Landscaping As An Investment

Best practices from a leading tri-state area commercial landscaper. Learn about small, simple investments that can help showcase your property.

Landscaping is a worthy investment when it comes to making your property stand apart from others. It can be one of the most cost effective ways for you to keep your property competitive by making it more attractive to both current and future tenants. Partnering with an expert landscaper who can meet your property's needs, can make a big difference.

Since 1988, Lawns by Yorkshire has been providing comprehensive landscape and design services to the tri-state area's commercial, managed community, and multi-family property sectors. Burke Hammonds, Vice President at Lawns by Yorkshire, has 10 years of experience addressing the commercial landscaping issues facing property managers.

According to Burke, expert landscapers know the "small, simple investments that can help showcase your property." One cost saving step you can take is to reduce the number of annual flowers you plant and introduce a mixture of perennials which don't need to be rotated every year. This also adds the benefit of reduced water costs, as many perennials tend to require less water. Another way to save money is to implement more sustainable plants. There are specific plants that can withstand drought-like conditions. Having a mixture of these plants can help maintain a healthy looking landscape during the hot, dry summer months.

To make a simple yet affordable impact and showcase your property to current and prospective tenants, Burke suggests "adding concentrated flower arrangements at the building's signage and entrances to help draw positive attention." In addition, "a clean, well-manicured, and healthy landscape goes a lot farther than a lush landscape that shows signs of neglect and overgrown grounds."

During the winter months, salt and melting ice can affect the soil which can ultimately burn out your plants and shrubs. To make the most out of your landscaping budget, "make sure you select the right plant palettes for the areas where snow piling is anticipated. It's critical to maintaining a healthy, vigorous landscape," says Burke.

Lawns by Yorkshire also utilizes technology to further enhance the communication process between the company and its' clients. State of the art video monitoring and GPS systems help them keep tabs on their clients' properties when remote and improve communication between site visits. "We're constantly looking to educate our clients and get them to understand landscaping," according to Burke. Overall, maintaining good communication between you and your landscaper is key to turning your buildings' landscaping projects into a good investment.