How Commercial Landscape Design Improves Your Property

Your brand and public image are almost as important to your business as the products and services you provide. You do everything you can to protect your company’s reputation. Part of developing trust and culture in the market is maintaining a professional appearance from the inside out – or, in this case, the outside in.

That’s why landscaping is central to your brand image. An attractive, well-maintained landscape instills trust and lets your customers and clients know that you take pride in your company. It also attracts potential clients to your front door. After all, who wants to drive up to a property that shows signs of neglect?

Create a Landscape Design That Reflects Your Brand

Your brand is any feature of your company that helps consumers distinguish your goods or services from the myriad of competitors in your market. For this reason, your marketing team works hard to come up with unique ways to set your organization apart.

Your branding strategy should also include your landscape design. The question is not how you can make your exterior property look better. Instead, it’s how to create a landscape design that is distinctive and easy to identify. More importantly, the landscape design is a natural extension of your brand. It fits in naturally with your company culture.

When considering your landscape design, think about the following brand elements:

• Colors
• Patterns and layouts
• Plants that go with your logo
• Plants and greenery that fit into your company culture
• Mulch colors
• Walkway colors and designs
• The “vibe” or feeling that your landscape evokes
• How the landscape elements match the outside of your building

Choose Landscape Elements That Are Friendly and Engaging

Great landscaping is aesthetically pleasing, triggering the senses with a feel that is warm and inviting. While that’s a nice sentiment, the question is: “How do I create that type of landscape layout?” First, an engaging landscape involves more than planting pretty flowers. You have to think about how all the components attract people and draw them into your business.

With that in mind, consider these six components:

1. Balance

People feel comfortable in landscapes that have a sense of balance. There are two major types of balance: symmetrical and asymmetrical. Symmetrical balance is used in formal landscapes when one side of the landscape is a mirror image of the opposite side. Asymmetrical balance does not have the mirror image but still provides a balance between both sides.

2. Focalization

Creates a visual break in the landscape. A focal point captures the attention of the viewer and draws their focus toward the object, which, in turn, makes the layout feel more inviting. Without a focal point, the viewer’s eye is lost in the landscape. It causes mental confusion, which can also create disconnection.

3. Simplicity

Speaking of confusion, complex designs are rarely warm and inviting. Think about websites. The best sites are easy to read and have fewer elements. Landscapes are the same way. Take a less-is-more approach that focuses on one or two marquis items instead of trying to overload the viewer with a bunch of features.

4. Rhythm

Objects in the landscape should be repeated with a standard interval, creating a rhythm. Lines should be created by things like the shape and form of the planters, sidewalks, and where the grass meets the pavement. That sense of rhythm offers organization, which is a concept that promotes professionalism and security.

5. Proportion

Every time you add a new feature to your landscape, it comes into a relationship with all other features or components. The relationship plays out in building size, lot size, plant size, areas of plantings, colors and landscape use. Therefore, you should choose all elements in a healthy proportion to the other elements.

6. Theme and Unity

Theme and unity are core concepts of branding. Your landscape is no different. All of the features and elements of your landscape should work in harmony with each other and with your brand. Any component that does not fit into the theme should be removed and replaced with a more appropriate feature.

Landscaping Improves Safety and Security on the Property

Regardless of how good your product or service is, people will avoid an unsafe property that does not feel secure. There are several ways to create a secure property with a landscape.

• Build new level walkways that lead from the parking lot to the door.
• Add railings to stairways or walkways.
• Grow plants that cover or hide private areas of the building.
• Create a landscape design that naturally directs the flow of traffic.
• Add lighting to your hardscapes and walkways.
• Keep all trees and greenery trimmed and remove any dangerous landscape.
• Add warning signage to your landscape layout where needed.
• Properly place and hide any equipment such as irrigation systems.

Use Sustainable Solutions and Green Landscape Products

Everybody knows that sustainability and green landscape products are a smart idea for any business. But did you know that it can also be a selling point that attracts a new market? Using sustainable landscape practices lets people know that you care about the environment and our planet’s resources.

There are several things you can do to create a more sustainable landscape. First, try to use plants that consume less water. Second, try to think about land and soil conservation and minimize erosion. Next, use materials that last longer and are sustainable and recyclable. Last, choose a simpler landscape design that requires less maintenance and uses fewer materials.

Schedule a Free Landscaping Estimate Today

Executive Landscaping offers comprehensive residential and commercial landscaping services along the Gulf Coast, including Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Services include landscapes, hardscapes, outdoor kitchens, irrigation, lighting and ongoing maintenance. Call us today at (850) 478-2312 to schedule a free estimate.