Business owners often care about what the inside of their business space looks like. But a business’s exterior is just as important as the internal and can play a huge role in a business’s success. High-quality and thoughtful landscaping design is also paramount, but very few businesses have someone on staff who can direct landscaping design — let alone carry it out.
That’s where commercial landscaping design comes in. Good landscaping is both form and function, and it can drastically impact how customers interact with your business. But what makes commercial landscaping design effective?
It Should Make a Great Impression
Any great business owner knows that you only get one chance to make a first impression, and the design of your commercial landscaping can play a huge role in that first impression with customers. A well-designed and maintained exterior can convey to visitors positive qualities about your business. It can make visitors feel more welcome. Flower beds, water features, and hardscapes — if carried out in an orderly and pleasing fashion — can help communicate to people that the company inside cares about quality.
In addition to making a great, general first impression, your outdoor space can also speak to your company’s values or brand. If you want to convey a sustainable brand, your garden design may include garden beds full of flowering native plants for pollinators to buzz around in, or even mini vegetable gardens. If your brand is fun and quirky, you might want to have colorful fountains installed, or gazebos covered in grape vines for shade cover for staff members to relax in. Edgy, modern companies might want to focus on minimalist or geometric designs. Whatever the impression you’re trying to convey, there are innumerable types of plants and landscaping ideas to help you make it. Landscaping services don’t only provide lawn care; they provide consultations to get to the root of your business’s unique needs and the image you want to convey. Landscaping design is effective when it not only looks great but communicates the message you want it to.
It Should Attract and Engage Customers
We can all relate to the feeling of being turned off as soon as you begin walking toward the door of a business. Barren front yards, lack of seating, poorly designed walkways, inaccessibility, and more can all serve to push customers away. Whether we realize it or not, landscape design and landscape architecture play a huge role in how customers and visitors engage with your business. High-quality design can also encourage people to stay at your business longer. Features like pergolas, sitting areas, and fire pits can create a hospitable feel and encourage people to stick around and relax. Even smaller investments like low-maintenance flower beds or DIY landscaping projects that won’t take regular commercial upkeep can go a long way. These types of features can also help maintain your brand, showing people you value the outdoors or demonstrating members of your team can use garden space to relax or connect. At the end of the day, good landscaping can help attract people to your business, while poor-quality landscaping can turn people away.
It Should Create a Natural Flow
Nobody wants to feel lost and confused as soon as they approach a business. Trying to figure out which walkway leads where, or if the business you’re headed toward has a front yard filled with dead plants is not very appealing. Luckily, effective commercial landscaping design can help keep potential customers on the right path.
The exterior of your business should not only be aesthetically pleasing, but it should also direct the flow of traffic. People need to know where you are to become customers. Your front entrance should be welcoming and obvious, while also having curb appeal. Retaining walls, hardscaping, lined paths, and clear walkways can help guide customers where they are supposed to go, and good landscaping design assists in this.
Conserve Water and Energy
Another indicator of effective commercial landscaping design is its ability to conserve water and energy with well-placed trees and shrubs to help manage water and provide shade. An experienced commercial landscape contractor and designer will be able to provide tree services, recommending where to place trees that will lend the most shade and break the most wind. Tree-heavy spaces tend to be cooler than spaces without trees, and healthy lawns tend to reduce temperatures. Garden maintenance does require some water, but landscape architects can advise on the best low-water plants to grow. You can also install smart irrigation systems that conserve water, as opposed to over-running sprinklers. Quality landscaping services can also help you learn how to work with the seasons, not against them. Landscape gardening that includes native plants can help keep your garden lively year-round, and professional gardeners can help you decide when to plant flowers based on when they peak.
If you are investing in a commercial landscape design to upgrade your business’s exterior, Green Group can help ensure that it stays lush and healthy. A well-designed and well-maintained outdoor space is important no matter what kind of business you run. To get started, contact us today to learn about our commercial lawn care and landscape services.
