landscaping for the fun of kidslandscaping for the fun of kids

If you have a commercial property, you face different landscaping challenges than residential owners do. While you want something that looks nice and invites customers or residents inside, you also don't want to spend a fortune maintaining it. So, how can you successfully create a great commercial landscape for your business? Here are four pro tips for any business.

Create Logical Paths. One quick way to ruin your plants and grasses is to have customers and strangers trampling all over it. You can help avoid this by starting your landscape design with a "skeleton" of walkways, sidewalks, and parking areas. If you provide sufficient—and efficient—ways for people to get to and from their cars as well as to and from buildings, they'll be less likely to create their own paths through your landscaping. You can test your walkway layout by simply walking it yourself in imitation of future customers' habits.

Scale the Plants. Plant size is especially important around commercial buildings. Why? For one thing, a commercial building tends to be more stark and larger than most residential buildings. This means that choosing small shrubs, trees, and plants may make the façade look boring or unwelcoming. Conversely, adding plants that will grow too large too quickly may cause damage to the parking areas, sidewalks, and building foundations or obscure your building. Work with a qualified landscaping service to determine what plants are appropriately scaled for each area.

Avoid Tight Spaces. Tight angles and small grass or garden-bed sections generally means that it will have to be landscaped by hand or that it will require more delicate machine mowing. Both problems cost extra money and may result in a less attractive section of the property. Instead, use reasonably wide and gentle curves that are easy to mow and very accessible for weeding.

Avoid Wide Spaces. While you want to avoid having landscape that's too tight, you probably also want to avoid sections that are too wide and open. The reason is that open sections of garden bed—especially if they are covered only by dirt or mulch—are likely to become more weedy and have to be maintained (by hand or by chemicals) more often to maintain their beauty. Garden beds should be planted with low-maintenance perennial plants and flowers in a way that they appear full but not overflowing.

By following these few rules of thumb when designing your business's landscaping, you can avoid the pitfalls of commercial layout while enhancing the beauty of your entire property. Talk to a company such as Glynn Young's Landscaping & Nursery Center for more ideas.