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Popular Landscaping Trends Cont'd

Color is the most noticeable trend in today’s residential and commercial landscape projects. Gone are the days of simple greenery arrangements in little window boxes and square-shaped flower beds. Today’s landscaping incorporates dazzling hues and innovative color combinations in free-flowing planted areas to create a visually interesting outdoor environment. The reason for the change? Everyone – homeowners, builders, landscapers, commercial property owners, and realtors – are starting to realize it’s not just the structure that catches people’s eyes; it’s also the piece of land the structure occupies. By filling the space with contrasting colors and shapes, the land actually complements the best features of the home or building.

Another popular movement is the concept of Xeriscape™ (pronounced Zero-scape). It’s a landscaping principle that’s designed to conserve natural resources and preserve native plant and wildlife through the use of plants that naturally grow in an area and thus require little or no additional watering outside of the normal rainfall. Besides conserving water, many property owners are also finding that it saves money because they no longer have to pay more on their water bills to keep plants healthy. They’re also enjoying the time that Xeriscape™ provides through landscaping that doesn’t require a great deal of maintenance. Best of all, in many parts of the country, this approach to landscaping means there’s beautiful plant life in the yard almost all year round.

If you drive through any suburban neighborhood or office park, you’re sure to see signs of another fashionable landscaping craze – container gardening. Any time you’ve ever seen a large stone piece of pottery turned on it’s side with small annuals blossoming out of it or a collection of wood and copper pails all holding plants or flowers at varying heights, what you’re seeing is container gardening. It’s a way to add an artistic flair and architectural interest to the front or back yard. Additionally, it creates the opportunity to feature plants at different levels, adding more complexity to a traditional or simple landscape framework. On the whole, container gardening is incredibly easy and very rewarding since it yields almost immediate results.

However creative any of these trends may be, none of them would be half as effective if it weren’t for the industry’s fastest-growing trend – outdoor and landscape lighting. Picture that colorful flowerbed or those year-round evergreen plants or that collection of interesting pottery and containers… now picture it after the sun goes down. It all vanishes without landscape lighting there to bring it to life at night. Just the addition of a few strategically placed bulbs and beams can make a significant difference in the overall appearance of a landscape project. And, with a huge variety of options including washing lights for gardens and walls, uplights for homes and large trees, unique path lighting, deck lights, underwater lighting for ponds and waterfalls to choose from, the help of a professional is the preferred way to go. Outdoor and landscape lighting contractors are experts at understanding the needs of the property owner and blending together the right mix of lighting to achieve the desired effect. What’s more professional landscape lighting consultants have the experience to know how to maximize illumination benefits without breaking the bank in the process. Best of all, when it comes to customer satisfaction, landscape lighting is near the top of the list in landscaping trends. Almost every property owner – commercial or residential – agrees that a simple outdoor lighting project was the best investment they ever made.

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