Every new year landscape design trends emerge to help you create sought-after and enjoyable outdoor spaces. Whether creating a beautiful oasis at your home, or professional landscaping to complement your business, now is the time to visualize your space and plan what you want to add or adjust to meet your needs. With a focus on the environment and utilizing natural elements to achieve sustainability, the following trends will help you plan and create beautiful outdoor spaces to be enjoyed for years to come.
1) Define Your Outdoor Space with Unique Elements
One way to create a uniquely designed space is to define the areas dedicated to both hardscaping and landscaping. Installing hardscaped walkways, patios, and retaining walls can anchor your landscaping and create the foundation for the placement and alignment of plants, shrubs, flowers, and even accent lighting. When considering the placement of both hardscaping and landscaping, it’s essential to think through the natural flow of your space and how to maximize lighting and shade, logical water flow and drainage solutions, and specific areas you may want to create for gathering and socializing. You may also want to feature stand-out design elements, such as hardscaped seating areas, built-in planters, or interesting patterns in patio pavers.
2) Create a Sense of Continuity
When establishing your landscape design plans, don’t forget to create continuity throughout. For example, if you have chosen a modern design for your space with linear elements and hard edges, consider plants and landscaping features that match that aesthetic and create a sense of continuous flow both visually and in execution. Suppose you are adding elements that feel more natural and organic. In that case, you may want to consider winding paths, irregular edges to your hardscaping, and the placement of boulders or shrubs with less controlled shapes. Regardless of your preferred design style, creating continuity in your space through the shapes, color tones, and chosen plants will create a sense of place and purpose in your space.
3) Incorporate Native Plants
Using native plants in landscaping is emerging as a visual trend and a preferred way to protect local environments. While many non-native plants add unique beauty and pops of unexpected color to yards and business landscaping, in many cases, they struggle to thrive in new climates. On the other hand, native plants offer beauty and support to local animal populations and are acclimated to the environment in a way that allows them to thrive long-term. When considering native plants for your project, think about shrubs, trees, grasses, and flowers zoned for your region and blend well with the natural environment around you.
4) Utilize Water Collection
Incorporating water collection in your landscaping allows you to capitalize on the natural elements and reduce water usage and cost. Collecting rainwater in rain drums, adding rain chains to structures to create a designated flow to garden beds, or adding decorative collection ponds are just a few beneficial ways to collect rainwater. Once collected, the preserved water can be used in garden beds, on lawns, and in freestanding planters or pots. Not only do these water features serve a purpose, but they also add unique and decorative elements to your space in a tranquil and sustainable way.
5) Install Smart Technology
As landscaping design trends have evolved, so too have smart technology options to be incorporated into your overall design plans. For example, automatic or smart irrigation systems that control water flow in designated yard zones can help maintain flourishing lawns, plants, and trees. In addition, water features can be set on timers to reduce waste. Even landscape lighting and music features can be incorporated and set on timers and zones to add an upscale element to your overall space.
As you consider your landscape design plans for either your home or office space in the coming year, we invite you to contact the design professionals at G&G Landscape Solutions for a FREE 20-minute consultation. Our expert designers are dedicated to bringing your landscape vision to life from initial installation to ongoing maintenance of your elevated outdoor environment.
