As October draws to a close and we settle into the new snow season, the winter holidays are just around the corner. With all sorts of preparations to be had, landscaping tends to be the furthest thing from people’s minds. On top of that, most people tend to think that landscaping is only done during the warmer months of the year. But landscaping goes well beyond planting seasonal flowers and mowing the lawn. In fact, with Denver’s relatively clear and mild climate (as long as the sun’s out!), winter is actually one of the best times of year to get landscaping services done.
In this article, we’ll delve into a few great winter landscaping ideas for your commercial property:
5 Winter Landscaping Improvements for Your Commercial Property
Add Life and Color to Your Property with Winter-friendly Native Plants
Commercial properties can look gray and dreary during the winter months since many plants go dormant. A relatively simple way to bring some serious color and life to your property is to implement plants that are well-suited to Colorado’s winter weather. Some examples include:
- Plants with colored and textured bark like Red Twig Dogwood
- Plants that give colored berries like Holly, Wild Rose, and Oregon Grape
- Evergreens like Colorado Blue Spruce and Dwarf Conifers
- Decorative grasses like Fescue and Japanese Sedge
Another way to add color to your property is to add these plants to colorful containers, planters, and window boxes. Colorful mulch can also bring contrast to your property in addition to its uses as an insulator and temperature regulator.
Upgrade and Repair Your Hardscapes
Winter weather can take a toll on your hardscapes. Frost action from the freeze/thaw cycle, harsh deicer chemicals, and snow removal all pose risks of damaging your hardscapes. Fortunately, the Denver area sees around 300 days of sunshine (so the saying goes), and this makes winter a great time to make repairs or upgrades to your property’s hardscapes while giving things time to cure properly. Common winter hardscape services include:
- Pressure washing
- Paver joint re-sanding
- Surface sealing
- Replacing damaged/missing pavers
- Replacing damaged concrete slabs
Create or Renovate Outdoor Gathering Areas
A landscaping improvement that can make your property both functional and comfortable is to create or overhaul outdoor common areas. Certain properties may frequently have customers who may want to gather, eat, or relax outdoors on the premises, and making sure that they are warm and cozy can make your property much more inviting and appealing in the winter. Some improvements you can make include:
- Install covers/awnings/canopies for outdoor areas
- Create functional and stylish seating spaces
- Install outdoor patio heaters or smokeless fire pits
Make Drainage and Gradient Improvements
An often overlooked aspect of snow and ice management is preventing water from pooling up in areas where it will create icy hazards. Drainage and gradient improvements can greatly improve safety in the winter by controlling where water is diverted to on the property. This is especially important for properties that choose to keep snow piles stored on the property; snow piles can take months to fully melt, creating a daily flow of runoff that is sure to leave a sheet of black ice wherever the water flows. Common drainage and gradient improvements for landscaping include:
- French drains
- Channel drains
- Catch basins
- Retaining walls with proper drainage
Upgrade Your Landscape Lighting
Lighting serves both functional and aesthetic purposes in landscaping, and making improvements or repairs to your property’s lighting can have a dramatic effect on its safety and appearance at night.
- Path lights are used to highlight walkways and ensure safety walking around at night
- Downlights are typically installed under awnings, trees, and other elevated things to make your property feel warm and welcoming
- Floodlights are used to illuminate large areas and used to light up landscape displays and building exteriors
- Shadow lighting uses landscape features like trees, shrubs, or decorations to project dramatic shadows against exterior walls behind them
- Decorative lights can be used to add color and holiday cheer to your property, and are commonly used alongside other decorations, in trees, and to highlight building entrances
Want to Make Improvements to Your Commercial Landscape This Winter?
GroundMasters Landscape Services is Here for All Your Commercial Landscaping Needs
With over 28 years of experience, our landscape design experts can help you design or renovate your commercial property with any landscape enhancements you can dream of, and we can make sure your property looks great no matter the season with our year-round commercial landscape services.
To see what GroundMasters can do for your Denver area business or commercial property, give us a call today at (303) 750-8867 or get in touch with us online to get started.