Customer Support
Answers to frequently asked questions, with easy access to online forms and price calculators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most Asked Questions
We are generally active below the 401, between Dufferin and Victoria Park. You can see our service area broken out by postal code on our service area page.
Note that our winter service area is smaller than our summer service area, excluding the areas east of Bayview and north of Eglinton.
You can cancel most services without penalty at any time - here's a summary of how cancelation works for different types of jobs.
To request a cancel, just call or email our office at support@gardenzilla.ca.
Lawn Mowing, Garden Care, Fertilizer and Weed Control can be cancelled at any time. You will be responsible for the cost of any pro-rated services you used but have not yet paid for, or refunded for any services you have not yet received.
Hourly Services can be cancelled in advance of our arrival without penalty. You will still be responsible for any materials we had to purchase on your behalf, like plants.
Installations can be cancelled in advance of our arrival without penalty. You will still be responsible for any materials we had to purchase on your behalf, like plants. Deposits are otherwise fully refundable.
Snow Removal can be cancelled at any time - we will include a pro-rated final invoice or refund as appropriate. Note that the non-refundable deposit is forfeited when you cancel your snow removal services.
Invoices & Payments
Invoices are calculated based on our hourly rate multiplied by the number of staff who service your property, from the time we arrive at your property until the time we depart. We round our time on site up to the nearest five minutes.
In addition to the hourly rate on site, we have a standard charge for travel time that is applied to all invoices.
Finally, if you requested any additional materials (like mulch or soil) or requested that we remove debris from your property (we usually leave it neatly bagged for city collection at no charge), then those additional charges are applied to your invoice.
HST is applied to the total amount, and the invoice is emailed, usually the next business day.
We accept Visa, Mastercard, Email Money Transfers (EMTs) and cheques. We also accept cash, although cash payments has to be arranged via the office.
No. Tipping is neither required nor expected.
If you would still like to tip your team, you can offer them a cash tip on site, or you can contact the office to arrange a tip for your team via email money transfer.
We do not offer an option to include a tip on your invoice.
Insurance & Certifications
Yes, our staff our protected and we are in good standing with the WSIB (Workers Safety and Insurance Board).
Yes, we carry $2 million in General Liability insurance.
Our Covid policy exists as an extension of our company's Health & Safety policy. It is updated periodically as required, and can be found at gardenzilla.ca/covid.
Lawn Mowing & Garden Care
We generally mow lawns at 2.5 inches through the growing season, reducing that height to between 1.5 and 2 inches in late October.
Clients can request higher or lower cutting heights, although we recommend a minimum cutting height of 2 inches through the growing season to optimize lawn health.
Midtown Toronto - The Annex, Cabbagetown, The Danforth, East York, Leaside, Rosedale, South Hill / Casa Loma, Summerhill, and Yorkville.
North Toronto - Bedford Park, Caribou Park, Chaplin Estates, Davisville Village, Deer Park, Forest Hill, Lawrence Park, Ledbury Park, Lytton Park, Moore Park, and Yonge & Eglinton.
East York - East York, the Beaches, Leslieville, Danforth, Wexford, Jonesville.
Yes. You can cancel without penalty at any time. Just let us know by email that you'd like us to stop the service. You are still responsible for paying any outstanding invoices, but we will refund you a pro-rated amount based on the number of remaining grass cuts in the month.
See our refund policy for more information on how refunds are processed (it depends on how you paid).
For example, if we send you an invoice on May 15th, do a grass cut on May 17th, and then you cancel your service you will still be responsible for paying the unpaid invoice from May 15th. Once paid, we will refund you a pro-rated amount for the three remaining service visits.
Gardening & Yard Work
We generally mow lawns at 2.5 inches through the growing season, reducing that height to between 1.5 and 2 inches in late October.
Clients can request higher or lower cutting heights, although we recommend a minimum cutting height of 2 inches through the growing season to optimize lawn health.
Midtown Toronto - The Annex, Cabbagetown, The Danforth, East York, Leaside, Rosedale, South Hill / Casa Loma, Summerhill, and Yorkville.
North Toronto - Bedford Park, Caribou Park, Chaplin Estates, Davisville Village, Deer Park, Forest Hill, Lawrence Park, Ledbury Park, Lytton Park, Moore Park, and Yonge & Eglinton.
East York - East York, the Beaches, Leslieville, Danforth, Wexford, Jonesville.
Yes. You can cancel without penalty at any time. Just let us know by email that you'd like us to stop the service. You are still responsible for paying any outstanding invoices, but we will refund you a pro-rated amount based on the number of remaining grass cuts in the month.
See our refund policy for more information on how refunds are processed (it depends on how you paid).
For example, if we send you an invoice on May 15th, do a grass cut on May 17th, and then you cancel your service you will still be responsible for paying the unpaid invoice from May 15th. Once paid, we will refund you a pro-rated amount for the three remaining service visits.
Landscape Installation
Most quotes start with a quick phone or video call with our head gardener. We'll review your work, and determine the next best steps, which include
- a quote - for simple jobs, we can submit a quote following the video chat
- a site visit - either our head gardener or one of our team will drop by your property during the week to price out the work we discussed
- a design meeting on-site (this is a paid service)
We only require deposits on jobs with a pre-hst total of more than $5000. For smaller jobs, we invoice when the work is complete. Deposits are typically for 50% of the cost of the job, with the balance owing on completion.
Yes, we offer warranties as follows on all installation work.
All plantings - 50% replacement pricing for three years following planting, no questions asked.
All wood, stone and paver installations - two year warranty to rectify any deficiencies in installation.
Snow Removal
Our popular snow removal services include clearing of snow from designated surfaces on your property, with optional supply and application of our ecosalt or magnesium chloride ice melter. Your flat rate plan includes -
- snow removal services between November 15th and April 14th inclusive
- snow removal after every storm that accumulates 1 or more cm (most companies offer clearing only after 3 to 5 cm)
- no limit on the number of storms or the total accumulation of snow to be cleared
- simple month-to-month invoicing with the option to cancel at any time
Please note that our services are delivered using a combination of snow blowers and plastic snow shovels. Removal of snow from your property, and chipping of ice are not included in any of our plans.
In most circumstances, we wait until snow has finished falling before commencing services. The exact timing is determined by the snowfall, by our maintenance manager, by traffic considerations and by our individual crews. During regular snow events (less than approximately 10cm), routes are typically completed within 8 hours. Although we do our best to service your property before morning and evening commutes, we cannot guarantee the timing.
During heavy snow events (greater than approximately 10cm) our snow manager will sometimes split services into multiple visits. On the first visit crews may postpone detailed work to give access to all of their clients as quickly as possible. Following a 12 hour rest, the crews then return for a second visit to service any details postponed on the first visit. First visits are typically completed within 10 to 18 hours or more during heavy snow events, depending on conditions.
Our crews have discretion on the number of ecosalt pails kept on your property (commonly two, but sometimes more). If you would like more or less ecosalt left on your property, please contact the office and we will update your information for the crew. You are billed when ecosalt is delivered to your property - not when it is applied. We do not refund ecosalt that is not used by the end of the agreement - you can keep it for the next winter or we can pick it up on request for safe disposal, free of charge. Crews do their best to ensure that you always have a supply of ecosalt but if you run out please contact the office and we will supply more as quickly as possible.
We offer our ecosalt option as a convenience to our clients and our crews to have a salt alternative on the property. However, as per our terms and conditions below we do not accept liability for the use or failure to use or supply ecosalt as part of your snow clearing services
Cleared snow will be placed on your property at the crew's discretion. We do our best to limit snow up against walls and foundations.
Following heavy accumulations of snow, space can become limited, and it is understood that snow piles can interfere with your listed service areas, or otherwise interfere with access or parking on your property. It can be necessary to load snow against the sides of buildings and houses (especially in shared, long, and/or narrow driveways), in this event we do our best to make return visits in the following days to relocate it elsewhere on your property.
Given the challenges of winter, our company does its best but cannot commit to honoring client requests regarding the location or placement of snow under any circumstances. Removal of snow from your property and relocation of snow on your property is not included in this agreement.
Our crews are NOT able to clear snow underneath or within 1 foot of parked vehicles. If parked vehicles are blocking access to any portion of your property, those areas will also NOT be able to be serviced. Please do your best to ensure all resident and visitor cars are parked to allow access to the property and the snow piling areas. Our services do not include clearing of snow from off of parked cars.
A windrow is snow that is left at the end of the driveway after a city plow has cleared the road. We will clear the windrow if the city plow has passed through before our visit. Our teams are usually able to clear windrows during our second passes on heavy snow events but typically do not do return visits for windrows on regular snow events or following the second visit of a heavy snow event.
We offer snow removal services, not ice removal services. Ice build-up forms as a result of freezing rain or snow, drainage issues, compaction or the thaw/freeze cycle. When ice accumulates, our snow removal equipment (snow shovels, snow blowers and plows) are unable to break it up. Our crews are not equipped with metal ice-breakers or chippers. Ice-melter is our best defense against ice build-up and we encourage clients to apply it as necessary to control ice build-up between our visits. If you need ice broken up it is an extra billable service, please contact the office.
We do our best to limit noise overnight - on light snowfalls, our crews limit their use of plows and snowblowers within reason. However, on heavier snowfalls, we require the assistance of powered equipment to do our work that has the potential to disturb you or your neighbours during our visits at any time of day or night.
For regular updates before, during and between storms it is not necessary to contact our office. You can see regular updates -
On our twitter feed at twitter.com/gardenzillatdot
On our website at gardenzilla.ca/services/snow-removal/updates
Our office is open from 7:00am-3:00pm Monday through Friday. Due to the high volume of calls during and after snow events we highly encourage you to email support@gardenzilla.ca for a quicker response if you do need to contact the office.
There is no long term commitment. You can cancel your services at any time by phoning or emailing our office, and you can cancel that day, or schedule a future date for cancellation (for example, for the closing date on a home sale). You are responsible for all charges up until that date, per our payment schedule, and including any applied ecosalt. Your deposit is non-refundable, and is forfeited if you cancel your services.
Whether it snows more or less often than usual, there is no change in our pricing. If it doesn't snow, we still provide a dedicated team (paid for being on call whether or not it snows), expensive winter vehicles and equipment, and are available in the event it does snow. On some winters we have to go out more - on others, we have to go out less.