Since Covid-19 closed many retail malls and restaurants, you may have noticed that your commercial lawn maintenance may have slowed a bit over the past 15 months. Covid-19 restrictions also closed down many office parks, often a regular source of income for commercial landscapers.
So, what are the trends now that we’re almost halfway through 2021 and Covid-19 restrictions are starting to ease up?
9 Trends in Commercial Landscaping 2021
Thankfully, lawn and landscape companies were considered essential during the lockdown months of 2020. And there were still commercial properties, including HOAs, doctor offices, retail malls with grocery and drugstores that needed to stay open during the shutdown.
So, your commercial lawn maintenance company probably stayed busy but not as active as previous years, unless you also had residential clients.
Now, you can reclaim some of your other commercial clients because people are starting to go back to work, and state restrictions are starting to relax, thanks to the vaccine. However, some industry experts warn that you may need to contend with Coronavirus federal mandates since there’s a new president in office.
Here are nine trends in commercial landscaping that will keep you busy for the rest of 2021 and possibly into 2022:
Aesthetic and functional outdoor spaces: Most property managers know that their residents, clients, tenants, and work teams want more open space to conduct meetings and a place for refreshment.
However, commercial real estate owners want to be more eco-friendly because of climate change. Functional enhancements include swales, erosion control, and covering bare soil with native plants.
Renovating and adding landscape enhancements: Many property managers want to attract their customers to a landscape enhancement during lunchtimes or over the weekend if it’s an HOA or multi-family residential property.
For example, your commercial client may want you to create an area that includes seating surrounded by plants. Your client may also ask you to add a pergola to protect people from the direct sun.
Putting seating in place: More folks realize the positive aspects of nature and healing. You may have projects that include creating nature spaces or healing gardens with seating and gravel walkways for medical centers or hospitals.
Focal points for relaxation: One of your commercial customers may ask you to install a water feature or a statue as a focal point.
Folks can sit and gaze at the focal point, which helps them relax. The sound of running water eases stress, or a religious statue in a church garden provides a place to meditate and pray.
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Larger outdoor spaces to hold meetings: Since disease transmission is lower when we gather outside, the need for outdoor meeting places will grow.
You can present a landscape design that includes an outdoor room with a pavilion roof to protect participants from the weather. Add a fire feature so that people can hold meetings into the fall.
Personal health spaces: HOA communities and multi-family complexes, health and office properties look for personal wellness spaces. These health spaces can include a yoga area, a walking path, or an obstacle course that varies workouts.
Low maintenance and drought-tolerant plants: When you upsell a landscape enhancement, remember to include low maintenance and drought-tolerant plants. As you know, property managers need to keep an eye on their budget, so the fewer maintenance plants needed, the fewer dollars spent.