St. Louis is a vibrant city with a small-town feel. Businesses continue to grow here and in its suburbs, creating a competitive environment, and for a company to succeed, it must consider every aspect of its image and of its message. From its website design to its logo to its products or services, everything must keep a clear and consistent reflection of what the company stands for. A great landscape design can improve the aesthetics of your property making your facility more welcoming to patrons and tenants.
When someone visits your company, the landscape is the first thing they see. It should not only be welcoming and well-maintained, but it should compliment your company. A good commercial landscape design is like an antique pocket watch. Outwardly, it’s intricate and beautiful, but inside it’s a network of complex parts that keep it functioning, seemingly with no effort.
Keeping function and beauty in mind, you can create a landscape design that is an extension of your business.
Here are some tips for a beautiful and functional landscape design:
Make an Entrance. As the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression. Your entrance is the first thing that people see when they pass by or come to your business, so make it a memorable one. You may have two entrances: one to your property from the street and one to your building. An eye-catching sign surrounded by vivid, colorful flowers will engage passers-by, while complementary colors and landscape features in front of your building’s entrance will draw the eye to the door. Your front door’s entrance should be welcoming but stand out. You want them to know that they came to the right place.
Consider focal points. Focal points direct your eyes to where to go within the design. A focal point can evoke emotion―surprise, interest, fascination. It can be a statue or a fountain that you have installed professionally or it can be a natural feature of your landscape like a towering mature tree. It should connect with your landscape, however, not stick out like a sore thumb.
Choose the right plantings. There are many things to take into consideration when it comes to choosing the right plants for your property. For them to establish themselves, they should be natural to your climate, to your soil, and to the amount of sun or shade they’ll receive. This is why native plants work so well in landscape design. Plants need to be considered in there maturity; you wouldn’t want to plant a tree where it will be obstructive when it has matured.
Think contrast. Instead of planting a large group of yellow flowers, why not try contrasting colors like red and purple? By choosing contrasting colors, your landscape will be much more visually interesting and engaging.
Add movement. Movement could mean a piece of garden art that moves in the wind, but it doesn’t need to be that elaborate. Ornamental grasses or trees like willows will catch a breeze and wave. You can attract movement by planting berry bushes that birds will love or flowers that attract butterflies.
Hide what you don’t want to be seen. Commercial properties have large, bulky air conditioning systems, electrical boxes, and other utility equipment that can be unsightly. Use shrubs and trees as screens to hide them or draw the eye away from them.
Think about flow. Plantings, features, and walkways should be placed in such a way that they direct the flow of traffic. You want there to be a path that goes directly from the building to parking lot, for instance, to keep people from trampling your turf or slipping and falling. Make them go where you want them to go.
Plan for all seasons. Landscapes always look great once they’re established in the spring and in the summer months when everything’s in bloom, but you still have a landscape in fall and winter. Include fall plants with lovely autumn colors and choose hardier plants for winter when they’re not covered by snow.
Plant to conserve. By strategically planting trees or shrubs near your building, you could reduce air conditioning costs by 30% and heating costs by 20-50%. Trees and shrubs cut the cold winter winds, and provide shade from the hot summer sun. The types of plants and trees you choose and where you plant them can also make an impact on water usage for your landscape and cut down on erosion damage.
Think about safety. Hopefully, your business attracts lots of visitors. It’s important to incorporate their safety as well as that of your employees into your landscape design. Don’t put plantings too close to walkways where they may overhang and create a tripping hazard. Make sure that your lighting design covers all areas where there’s pedestrian traffic. Parking areas should not have plants or trees that obstruct views. Any areas that have been packed down should be aerated or corrected because compaction can lead to erosion which can create walking hazards.
While planning your landscape, keep in mind The Big Picture: what do you want your landscape to say about your business? Should it be sleek and modern? Professional and traditional? Serene and relaxing? Whatever your message, your design should compliment your building and your business, not overpower it. Stand out, but not stick out.
At Bluegrass Landscape and Design, our professional landscape designers can work with you to design a landscape that puts your business ahead of the competition. Our friendly and dedicated crews will keep your property perfectly maintained and looking beautiful all year round. Call Bluegrass at (314)770-2828 and speak with one of our designers today.
