Commercial Landscaping: The Impact of Adding a Garden to Your Commercial Property

Last Updated: May 3, 2024

As a commercial property owner, you always look for ways to attract customers, tenants, and great employees. You understand that first impressions are important, so you’ve likely considered ways to improve your commercial landscaping. That may even include adding a garden to your property.

But is a garden worth the extra investment? By improving your property’s curb appeal, you’ll increase the chances that your property will get noticed and stand out from the competition, resulting in a boost to your bottom line.

An Introduction to Commercial Gardens

The beautiful thing about commercial landscape design is that your garden can be a one-of-a-kind experience. Working with your landscaper, you can choose the layout, the elements, and all the varieties of plants to make your garden truly unique.

• Planting beds. They can feature a variety of ornamental plants. Some of the best plants for commercial properties include annuals, perennials, shrubs, and small trees.
• Hardscapes. Paths, patios, and retaining walls get incorporated into the garden design. Water features. Include fountains, water wells, or even small ponds.
• Seating areas. Integrate benches, tables, and chairs.
• Outdoor art. Showcase sculptures, murals, and other unique and creative elements.
• Sustainable features. Incorporate native plants, rain gardens, and green roofs.

Adding these new features to your landscape can quickly become pricey, but we believe a gorgeous garden can ultimately pay for itself in several ways.

Attract and Keep Tenants

Most commercial properties opt for the bare minimum when it comes to landscaping. The result is a drab exterior that lacks colour and visual interest.

Tenants realize that a property with a boring or unattractive exterior could impact how people perceive their business. It won’t catch the attention of prospective customers – and at worst, it could even leave them with a negative impression of their business. This could eventually lead tenants to seek out a new property that would be better for their own business interests.

On the other hand, if you maintain attractive landscaping on your property year-round, your tenants will know you understand the value of curb appeal. They’re more likely to be satisfied with your property and keep their business there longer.

Increased Rental Rates

When business owners select a property to rent for their business, they care about paying a fair price and getting the most value for their money. Your investment in commercial landscaping directly benefits your tenants by presenting an attractive, welcoming façade to their current and potential customers. As a result, they may be willing to pay higher rental rates in order to receive this added value for their business. In fact, a study in the Journal of Arboriculture found that office properties with a “high-quality landscape” were renting for nearly 7% more than similar properties with lower-quality landscapes.

Therefore, an investment in professional landscaping is a win-win situation for both you as the property owner and your commercial tenants.

Bring in More Customers

If you operate a business on your property, then you are likely looking for ways to excite and compel customers to walk through your door. A beautiful outdoor landscape can make customers feel you care about your business. A study from the Journal of Forestry found that shoppers would spend 9 - 12% more in central business districts with a high-quality tree canopy and even travel a greater distance to visit a well-landscaped shopping centre.

Improved Employee Wellness

Low employee productivity can quietly eat away at your profit margin, which is why so many companies invest in employee wellness programs. Even your commercial grounds maintenance may have a positive impact on your employees. One study found that the simple presence of plants improved the self-reported wellness of employees by 15%, productivity by 6%, and creativity by 15%. It even cut absenteeism by 10%.

Think about how nice it would be for employees to take walks around the garden paths on their breaks or to eat lunch in a picnic area surrounded by beautiful commercial landscape plants and flowers. A gorgeous garden may just make your employees feel happier.

Energy Efficiency Savings

There are many ways smart commercial landscape designs can improve the energy efficiency of your commercial property. If you are paying high costs on energy and water bills, the landscaping of your commercial property could dramatically lower your costs.

First, just by replacing concrete and asphalt with plants, you can reduce your property's heat island effect. This means you can lower the ambient temperature around your building and not use as much air conditioning in the summer. Another way to cut your air conditioning is to plant deciduous trees near your building, which can provide shade during the summer. In contrast, in the winter, the bare branches allow sunlight to warm the building and reduce heating costs.

Is your business in a windy area? Consider planting rows of evergreens or shrubs to act as windbreaks. This can reduce the wind chill factor and keep your building a little warmer during cold weather.

If your region is susceptible to drought, consider switching water-hungry grass for drought-tolerant plants and an efficient irrigation system to slash your landscaping water costs.

Finally, if you want to go all out, adding a green roof system is a great way to naturally insulate your building, reducing heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer. A rooftop garden could also be an amazing attraction for employees.

Professional Commercial Garden Services

The benefits of adding a professionally landscaped garden to your commercial property are well worth the investment. However, making the decision to add attractive landscaping to your property is just the first step. You’ll need to find the right commercial landscaping company to do the work, including everything from planning and design to installing hardscapes and plant beds, and managing the ongoing care your landscape will need.

The right company should have both experience and expertise and be able to help you choose the right commercial landscape plants based on your vision and budget. They should also be great communicators and be able to stick to their budget and timeline.

All of this is second nature to us. Contact us at The Grounds Guys®. We are your commercial landscaping pros. We can create a garden of nearly any size and scope, including gardens that incorporate large hardscape features. Our Neighbourly Done Right Promise™ means we’ll always put customer satisfaction first in everything we do. Once we’re done with your garden, keep us on for your commercial lawn care and maintenance services.

Contact your local The Grounds Guys today. We have teams throughout the United States and Canada with local and regional knowledge to personalize your garden even more. Ready to boost your bottom line with a gorgeous garden? Request a free estimate.