15+ years building in Winnipeg’s climate
With contractors who’ve completed over 1,000 projects between them, in every soil condition this region throws at us.
Serving St. Boniface, Norwood & Norwood Flats, Winnipeg
Landscaping in St. Boniface & Norwood, Winnipeg
BerryHill Landscaping & Construction builds and renovates yards across St. Boniface, Norwood East and West, and Norwood Flats — the oldest continuously settled ground in Winnipeg. We handle riverbank retaining walls, narrow-lot patios, drainage corrections and full yard renovations, all built in-house and engineered for Red River clay and freeze-thaw winters. For a free on-site consultation and quote, call 204-801-7669.
15+years building in Manitoba’s climate
1,000+projects completed by our crews
300+reviews across Google, Houzz & more
St. Boniface has been settled since 1818, when Father Provencher established the mission that became the heart of francophone Western Canada. It stayed its own city for more than sixty years before joining Winnipeg under Unicity in 1972, and the street pattern still shows it — the diagonals through Old St. Boniface follow the original Red River lots, long narrow strips running back from the water.
Norwood was subdivided in 1891 but stayed mostly empty until the 1900s. Norwood Flats is younger and stranger: London Life bought the old Norwood Golf Club land in 1947 and built roughly 205 houses there in a single blitz, laid out around pedestrian parkways and rear serviceways instead of a normal grid. Two centuries of settlement in one service area means no two yards here are quite the same job.
Why landscaping in St. Boniface and Norwood is a different job
Three things set this area apart from a standard Winnipeg suburb, and all three change what a project costs:
You are probably inside a regulated riverbank zone. The City’s waterway permit area extends 350 feet from the normal summer water level of both the Red and the Seine — and it specifically captures landscaping that changes ground level, adds retaining walls, or builds decks and pools. In Norwood Flats that band covers the whole riverfront tier along Lyndale Drive. A geotechnical report stamped by a Manitoba-licensed engineer can be required. We scope this before we quote, not after.
Lyndale Drive is live flood infrastructure. The Lyndale dike went in in 1948 and was raised about four feet after the 1950 flood. Behind it the ground is dead flat with almost no natural fall, so surface water simply sits. Getting water off a Flats lot is a designed grading and drainage job, not a matter of sloping it toward the back.
The riverbank moves. These are lacustrine clay banks and they slump. The City rebuilt a 500-metre stretch of the Lyndale bank between Gauvin and Monck in 2016–17 with rock-fill columns and a limestone terrace after the 1976 timber pile wall reached end of life. Anything heavy near the top of a bank here needs to be placed with that in mind.
Narrow lots, back lanes and century-old services. Old St. Boniface and Norwood East and West run to narrow frontages with rear lanes, mature elm canopy, and rubble-stone or early poured basements. Access is tight, roots are everywhere, and there is a hundred years of fill, old cisterns and abandoned pipe under the average back yard.
Our landscaping services in St. Boniface & Norwood
Whether you are on a narrow Provencher-area lot, a Norwood Flats parkway frontage, or a riverfront property on Lyndale or Kingston Row, we handle:
- Riverbank retaining walls — Engineered terracing and stabilisation near the Red and the Seine, with the permit and geotechnical work handled properly. See retaining walls.
- Drainage and regrading — Moving water off flat ground behind the dike, plus downspout and sump routing that meets City rules. See grading and drainage.
- Narrow-lot patios and courtyards — Small-footprint paving stone patios that make a deep, narrow back yard usable instead of leftover.
- Heritage-sympathetic front yards — Front walks, veranda steps and front yard landscaping that suit a 1910s house instead of fighting it.
- Rear serviceway parking pads — The Flats layout puts your vehicle behind the house off a 26-foot serviceway. We build the pads and aprons that go with it, plus paving stone driveways.
- Decks, planting and full renovations — deck construction, shade-tolerant tree and shrub planting under a closed elm canopy, and full yard renovations for yards that have not been touched in decades.
Areas we serve around St. Boniface & Norwood
We serve Old St. Boniface, Norwood East, Norwood West and Norwood Flats, along Provencher Boulevard, Taché Avenue, St. Mary’s Road, Lyndale Drive and Kingston Row. Neighbouring areas we work in include Windsor Park and Niakwa, St. Vital and Royalwood. See all our Winnipeg and Manitoba service areas.
Why St. Boniface & Norwood homeowners choose BerryHill
300+ reviews and recommendations
Across Google, Houzz, Facebook and HomeStars.
No subcontractors, ever.
The crew that quotes your job is the crew that builds it — except licensed gas fitting, where the law requires it.
We know the permit process here.
Waterway permits, geotechnical reports and riverbank setbacks are routine for us. We tell you at the quote stage whether your project needs one, so there are no surprises halfway through.
Comfortable on century-old properties.
Rubble foundations, mature elms, tight lanes and buried surprises. We plan for them rather than discovering them.
How it works
- Free on-site consultation
We come to your St. Boniface or Norwood property, read the existing grade, check how close you sit to the regulated riverbank zone, and talk honestly about what your budget buys. - Design, permits and fixed quote
One line-itemed price. If a waterway permit or an engineer’s report is needed, that is identified and priced up front, not added later. - Build and final walkthrough
Our own crews handle excavation and base prep first, then the hardscape and planting. We do not consider it finished until you sign off.
Book a free St. Boniface or Norwood landscaping quote
Riverbank wall that needs rebuilding, a Flats yard that holds water every spring, or a narrow lot you want to actually use? Call 204-801-7669 or book a free on-site consultation, and we’ll give you a real plan and price for your yard.
St. Boniface & Norwood landscaping questions
Who are the top landscapers in St. Boniface and Norwood, Winnipeg?
BerryHill Landscaping & Construction is among the top-rated landscaping companies serving St. Boniface and Norwood, with 15+ years of local experience, 300+ reviews across Google, Houzz, Facebook and HomeStars, and direct experience with riverbank permits and century-old properties. When comparing landscapers here, ask specifically whether they have done permitted work inside the City’s waterway zone — many have not.
Do I need a permit to build a retaining wall or patio near the river?
Quite possibly. The City’s waterway permit area runs 350 feet from the normal summer water level of the Red and the Seine, and it explicitly covers landscaping that changes ground level, adds retaining walls or other retaining structures, decks and pools. A geotechnical report sealed by a Manitoba-licensed professional engineer may also be required. We check your property against the regulated area before quoting.
Why does my Norwood Flats yard hold water every spring?
The Flats sits on reclaimed floodplain behind the Lyndale dike. It is exceptionally flat, so there is very little natural fall to move melt water anywhere. The fix is a designed drainage plan — regrading, swales, and correct downspout and sump discharge — rather than just adding topsoil.
Can you work on the Norwood Flats parkway lots?
Yes, and we know the layout. On the Places — Balsam, Beechwood, Cedar, Hemlock, Larchwood and Rosewood — the house fronts onto a seven-foot pedestrian parkway and vehicles come in from a rear serviceway. That means a front yard with no driveway and a back yard that carries the parking. Most crews price it wrong the first time.
Is my riverbank my responsibility?
In Manitoba, riverbank stabilisation on private property is generally the owner’s responsibility. That is why it is worth addressing slumping early, while it is still a terracing and planting job rather than an emergency engineering one.
Do you renovate yards at century-old St. Boniface homes?
Yes, it is a large part of our work here. Failed concrete walks and steps, heaved driveways, negative grade against a rubble foundation, and beds that have been root-bound by a seventy-year-old elm. We rebuild with proper base prep so it lasts this time.
How much does landscaping cost in St. Boniface or Norwood?
It depends on scope and on whether your property is inside the regulated riverbank area. Straightforward regrading and sod work starts in the low thousands. A permitted riverbank wall with an engineer’s report is a much larger project. We give detailed free on-site quotes so you see the full number before anything starts.
Can you get equipment into a narrow lot with a back lane?
Usually yes. We work compact equipment through lanes and side yards regularly in this part of the city, and where machine access genuinely is not possible we price the hand work honestly rather than discovering it mid-job.
Do you plant under mature elms?
Yes. Closed elm canopy means deep shade and heavy root competition, so species selection matters far more here than in a new suburb. We also work around the City’s Dutch elm disease rules, including the ban on elm pruning between April 1 and July 31.
Do you offer free estimates in St. Boniface and Norwood?
Yes. We provide free on-site consultations throughout St. Boniface, Norwood East and West, and Norwood Flats. We visit, measure, read the grade and drainage, and give you a clear line-itemed quote.