual effect. A medium sized stone can be a great option to allow for drainage in spots of your property that may encounter more rain and groundwater.

If you are looking for a bigger stone with a similar look to Riverwash Stone, be sure to check out our Ornamental Pond Stone. These larger stones have the same overall colour scheme as Riverwash Stone, but are perfect for use around or as a base for a pond or water feature. When used on the bottom of a pond, Ornamental Pond Stone provides a very natural look, especially as the water and sunlight highlight the colour and variety of the stones.

It can be difficult to know exactly what size of stone would work well for a specific landscaping project. Some properties may even require multiple sizes of Riverwash Stone for different areas and purposes. If you are still unsure about which size of Riverwash Stone you need, stop by one of our two landscape depots to see the product for yourself! Our friendly and knowledgeable staff will be happy to assist you. And remember, the stones always look more vibrant when they have been given a good rinse!

Once you have decided on the size of stone you need, measure the length and width of the area you want to cover, in order to determine how much of the product you will need. For Riverwash Stone, we recommend a depth of at least 3” for the smaller stone sizes and at least 8” for the larger stone sizes, in order to ensure good coverage. Use our handy Cubic Yard Calculator on our online store to figure out how many cubic yards you will need. Riverwash Stone is available for delivery in bulk loads by dump truck, or in our convenient Greely Gardening Bags - now available in three sizes! When placing your order, don’t forget to add some of our Pro Silver Plus weed barrier fabric to keep weeds and grass from growing up through your Riverwash Stone.

Still have questions? Visit our online store now to learn more about our products and delivery options or pick up the phone and give us a call today at 613-821-3003.

Whether you are a contractor, homeowner, daycare operator, or school administrator, when you need playground products, Greely Sand and Gravel is here for you. We pride ourselves on offering highly tested playground products that are safe, visually appealing, and most importantly, fun!

At Greely Sand and Gravel, we carry three products that have been specifically developed and approved for use under and around children’s playground areas. These are Playground Stone, Playground Sand, Adventure Playground Mulch.

While each option has its own benefits to offer, any of these three products would make a great base for your play area or playground.

Ottawa Playground Stone is a washed, clear round pea stone that is perfectly sized for children to walk and play on. This stone is impact-tested and meets safety standards set out by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. Besides using it under and around a play structure, this stone is also a perfect option for creating a walking path or as the base for a rock garden.

Ottawa Playground Sand is also rigorously tested and meets safety standards set out by the City of Ottawa. This soft sand provides cushioning under swings, slides, and climbers, and is also a great option for sandboxes and sand tables. Wherever you use it, Ottawa Playground Sand is sure to be a popular option among children for playing, digging, and building.

Adventure Playground Mulch is composed of natural wood fiber that mats together well, creating a soft and cushioned surface, perfect for play. One of the major benefits of Adventure Playground Mulch is that it makes your play area accessible for people requiring assistive equipment such as walkers or wheelchairs. Greely Sand and Gravel’s Adventure Playground is certified for safe and accessible playground use by IPEMA - the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association.

When it comes to installing your playground product, we recommend a depth of at least 12”. This provides enough depth to allow for the products to compact and still provide sufficient cushioning, accessibility, and impact absorption. Additionally, if you are using Ottawa Playground Sand in your play area, a depth of 12” will allow plenty of room for digging and building with sand toys. To prevent weed growth, we strongly recommend using a weed barrier fabric below your playground product. Check out our online store to see some of our top quality options such as our Pro Silver Plus.

An added benefit of all three of our play products is their visual appeal. From clean, soft Ottawa Playground Sand, to the beautiful colours in our Ottawa Playground Stone (Tip: Rinse the stone down with a hose to bring out the vibrant shades), to the neutral wood tones of Adventure Playground Mulch, you will never need to compromise on aesthetics to find the perfect product for your play area.

Still have questions or want to see our playground products for yourself? Stop by one of our two conveniently located landscaping depots where our friendly staff members will be happy to assist you. Or, visit our online store today to learn more about these safe, accessible, and fun playground products!

Are you looking to add some visual pop to your property? Maybe your landscaping needs a refresh? There are so many options when it comes to adding colour, texture, and aesthetic elements to your gardens, lawn, and yard! Whether it’s accenting your pool, topping up the sand on your waterfront, or creating a beautiful stone path to your patio, Greely Sand & Gravel has the products to make your landscaping dreams a reality.

In addition to gravel and stone dust, we have a variety of beautiful decorative stones that can be used to create paths, borders, decorative features, or to provide drainage where needed. If you are looking for a classic riverstone, Greely Sand & Gravel is pleased to offer our customers five different sizes of high quality riverstone. Choose a smaller stone size to create a walking path or a bigger stone size for a border along your property or around your pool. Decorative stone is also an excellent and low maintenance option for shady areas on your property where grass may struggle to thrive.

Looking for something a bit more unique than riverstone? Our high-end decorative stone include red and black granite, brown marble, and white stone are stunning, timeless options, sure to be eye-catching! No matter which decorative stone option you choose, we strongly recommend using one of our weed barrier fabrics underneath your stone, to prevent weeds from growing up from the ground below. Additionally, using a weed barrier will keep your decorative stone from mixing with the soil and grass, preserving those nice clean edges! Remember to add a thick enough layer of stone (at least 3” depending on stone size) to fully cover the weed barrier fabric.

If your property has a waterfront, children’s play area, or another landscaping feature where sand is required, we have you covered with several of the most sought after types of sand available on the market. After many customer requests, we are now offering a specialty decorative sand, White Bunker Sand. This decorative sand is sourced all the way from Haliburton, Ontario and has a velvety soft texture paired with a vibrant aesthetic appeal. Perfect for beaches and waterfronts, White Bunker Sand is easy to rake, is firm enough to walk on comfortably, and provides quick and effective drainage.

Greely Sand & Gravel is also pleased to be able to provide our customers with Ottawa Playground Sand, a great choice for your family sandbox, outdoor play area or a beach. Meeting rigorous safety standards, this sand is safe for your children and offers hours of fun! As with our decorative stone, we strongly recommend placing a weed barrier below your sand to prevent weed growth.

Still unsure about what type of stone or sand is right for you? Interested in learning more about how you can have decorative stone or decorative sand delivered to your home? Give our team a call at 613-821-3003 to learn more about all our decorative products and our convenient delivery options. Our online store also offers lots of helpful information to get you started on planning your landscaping project. You can even pick up your desired product at our main site in Greely. Come visit us today!

With record-high levels of inflation, it can often feel that everything is more expensive these days! We are all looking for ways to make our budgets stretch farther, perhaps even when it comes to purchasing landscaping materials! Here at Greely Sand & Gravel, we are committed to providing top quality products with convenience and value for our customers. One of the ways we help you save money on your landscaping is by offering split load delivery to customers ordering more than one product at a time to a single location. Read on to find out more about this helpful, convenient, and cost-effective service!

How Split Load Deliveries work

Most of our delivery trucks are equipped with a middle gate to allow for two products to be carried on the same truck, without being mixed together. This means that customers who require two products for a project can have them delivered at the same time, on the same truck. For example, if you are working on a new flowerbed, you may want to order Greely’s Topdressing Soil for the base of the flowerbed, and then one of our many varieties of mulch to add visual appeal and weed protection to the finished flowerbed. On a split load truck, both these products could be delivered to your property on the same day and at the same time. The best part? You will save on the delivery cost on the second product, as opposed to having them delivered separately!

Split loads deliveries can be accommodated in all three of our truck sizes. Once you have used our handy Cubic Yard Calculator on our online store product pages, you will know how much of each product you need for your project. Use the table below to figure out if a split load delivery would be the best option for you.

When ordering a split load delivery, you can be confident that the products are kept completely separate during transport and our drivers ensure that the truck beds are checked and cleaned between deliveries to minimize mixture of products. Once the truck arrives at your home, our skilled drivers will dump the product on the back first, and then pull the truck forward to dump the second product, creating two separate piles. Depending on the size and shape of your property, our drivers may be able to deliver the two different products to different areas if required for your project. Whatever the situation, our team members are committed to working with you to place your products where you need them whenever possible. Interested in placing a split load order? Give us a call today at 613-821-3003!