Gardens in commercial spaces

You might think that landscaping in commercial areas isn’t that important. If you have some plants already they might be overlooked. Think of the public spaces that we think of as luxurious like upscale hotels or restaurants they often incorporate florals and greenery into their establishments. No matter where you’re located adding some flowers, shrubs or greenery can do a lot for your business.

Why add gardens to your commercial space

You might not think about it but the tone your business sets starts before your customers even walk in the door. A simple small garden, a few neatly trimmed shrubs or even a planter or two is a simple and inexpensive step you can take to make a great first impression. What goes on outside your business can even lend to your overall brand. A few years ago we had a customer that wanted a giant chair built for photo ops. They were careful to position a sign so it would end up in every shot. That is genius and many of those pictures are shared online often holding their product. You could build your brand by planting flowers in your colors or even in the shape of your logo. Whether it’s a space you own or rent you can also use a bit of landscaping to distract from something not so pretty that you can’t change. Think about it would you rather dine under a pergola or a pergola covered with roses in bloom?

• Give the impression that you care about details before anyone walks through the door
• Hide or distract from something you can’t change
• Start a branding experience before your customers walk in
• Direct your customer’s actions passively outside your business.
• Show people that you take that extra step
• Improve the view people look at in places they have to wait
• It can add value to a space you own

What to plant

There really isn’t a reason to plant lots of fussy or ornate plants the way a home gardener might. I recommend picking a few size appropriate shrubs and maybe a few long blooming annuals that match your business’ look. In most cases you only need someone to come by in the spring to plant and spruce things up, maybe weed once or twice during the summer any maybe to clean it up in the fall. I do recommend taking some extra steps to keep your plants looking their best all season. Installing and maintaining good weed barriers in commercial gardens to keep them looking professional and neat is worth the minimal investment. You might also want to think about what ground cover you will use a little bit more as well. Mulch might work well but in some places it might be more prone to blow around large parking lots. Same with larger rocks like beach stones. They can give you the added benefit of getting people to walk in a certain area but could also lead to tripping depending on where they are placed. You may want to select plants with thorns for certain areas to discourage people from going there or you might want to avoid them where people are likely to get their clothes snagged in the wind. It’s also wise to pick low matinence plants that are well suited to that specific environment. Worst case scenario someone might have to water occasionally during a proper drought. Whatever your commercial space looks like a good landscaper or gardener will be able to make great suggestions for you and your business!

If your business already has gardens

If you already have some plants around your business then they really do need to be kept looking their best. Letting something as little as the plants outside get way out of line can lead to the impression that things are being overlooked. Plus keeping the gardens you have healthy is protecting an investment you already have. No matter what the gardens you have already look like now the good news is it’s always more cost effective to clean up what you have compared to starting from scratch!

One of the homeowners I’ve worked with for a while now brought me out to look at what was going on with the gardens at his commercial property this year. Since it’s also a business we frequent as customers I was eager to get my hands on the gardens there! I love working with this person in particular because he’s always very open to my suggestions. They were thinking about ripping everything out and starting over but I thought that was unnecessary in this particular case. I suggested that we get the bushes by the entrance back in line and get the garden around the sign looking good as it is now as a first step. I gave them some bigger ideas that might really help with the event side of their business that they hadn’t even thought of for the future too. While I was on site trimming some truly wild evergreens some of the staff were quick to let me know that the overgrown shrubs were even causing them some minor inconveniences in doing their jobs. Basically they were in everyone’s way! It didn’t take much investment to get everything looking neat and tidy again.

With spring just around the corner again take a look around your commercial property with a set of fresh eyes. Is there something you should be drawing your customer’s eyes to or away from? Is there a spot that just needs a little cheer? Often the most cost effective way to do that is a few well placed plants. If you would like some ideas or work done at your place of business don’t hesitate to reach out!