What is Commercial Landscaping?

If your business is fortunate enough to have an outdoor space, it’s important to ensure that it’s commercial landscaping maintained

Exterior spaces act as a very useful and important asset for your business, and contribute towards your corporate image.

Make sure to consult with an experienced and professional commercial landscaping contractor to discuss how to design, install and maintain your exterior commercial areas in the best possible way.

What is Commercial Landscaping?

Commercial landscaping is a rather broad term that is used to describe the planning and designing, as well as the installation of aesthetically pleasing outdoor spaces of commercial settings.

The maintenance of such spaces is also generally included in the job of the landscaping service provider.

The main aim is to have a pleasant working environment, so that employee motivation and productivity is maintained.

On the flipside, commercial landscaping is also important to impress clients who visit your premises.

Commercial ground maintenance contractors are generally tasked with conceptualising a design and layout that is both visually pleasing and functional.

The final design should reflect the values of your business and corporate image.

What’s Typically Involved?

There’s several tasks involved in commercial landscaping.

Indeed, there’s a full spectrum of services.

The commercial landscaping project should not only be carefully designed and well conceived, but also manageable and maintainable over the long term.

The type of project will inevitably depend on the size of the exterior space, the client and the budget.

But in any case, there needs to be a balance struck between beautification and functionality.

The following are some of the services that commercial landscape professionals offer.

Planned Maintenance

When planning a commercial landscape project, one will need to consider a few things.

Firstly, whether a completely new space needs to be designed, installed and maintained.

Or if there’s existing landscaping in place that requires upgrades and alterations to bring it up to a higher standard.

The landscaping services provider will evaluate and discuss the extent of the maintenance required with you.

They will devise a pre-planned maintenance schedule to ensure everything is taken care of on a regular basis.

Otherwise, the whole project will start to degrade within a short period of time.

The specific needs of the landscape will be presented, along with maintenance tasks which would be necessary to keep everything in good order.

Having a well planned maintenance schedule is important to ensure the exterior space does not swiftly become untidy, dirty, overgrown or damaged over time.

Exterior landscape areas require considerable investment, not only in their creation, but also their maintenance.

Typically, planned maintenance includes regular mowing, pruning and weeding, as well as planting according to the season.

Fertilisation and aeration will need to be carried out at certain times of the year, along with spring cleanups.

Pest control is also an important part of planned maintenance that easily gets overlooked.

Reactive Maintenance

Reactive maintenance refers to tasks carried out in response to certain events.

For instance, an adverse weather event such as high winds and storms may have caused damage to trees, buildings or installations.

These could need immediate repairs or cleaning up.

Following heavy snow, it’s important to see to snow removal to make pathways and roads accessible without potential hazards.

A tree surgeon may be required to prune overgrown trees and bushes during the spring and summer seasons.

Gutters may need to be cleared after leaves and debris have fallen during the autumn and winter seasons.

Flowers, Plants & Shrubs

Flowers, plants and shrubs are great ways to add aesthetic appeal to an outdoor setting.

Naturally the decision to plant certain flowers and plants depends on the particular location and seasonality.

Naturally, the local climate will need to be taken into account.

Factors such as the amount of irrigation required and the sunlight necessary for the flowers and plants to flourish are also important.

Often shrubs are considered to be an ideal option instead of planting trees, as they are more compact, but still add a nice touch of nature to the space.

However, it’s important to consider budgetary limits, as well as the need to maintain certain types of shrubs that may quickly become overgrown and uncared for over time.

Hardscapes

Hardscaping is an important element in commercial landscaping.

It is the foundation of the softscaping.

Consequently, the landscape design professional will need to choose the most suitable materials to complement the plant life, as well as enhance the look of the area.

Some common materials used for hardscapes includes:

• Wood
• Stone
• Concrete
• Brick
• Metal

In the case of older period buildings, wood or brick will be considered more suitable than metal and concrete, for instance.

Hardscapes can include:

• Outdoor seating & dining areas
• Ponds, water features & fountains
• Gazebos & pergolas
• Stairways
• Walkways
• Fences

Hence the costs will increase depending on demands, as well as the size and scale of commercial development.

Hardscapes typically do not require as much regular maintenance as softscapes.

But it’s still important to consider maintenance that might be required depending on the level of usage, and the fact these will be exposed to the elements.

Hence, it’s important to choose materials that are durable and usable.

Irrigation

Irrigation is key to ensure that plants, shrubs and vegetation flourish.

Greener landscapes bustling with plants and flora are aesthetically pleasing

This in turn will attract high end clients as well as enhance employee productivity.

Automated irrigation systems are more ideal, especially if the landscape area is quite large.

Besides, such systems will be programmed to apply the most appropriate amount of water, so there won’t be overwatering or unnecessary wastage.

Specialised sprinkler systems such as drip systems are often recommended.

They will see to watering the root systems of flowers, plants and trees, thereby helping to reduce the number of weeds emerging.

This will also reduce the probability of having fungi and other plant diseases from cropping up.

Lighting

Choosing a suitable commercial landscape lighting option is also important.

Nowadays there’s a myriad of different lighting options to choose from.

It’s important to choose lighting options that can complement the outdoor area and the type of business, while taking into account the light levels required.

Clearly visible entrances, exits, and well-lit pathways are important.

But accentuation lights and the lights responsible for improving the overall concept are also very important.

It’s also important to consider the energy consumption of the lights.

LED landscape lights will save you money when compared to old fashioned halogen lights.

Besides, they are softer, more appealing and enjoy a longer lifespan.

Having the right combination of uplights, downlights and path lights is something that will need to be planned out carefully by the landscape designer.

Other aspects such as the light levels for the various areas, avoiding lights spill and glare, and placing lights in the right places for optimal effect are also critical.

Furnishings

Furnishings will depend on the type of outdoor area, and the companies using the development.

Seating options, trash bins, shade structures, planters, bike racks, bollards – these are all just a few examples of fixtures that could be included in the commercial landscape.

Special Features

Special features are eye-catching or focal points in the outdoor area.

This could be something as simple and elegant as a fountain, waterfall or living wall.

Or it could be something brand oriented, such as an art installation, sculpture, or a large scale company logo.

Benefits of Using Commercial Landscaping

Commercial landscaping offers a myriad of benefits, including:

Environmental Benefits

By ensuring that irrigation is done wisely and properly, and that there is prudent usage of fertilisers, landscaping can help improve the environment in a sustainable way.

It’s also important to choose the most suitable plants to ensure that there is a positive impact on the environment.

This includes the location and weather considerations as some plants will be more suited to certain settings than others.

Rainfall, soil types and seasonality considerations should also be taken into account.

Having trees and shrubs can help to deflect wind, reduce noise as well as create more shady areas where employees or clients can relax.

This also helps to reduce both heating as well as cooling costs.

It’s best to opt for plants and hardscaping features that can help reduce your water use.

You may also wish to consider the possibility of installing a green roof to reduce water runoff.

You may be amazed to note that a high quality landscape could end up paying for itself after approximately 10 years, as you could benefit from energy savings as well as other economic benefits.

Financial Benefits

Having a nice and well maintained landscape also has financial benefits.

It can actually become an important investment.

Clients will be more inclined to visit a business that has a beautiful landscape, than one where there is no aesthetic value or with a poorly maintained landscape.

You want to make sure that you leave a positive impression on your clients.

A beautiful commercial landscape will improve your reputation, and enable you to be in a better position to charge more for your products or services.

It also increases the value of the property, and shows that you are an eco-friendly business.

A beautiful commercial landscape is also advantageous from the point of view of your employees.

Needless to say, workers prefer to work in a pleasant environment, as this helps to improve their productivity and motivation.

Choosing a Commercial Landscape Designer

Considering all the benefits of commercial ground maintenance, it is important to entrust the job to an experienced professional.

When choosing a commercial landscape designer make sure to consider:

• The years of experience, past projects and any client references.
• The professional training that will also substantiate the experience the designer has.
• The level of communication that the designer is willing to have with clients, to ensure that he will know what you have in mind and that your preferences and ideas will also be considered when planning the landscape design.
• The types of services that are offered, since it’s better to opt for a company that can offer a comprehensive range of landscaping services, ranging from design to maintenance.

Conclusion

Sometimes business owners commit the mistake of underestimating the importance of creating a pleasant outdoor space for their business.

However as you may have seen, there are several benefits from investing in the design, installation and maintenance of a beautiful landscape.