![\"landscaping](\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/top-4-landscaping-trends-2020-2.jpg\")
For landscape designers and contractors, this may require increased coordination with irrigation subcontractors as they seek to ensure these progressively more nuanced outdoor living spaces stay beautiful year-round.<\/p>\nSmaller lawns are big news, and living large outdoors is in. Homeowners want more native plants, but they also want their yard looking good year-round. And they want to use new technology to better manage their outdoor water use.<\/p>\n
These are just a few of the trends that irrigation and green industry experts identified when we asked them what\u2019s hot and what\u2019s not in landscape design, as well as how these latest developments affect irrigation work.<\/p>\n
Here are four trends they identified as becoming more popular in the past year, as well as tips for how landscape and irrigation contractors can work with them.<\/p>\n
Probably the biggest trend contractors mentioned was outdoor living spaces. People want to connect with nature while still enjoying the amenities of the indoors and with less yard to care for. This means more hardscapes (especially higher-end ones such as stained or polished concrete); more outdoor furniture; more outdoor lighting, kitchens and fireplaces; and of course, more technology such as outdoor TVs.<\/p>\n
For landscape designers and contractors, this may require increased coordination with irrigation subcontractors as they seek to ensure these progressively more nuanced outdoor living spaces stay beautiful year-round.<\/p>\n
Andy Blanchford with Blanchford Landscape Group, a residential design-build company that focuses on the Big Sky ski resort market near Bozeman, Montana, says that he\u2019s seen a big shift in recent years. Whereas he used to install a lot of softscapes, that portion of his business has precipitously fallen off while installation of \u201creally fantastic outdoor living spaces\u201d has risen dramatically.<\/p>\n
These outdoor spaces have become an increasingly important way for people to decouple from the technology that dominates our lives, yet that doesn\u2019t mean people want to leave it behind entirely, Blanchford says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe invite people outside to connect with nature right in their backyard, maybe inclusive of the technology too,\u201d says Blanchford. \u201cWhat that means is more indoor-like amenities outdoors, such as furniture, a nice firepit or heat source and maybe a fireplace. We make it more inviting at all hours of the day and even for two to three seasons. Then, in some cases, for us it\u2019s also bringing some of the technology outside \u2014 an outdoor TV or nice lighting, things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"landscaping](\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/top-4-landscaping-trends-2020-3.jpg\")
Close coordination with irrigation contractors is essential in order to ensure that the project comes off right. \u201cThere\u2019s got to be a lot more planning with the irrigation team, whether they\u2019re subcontractors or not, because you\u2019re putting in all these hardscapes,\u201d he says, citing the need for subsurface drip work when watering three-inch turf joints between precast slabs, for example. \u201cThese are a lot more intricate, detailed spaces than just sprinkling a large area of turf.\u201d<\/p>\n
To focus on his outdoor living business, several years ago, he sold his irrigation business to another company and began hiring them as subcontractors. That was a good business decision, but it\u2019s added complications.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lose the ability to say, \u2018I want you here today and tomorrow,\u2019\u201d says Blanchford. \u201cYou can, but they have their own scheduling issues. So, we sat down with the contractor and worked it out to where we made a very strong commitment to being 100% ready for them.\u201d In working with subcontractors, he recommends using one point of contact to streamline communication, sharing equipment if needed to get the job done and ensuring that interactions with the customer come across as seamless.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s teamwork,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it doesn\u2019t really matter if they\u2019re a company or a crew, we\u2019re all on the same team trying to get the work done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another trend is larger homes on smaller lots. Landscape architect Deborah Finch of Land Aspects LLC, in Denver says that people are shifting away from large yards to smaller spaces with more beds and an increasing variety of plantings. \u201cPeople just don\u2019t want to be out there mowing these huge yards anymore,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
One of the things people are doing is replacing bluegrass with planting beds.<\/p>\n
![\"landscaping](\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/top-4-landscaping-trends-2020-4.jpg\")
Reducing the amount of grass goes hand in hand with efforts to reduce water usage, says Finch, especially in Colorado where water is a major concern. \u201cWe\u2019re a headwater state with very strict water laws,\u201d she says. Because there is tiered water pricing in her area, Finch says people are much more aware of how much water is used.<\/p>\n
With more bed areas to water, drip irrigation has to be especially fine-tuned to the specific needs of the landscape. For example, Finch says, trees typically have different water requirements than shrubs and perennials. \u201cDepending on the plant materials, you have to understand how many different irrigation zones you need,\u201d she says. \u201cI may need to specify that they need to add a separate zone for pines, for example.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another trend that Finch sees is smaller spaces in urban environments. Condo and townhouse dwellers want to green their small yards and balconies with pots and raised planters. She\u2019s seeing an increasing number of smaller drip irrigation systems that attach to balconies or small planters, a trend that contractors can take advantage of.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/top-4-landscaping-trends-2020-5.jpg\")
\u201cThey\u2019re more intimate spaces, where you can gather a few other people and friends and have a barbeque outside,\u201d she says. With these smaller irrigation systems, owners and renters are now able to enjoy landscape features in more compact spaces.<\/p>\n
These drip systems irrigate efficiently by releasing water slowly and allowing it to penetrate the ground rather than running it off the surface.<\/p>\n
Her advice to irrigation contractors? Fine-tune your approach. \u201cBy knowing your plant materials, the water requirements of each of them and different soils, irrigation techs can focus on conserving water,\u201d she says, something that will also help them grow new business.<\/p>\n
Native plants are increasingly popular in landscape design, and not only in places where water is an issue. Hillary Noonan of Syntax Land Design LLC, in Kansas City, Missouri, says that her state has more naturally occurring springs than any other state in the country, but she still uses irrigation because it keeps the soil healthy.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/top-4-landscaping-trends-2020-6.jpg\")
She recommends native plants because they\u2019re more resilient to weather changes. However, keeping in mind aesthetics, she also tries to design with native plants in a way that looks good year-round.<\/p>\n
\u201cI use native plants but as a designer would use them,\u201d she says, mixing native with non-native plants to get the form, color and design that she wants. \u201cIt\u2019s a delicate balance \u2014 most plants don\u2019t grow in a line in nature. You don\u2019t want it to look messy, and some natives, once they finish blooming, they really look messy. So, I put them in a place where the next thing that comes up shelters them from your view.\u201d<\/p>\n
Designing with natives and non- natives allows Noonan to save water while maximizing aesthetic considerations. \u201cIt also means I can be really water smart with it,\u201d she adds. \u201cI can put plants that need more water at the bottom, because the water goes downhill. I can implement a plant palette because I know the irrigation can change with what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
For irrigation contractors, Noonan says, this means designing an irrigation system for plants\u2019 different water requirements. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to mix together things like dry soil and wet soil,\u201d she says. \u201cYour irrigation plan can change where you\u2019re using particular plants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smart irrigation controllers are another increasingly dominant trend. Bret Eastberg, reclaimed water systems coordinator with the city of Westminster, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, says that his community is beginning to require them.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/top-4-landscaping-trends-2020-7.jpg\")
\u201cWe see more in narrow turf areas that require subsurface irrigation, like tree lawns, parking lots and medians, instead of pop-ups with fixed or vent nozzles,\u201d says Eastberg, whose city has the second largest reclaimed water system in the state, of the trend. \u201cWe require smart controllers on everything. We\u2019re moving toward requiring master valves, too, in order to do flow sensing.\u201d<\/p>\n
A flow sensor manages water flow so that a user can set a maximum flow for a given zone. If a main line breaks, the system will automatically shut off. Similarly, if someone kicks off a head in a zone, it will shut the zone off before alerting the owner or property manager with an email or text.<\/p>\n
Eastberg, who used to own a landscape company, says it\u2019s imperative that contractors and irrigation technicians get up to speed with the latest technology. \u201cThe industry is moving that way, but the city is also pushing it,\u201d he says. \u201cIt still surprises me that contractors who have been doing this for 20 years don\u2019t know what a rain sensor is, or evapotranspiration. More and more cities are doing trainings to get info out to the end users.\u201d<\/p>\n
Try these new ideas to make an impact for your customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":5021,"parent":0,"template":"","main-categories":[28],"class_list":["post-4109","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","main-categories-landscape"],"yoast_head":"\n