Commercial Landscaping Blog for The San Jose | Bay Area, CA

10 Drought Friendly Grasses used for Corporate Landscaping

Low Maintenance drought resistant and appealing to the eye. What property manager or owner wouldn’t want to get those qualities out of their commercial landscaping service — at the same time? One way to achieve your goal is through the appropriate design and use of drought resistant landscaping.

Today, drought tolerant grasses are gaining popularity and demand for their low maintenance qualities, including their low water use and pest free benefits. Available in multiple colors, textures and sizes, they are also appealing for corporate and apartment landscaping. When used appropriately, your commercial landscape maintenance will benefit from the year around interest provided, can be used as accents or ground cover, and can even in raised decorative containers. 

Summer is a great time to refresh your bark mulch. Mulching is beneficial for your property but can also cause damage if not installed appropriately. The damaging effects occur when  a landscape maintenance service applies excessive amounts of mulch. Suffocation occurs when the bark is piled around the base of your trees and plants. The effects of excessive mulching cause decay because of the high water retention rate inviting disease and harmful pathogens to enter into the plants bark. 

Applying mulch to your corporate office park landscaping and hoa landscaping can provide a number of benefits, including reduced erosion and water loss, improved soil nutrition and a more balanced soil temperature. Different kinds of mulch provide these benefits at different levels. The river rocks and other small stones often used to prevent weed growth in landscapes are attractive, can help conserve water and require little maintenance, but they don't nourish or insulate the soil in the same ways as conventional organic mulch.

What are you doing to reduce water consumption on your property? In the bay area, although we have received some sporadic rainfall, this winter has been relatively dry. From reduced snowpack in the Sierra’s to low water reserves in lakes and reservoirs, in California, the lack of rainfall is a concerning matter, especially for Bay area water supplies. The California’s Department of Water Resources is urging businesses and residences state wide to reduce water use by 20 percent and have communicated that despite the fact that we have reduced our water footprint by 20%, the cost of water will continue to rise. Here are some ways you can help to conserve water usage in and around your commercial property.

Fortunately, Nature has been pretty nice to us compared to storms in past seasons and unfortunately has a way of catching us off guard. We have been hit hard with the drought all this year, but that could change quickly.

The plantings around your properties building perimeter can make a big difference in many ways. Having the right plants to tolerate the cold weather is part of the equation for great foundation plants but plant material that is interfering with window views, walk way and crowding out the others is another factor to consider. Planting the right combination of foliage and plants will ultimately impact your landscaping design one way or the other. The real challenge for most commercial properties is deciding on the right balance of plants that can tolerate the cold and fit into your design.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and with the current drought, how will your bay area landscaping picture look in 10 years?  Depending on how much lawn you have can greatly impact your picture, and here’s why.

On average a lawn requires a minimum of 30 Gallon of water per year, for each 12” square foot of landscaping in order to keep it green and thriving, and with current water restrictions you might be fortunate enough if you are getting half of that amount.

We all know that potable water is becoming a scarce commodity these days in the bay area, without much choice but to accept the "brown as your new green", but there’s hope. Let’s look at your options, and fortunately there are a few that can bring back your landscaping to the "real green" that everyone wants.

Now that we know that lawns consume at least double the amount of irrigation than water wise landscaping, costing more to maintain, require weekly maintenance, consume lots of water, fertilizer and pesticides. With that said, let’s consider a better choice that consists of replacing your lawn.

But how much does it cost to replace my lawn? Read on

This time of the year is Prime Planting Season for Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers.They often establish more quickly when properly irrigated. The warmer weather allows the plants root system to acclimate more quickly pushing the flowers into bloom.

Landscape Management Tips for the Drought

• Reduce the Landscape watering frequency for established plantings

• Deep water trees keeping them well hydrated

• Monitor Trees and Shrubs for drought stress

• Adjust Watering Frequency Per Drought Watering Restrictions

• Have trees inspected by an experienced arborist for dead or diseased or unsafe branches.

• Consider Long Term Planning for Converting Lawns to Drought Friendly Landscaping

• Replace Annual Color with Drought Resistant Flowers

• Mulch Trees and shrubs for water conservation

• Inspect Plant material for insect damage

• Install Smart Watering Systems

Succulents are ideal for the drought conditions in Urban and Corporate settings. For most corporate and bay area properties, 50% of outdoor watering is used for landscape maintenance and using drought tolerant plants in its place can save up to 50% or more. Succulents were originally introduced into the bay area for their drought tolerant characteristics and there low maintenance advantages. 

Commercial property managers of corporate offices and residential communities have a unique opportunity to improve their outdoor environment in corporate settings with well-designed and maintained landscaping. Design elements of the relaxation garden help reduce stress by incorporating design components of nature in the garden. The natural environment presents stimuli that supports and encourages relaxation and social group activities.

Exercise, a sense of control; social activity and nature help reduce stress resulting in healthy outcomes.