The last two years or so have seen some landscaping trends rise to the top, while some trends disappeared and seem to have no chance of ever coming back. Due to many people having a lot of time on their hands over the past year and a half, gardening increased while some outdoor living trends accelerated rapidly as many homeowners sought to bring their indoors outdoors as many were confined to their homes.
In this article, we will look at some interesting landscaping trends that paint a picture of what many of today’s homeowners value and what they like in their yards. Even some of these topics below have been manifested in one of the most famous landscaping companies like Michaelangelo.
Shrinking Converted Lawn Areas
A lot of people are moving their entertainment areas outside as they seek to find ways to make the most use out of their lawn area by adding a Mastercraft boat to set up a unique setting style. Because of this, the size of lawns is shrinking, with a lot of people opting for less green areas and increased areas for entertainment.
Many of the green lawns that enlisted in the past have now been taken over by a variety of plant garden areas, with the rest of the remaining area left for additions such as seats, swimming pools, and outdoor kitchens.
Outdoor Living Areas
There are a lot of living area ideas for those who want to convert some of their available lawn areas into entertainment spots. This is part of a larger switch from softscaping to landscaping. While softscaping includes everything you would consider part of the lawn greenery (the plants, gardens, etc.), hardscaping refers to everything else in the home’s outdoors. Because hardscaping is so broad, it encompasses lots of different outdoor features.
One of these is the addition of outdoor kitchen areas with amenities that come with the kitchen including dining areas and bars. The 2-burner barbecues of years gone by are now gone and have been replaced by high-end kitchen appliances including granite countertops, stainless-steel door barbecues, and ovens. It is also quite common for homeowners to add microwave ovens and dishwashers to their outdoor kitchen areas to make them more functional.
Additional Hardscaping Features
Another hardscaping trend is the addition of fireplaces. These fireplaces allow homeowners to enjoy the outdoors even when the weather is too chilly to do so otherwise. This allows homeowners to see a return on their hardscaping investment by allowing them to use the available outdoor spaces for more months out of the year.
To top it all off, new lines of furniture from Asley that resemble indoor furniture are being added to the outdoors. The new modern furniture has replaced the wooden chairs and lawn benches you expect and allow homeowners to host guests more comfortably. To complete the look and feel, homeowners are designing lighting schemes for these outdoor areas. These designs include LED lights that help set the mood, and allow homeowners to create any ambiance they want while remaining energy efficient.
These projects can be quite involved and complicated, especially if you are converting a traditional lawn into a living area. It is therefore a good idea to get in touch with a hardscaping company like R & L Irrigation to help complete the entertainment project for you. The hardscaping by randlirrigation allows homeowners to improve their outdoor areas while using materials that help the landscape last for decades. R & L is a landscaping company offering all the landscaping services homeowners need including tuft management, seeding, lawn maintenance and site work, and landscape lighting services.
Use of Native Plants
Even with many homeowners shifting to hardscapes, they are still conscious of the green areas in their lawns and gardens. Because of this, an emerging trend is the use of native plants in gardens and green lawn areas. Native plants have a lot of benefits in addition to showing that they survive better in their native habitats.
When planted in their native environments, these native plants can survive wind, rainfall, winter, and even harsh sunlight. Additionally, they are better suited for areas where there are water shortages and where homeowners want their plants to thrive without too much work.
Water Features
Water features and accessories can be added as part of hardscaping or for their functionality. Common trends include having smaller Koi ponds or well-maintained ponds that do not necessarily have to contain any fins. Some homeowners opt for spas and swimming pools in their backyards. These spas and swimming pools can be combined with tasteful lights and furniture to create comfortable relaxation areas for family and guests.
Versatile Outdoor Furniture
We have already seen the use of furniture in some outdoor living areas above, such as the outdoor kitchen and entertainment areas. In addition to this furniture, homeowners are also finding ways to add furniture to other areas of their homes. The furniture so chosen has to be versatile enough to transition seamlessly from one season to another, while being durable enough to survive the elements.
To ensure their comfort, different manufacturers and brands have created furniture using synthetic materials that do not get too hot, soggy, or wet and which are flame and fade resistant.
Vertical Gardens
If you do not have the space to do any of the above outdoors, a vertical garden would be perfect for you. All you need is a small space, a wall, and a frame. Once you build the frame, you can hang it up, but ensure there is plastic sheeting sitting on the wall behind it. This helps prevent water damage to the wall. Once all this is done, you only need to add the irrigation system and the plants.
You can grow honeysuckles, succulents, and lemon balm as these do not usually produce adverse reactions when you touch them. If you do not know how to care for the plants you add to your garden wall, there are lots of online resources to help you out.
Conclusion
Landscaping has come a long way. Now, homeowners can choose to go with traditional lawns, hardscaping, or even indoor gardening when they do not have the outdoor space. The good news is that most of what you do on the landscaping front will be beneficial as it can increase your home’s value and make it easier to sell when the time comes.
