What is Landscaping?

Landscaping is the process of designing, installing or maintaining an outdoor natural area alongside a building or property. It’s used for both aesthetic and functional purposes and a well-designed landscape perfectly combines the two to bring in visitors, and more importantly, engage them with your business, or home. Predominantly, landscaping is the visual aspects outside of a property, however, indoor landscaping is possible and increasing in popularity due to its visual appeal and health benefits.

Gardening is the installation and maintenance of softscaping features, which is an essential part of landscaping, but they are by no means synonymous. Landscaping doesn’t stop at plant life and visuals, it combines hardscape features - man made aspects like sidewalks, chairs and water fountains - with softscape features - flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees - to contrast and aid in the functionality of outside and indoor areas. What’s more, irrigation, drainage and other hidden features are all combined in the landscape design process to effectively maintain the landscape once it has been installed.

As your home and backyard most likely reflect the homeowners’ personality through color and style, expert landscaping should also reflect the brand image and values of the business, through its function as much as its beauty. This shouldn’t be limited to spring though. When designing a landscape, it's important to carefully consider what plants you include so that you have plants in bloom across all seasons as well as colorful winter berries and those beautiful orange autumnal leaves that really stand out against the drab skies in fall.

>We should also point out that landscaping isn’t limited to commercial properties but has value across all industries. Rooftop gardens and living green walls can add value to any retail park, residential area or urban development such as bridges and highways. By using the hydroseeding method on highways, very large areas can be safely and quickly turned green, thus providing a pleasant travel opportunity to highway users. Hospitals landscaping can even actively benefit patient recovery time and retail landscaping can increase business revenue.

Landscaping brings us many benefits, as businesspeople, consumers and homeowners. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but who doesn’t adore lush greenery with flashes of colorful leaves and petals? Once attracted to a landscape, if it is well-designed, it should engage us enough to stay there to enjoy its beauty, the serenity or to be entertained through interactive aspects.

Landscaping brings all of the benefits of nature into areas where it might not be expected, such as urban developments, retail parks and highways. These benefits include the reduction of carbon dioxide and increased oxygen levels, the removal of particles and toxins from the air and the prevention of soil erosion which pollutes drinking water.

But the benefits of landscaping are not limited to the environment, they also help us in our everyday lives. The color green, especially through plants and shrubbery is relaxing and brings about a sense of calm and serenity that can reduce anxiety. This can even lower blood pressure and help patients in healthcare facilities recover more quickly from their procedures than patients who don’t have views of or access to natural environments.

A well-maintained landscape can promote a business by showing the attention to detail and care taken by the property owners, as well as show the care for the environment. This is particularly effective in sustainable landscapes as being eco-friendly is incredibly important in the modern world due to the harm humans are doing to the environment. So committing to sustainability, especially through landscaping, shows a business is both aware of environmental concerns and conscientious enough to want to prevent further damage, or actively join the fight against climate change.

For homeowners, good landscaping will not only beautify your home and make the neighbors jealous but it can even increase a property’s value up to a massive 15%!

Different styles or themes of landscapes have different properties. For example, Zen gardens are great for relaxation, Mediterranean gardens generally have more of a natural, wild beauty, English gardens are excellent for formal landscapes and sustainable landscapes are the best for the environment as they use less water and require less maintenance. Although a mixture of different styles can also work nicely to juxtapose the building it is surrounding rather than be perfectly coherent.

To be slightly facile, yes landscaping is sustainable because re-introducing greenery into the world in any areas or as part of any industry is good for the environment. However there are extra measures that can be implemented to design, develop and maintain a landscape even more sustainably. Doing so will benefit the planet and reduce maintenance which will in turn save you time, money and effort.

 There are many ways of designing sustainable landscapes, from choosing native plants to reduce fertilizer use and pest control needs, to keeping the lawn size to a minimum to allow for more biodiversity as well as cut down on irrigation costs, as water is a precious resource. It’s also worth choosing perennial plants over annual plants to reduce maintenance and soil disturbance as this releases carbon dioxide that has been stored in the soil back into the atmosphere.

When developing your landscape it's best to install automatic irrigation systems rather than irrigate manually as this will save a lot of time, but most importantly a lot of water. This is because they can be programmed to water according to the needs of the plants and the rainfall so no water is wasted in the process. We can also source materials locally to cut down on the pollution caused by transportation, for both softscape and hardscape materials, or better, use recycled or previously owned resources in our landscapes to lower the energy use from production.

In addition, we can use sustainable equipment by maintaining the landscape with solar-powered or solar-charged electronic equipment such as lawn mowers and hedge trimmers. Plus, aerating lawns allows for better intake of rainfall which again reduces the expensive need for irrigation. Organic fertilizers and mulch are also available for use which prevents harmful chemicals being released into the soils and being transported by stormwater runoff to our water sources.

For more information on how you can design a sustainable landscape, click here; or for more information on how to maintain a landscape sustainably, click here.

Since landscaping involves many elements of gardening, anyone can do it by themselves. However, there are some features of landscapes that require specialist equipment, expert care or experienced professionals in order to design, develop or maintain. 

It’s important to establish the differences between the types of landscapers as there are many different titles given to specific roles, namely, Landscape Contractors, Landscape Architects and Landscape Designers, although a large landscaping company will usually be made up of a combination of different specialists.

Landscape contractors usually do a bit of everything, from installing hardscape features and softscape features, to installing technical aspects such as drainage and irrigation systems and lighting. Landscape architects are expertly trained engineers who can manage all of these technical aspects without necessarily having the knowledge of plant life or ability to select the right plants for the right microclimate. Which is where landscape designers come in, with knowledge of plant species and the ability to design attractive and engaging green spaces.

Since a landscaping company should have all of these positions filled, they should be able to design, install and maintain the technical aspects as well as grade the land in preparation and maintain plants, water fountains and ponds, to name a few features.

To learn more about how to choose the right landscaping contractor, check out our blog here.

The cost of a landscape is hard to pinpoint exactly as there are so many changing factors that determine each landscaping project’s cost. The size of the landscape, to begin with, determines how many hardscape and softscape features should be present and how large they should be in order to make full use of the space.

The materials used in said hardscape features will also have an effect on the price of landscaping. Should you use those terracotta pots or lightweight plastic ones? How about decking or stone patios? There are many factors to consider when designing a landscape, but fear not - there are plenty of expert landscaping companies out there who can advise on such issues.

The state of the landscape before installation also changes the cost, as barren or compacted land will need digging over and the addition of nutrients to the soil. Plus, if non-native plants are going to be used in the landscape, the soil will have to be made fit for planting and there will be extra costs of maintaining the plants and keeping them healthy in a different environment to the ones they are used to.

This all makes a sustainable landscape a much more attractive idea, for the sake of the environment as much as your budget. For sustainable landscape design advice, check out our blog here.

Now you know what landscaping is and all its benefits for the environment, your property and your mental health, you must be wondering how you can get started! Fortunately, it’s really easy.

You can either get clued up even more over at our resource center, delve into some of our blogs or check out some handy YouTube videos to help you visualize what kind of landscape you want to design or develop.

When you’re ready, you should make a checklist of all the requirements you have for your landscape for the landscaping company you choose so that there’s no miscommunication and you get the landscape of your dreams. Don’t be shy to shop around a little, there are many factors which make a landscaping firm right for you, and fortunately, we’ve made a handy article right here.

Avoid lawns where possible:
Lawns need a lot of maintenance to keep them looking neat, including lots of water, so it’s best to use other groundcover plants or keep your lawn to a minimum. If you do have one, you can make it more sustainable by grasscycling (leaving grass cuttings on the lawn to reseed and fertilize) or letting them go dormant in summer.

Be aware of your microclimate and your landscape’s exposure to certain elements:
From soil type to which areas of your landscape are sunny, windy, collect more rainwater… design appropriately so each of your plants gets the best conditions.

Choose native, drought-resistant plants: Known as xeriscaping, this reduces the need for fertilizer use, as well as pest control. It also reduced watering needs and soil manipulation, which releases carbon dioxide that had been sequestered.

Don’t have slopes:
Slopes make landscapes difficult to maintain, especially if turfed. They also contribute to stormwater runoff and soil erosion, both of which are bad for our water reserves. If it’s not possible to get rid of slopes, plant deep-rooted trees or hydroseed them to minimize soil dispersion.

Employ hardscape and softscape features:
Realistically you need both in your landscape or backyard for functionality as well as aesthetics - too much of either is visually less appealing and won’t function in the way you desire.

Fulfill Hydrozoning:
Hydrozoning involves grouping plants according to their water needs. This makes maintenance much easier since all plants in one area require the same amount and frequency of water, and reduces water waste.

Get the help of an experienced landscaping company:
Landscaping is very broad and can involve many different aspects through design, development and maintenance. If you think it’s too much work or you’re struggling to keep up, then ask a landscaping firm for assistance.

At Karaoglu Landscaping, we believe that Landscaping is the number one way to improve your business or your home. It’s the first thing your visitors will see so why not optimize it? We design, develop and maintain your landscape, all with sustainability at the heart, so if you need help with your landscape, why not book your initial consultation, or check out our other information pages.