If you’re managing a commercial property – whether it’s a residential community, shopping center or retail space, office building, hospital, college campus, church, or any other facility – it’s important to know the latest and greatest landscaping trends and advancements, so that you can make the best decisions for your property, now and throughout the coming years.

Your property’s landscape should be both functional and aesthetically pleasing; it’s often a huge factor in how residents, clients, and employees view your business. Show off your professionalism and innovation, and welcome people into your business in 2021, with these 5 landscaping trends.

1. All About Outdoor Spaces

Now is the time to create or enhance common areas that employees, residents, clients or tenants can utilize to promote health. 2020 brought major changes for indoor meeting and gathering spaces, and we’ve learned that the open air provides a safer space for everyone. Now would be a great time to reevaluate how much outdoor space your property offers, what renovations or enhancements could be made to improve these spaces, and how you can blend beauty and function to create environments people enjoy spending time in. Some ideas include:

Comfortable seating areas surrounded by nature – potted plants, low-maintenance plants and grasses, pops of color, and walkways to provide easy access

Water features or other focal elements, calming sounds that bring people closer to nature and ease stress

Expanding current outdoor common space to accommodate larger groups – that can be used for company gatherings or meeting areas

Activity or lifestyle spaces that contribute to personal health or appeal to your customers or employees – yoga areas, pet runs or parks, walking trails, bocce courts, community gardens

2. Function is the Latest Attraction

It’s no secret that more and more commercial properties are transitioning to low-maintenance, drought-tolerant landscapes. We’ll continue to see this trend in 2021, with new levels of functional landscape being introduced – including the use of plants that offer more than meets the eye. We’re referring to useful varieties – such as shrubs or plants that line walkways AND keep nuisance pests and animals away (i.e. odorous, fragrant, prickly, or thorny plants), immunity-boosting plants, and mosquito and other insect-repelling plants.

3. Keep it Low-Key

2021 will be all about understated or minimalistic commercial landscaping. Many businesses are still reeling from the effects of the ongoing pandemic, and with more people working from home and social distancing recommendations – there’s extra emphasis on creating maximum impact with minimal effort. We’re all about this trend as it allows us, your maintenance contractor, to focus on ways to improve your property, keep costs low, and offer a modern touch. Less really can be more!

4. The Greener the Better

And we’re not talking about the color green. Make your landscape “greener” this year with eco-conscious improvements – good for the environment AND good for budgets. Green landscapes incorporate the latest technology, save water, and lower overall, long-term maintenance costs. We’re seeing an increasing number of new commercial developments that utilize bioswales – water retention systems that redirect runoff and reduce pollution. Smart sensors and advancements in irrigation technology prevent water waste while ensuring plants get the appropriate amount of nutrients. Worms and castings are even being used for composting, a method that reduces landfill space and greatly improves soil quality.

5. Enlist the Help of Professionals

Your maintenance contractor offers skills and expertise in all areas of commercial landscape and can identify innovative opportunities for your property, to add value, increase functionality, reduce long-term maintenance costs, and prepare for the future – while taking your budget and goals into consideration. Afterall, here at Benchmark Landscape, our Mission is to increase the landscape beauty, functionality, and value to our client’s property.

Just reach out to your Account Manager, or contact us now, with any questions or to discuss specific trends you would like to see at your property. Let’s make this a great year, together!