The right commercial landscape plants can transform your space from bland to beautiful. Plants provide cohesion, color, and life to any environment. They make spaces feel more inviting and comfortable, which will bring visitors back again and again.
Today, we at Landscape II—home of the best landscaping services in PA— will help you create stunning, well-designed commercial landscapes that boost curb appeal and leave a lasting impression on everyone who visits.
Let's talk about the best plants and trees that provide a stunning display when added to your commercial property!
Key Takeaways
Choosing the right commercial landscape plants can enhance property value and aesthetic appeal.
Hardy plants and a mix of seasonal varieties ensure year-round color and texture.
Investing in professional landscaping services ensures optimal results with minimal maintenance.
Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses are a fantastic choice for adding movement, texture, and visual interest to your commercial property. They are known for their drought tolerance and low maintenance, making them ideal for commercial landscaping. Here are a few native to Pennsylvania:
Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
Benefits: Known for its tall, graceful plumes, big bluestem adds vertical interest and texture to your landscape. It's drought-tolerant and requires minimal upkeep.
Use: Works well in garden beds and as a backdrop for shorter plants.
Gold dew tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa)
Benefits: This ornamental grass offers a lovely gold hue, providing a vibrant splash of color. It thrives in partial shade and well-drained soil, adding a unique visual appeal.
Use: Ideal for flower beds and areas with partial shade.
Bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix)
Benefits: With its distinctive, brush-like seed heads, bottle brush grass brings texture and depth to any landscape. It's perfect for low-maintenance landscaping.
Use: Excellent for planting in garden beds and alongside trees and shrubs for added texture.
Trees
Trees are a wonderful addition to any commercial property. They offer variety, shade, and seasonal appeal and make your commercial landscape more attractive throughout the year.
Here are some excellent examples of deciduous and evergreen trees native to Pennsylvania:
White oak (Quercus alba)
Benefits: Known for its majestic stature and beautiful fall colors, white oak provides ample shade and enhances property value. It's a long-lived tree that thrives in a variety of soil conditions.
Use: Ideal for large open spaces and as a focal point in your landscape.
Red maple (Acer rubrum)
Benefits: Red maple is admired for its brilliant red fall foliage and adaptability. It's a versatile tree that grows well in different soil types and conditions.
Use: Perfect for lining walkways, parking lots, or as a shade tree in garden beds.
Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)
Benefits: This evergreen tree provides year-round greenery and is excellent for creating privacy screens. It's fast-growing and tolerant of various soil types.
Use: Suitable for property borders, windbreaks, and as a backdrop for other plants.
Evergreen Plants
Evergreen plants provide year-round color and privacy for your commercial property. They are low maintenance, require minimal pruning, and are cost-effective, making them an excellent choice for commercial landscaping. Here is an example of an evergreen plant native to Pennsylvania:
American holly (Ilex opaca)
Benefits: American holly offers glossy, green foliage and bright red berries that provide a pop of color during the winter months. It is also drought-tolerant and provides excellent privacy.
Use: Ideal for hedges, privacy screens, and as a focal point in garden beds.
Perennials and Seasonal Plants
Adding color and texture throughout the year is key to maintaining an attractive commercial property. Perennials and seasonal plants are excellent choices for achieving this. Here are some examples:
Perennials
Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)
Benefits: These are native plants that provide Pennsylvania with vibrant yellow blooms in late summer and fall, adding a splash of color to your landscape. It's drought-tolerant and thrives in full sun.
Use: Ideal for garden beds and borders, providing consistent color and minimal upkeep.
Blazing star (Liatris spicata)
Benefits: Known for their striking spikes of purple flowers, blazing stars are perennial plants that add height and visual interest. It's drought-tolerant and attracts pollinators.
Use: Perfect for planting in clusters or as a focal point in flower beds.
Seasonal favorites
Spring
Crocuses, daffodils, tulips, pansies, violas
Benefits: These early bloomers bring vibrant colors to your landscape after the winter months.
Use: Ideal for garden beds, borders, and containers.
Summer
Lavender, aster, peonies, geraniums, coreopsis
Benefits: These plants thrive in the summer heat and add a variety of colors and textures.
Use: Perfect for flower beds, containers, and accents in your landscape.
Fall
Irises, peonies, chrysanthemums, miscanthus
Benefits: These plants offer deep, rich colors that complement the autumn season.
Use: Great for garden beds, borders, and adding seasonal color.
Winter
Snapdragons, painted tongues, pansies
Benefits: These hardy plants provide color even in colder months, ensuring your landscape remains attractive.
Use: Suitable for flower beds, containers, and along walkways.
Shrubs
Shrubs are essential for adding structure, color, and habitat for wildlife to commercial properties. They provide visual interest and are typically low maintenance, making them perfect for commercial landscaping. Here are a couple of great options:
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) - Deciduous
Benefits: Spicebush is known for its fragrant yellow flowers in spring and bright red berries in fall, which attract birds and other wildlife. It thrives in partial shade and moist, well-drained soil.
Use: Ideal for borders, garden beds, and naturalized areas, providing seasonal interest and wildlife habitat.
Inkberry (Ilex glabra) - Evergreen
Benefits: This evergreen shrub features glossy, dark green leaves and small black berries, offering year-round color and texture. It's tolerant of wet soils and provides excellent coverage.
Use: Perfect for hedges, foundation plantings, and mixed borders, this shrub offers low maintenance and continuous visual appeal.
Ground Covers
Ground covers are perfect for areas with foot traffic, erosion control, and low maintenance needs. They add visual interest and are practical for commercial properties. Here are two excellent choices:
Prostrate blue violet (Viola walteri 'Silver gem')
Benefits: This ground cover features beautiful silver and green leaves with delicate blue flowers in the spring. It's tolerant of partial shade and provides excellent coverage with minimal care.
Use: Ideal for planting between stepping stones, along walkways, and in garden beds where you need a hardy, attractive ground cover.
Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens)
Benefits: Known for its fragrant white flowers and attractive mottled leaves, Allegheny Spurge is excellent for erosion control. It thrives in shady areas and well-drained soil.
Use: Perfect for covering large areas under trees, along slopes, and in shaded garden beds to prevent soil erosion and provide a lush, green carpet.
Design for Foot Traffic
Hardy plants are essential for maintaining a beautiful and functional landscape in areas with heavy foot traffic. These plants can endure the stress of frequent trampling while still providing visual interest and coverage.
Examples: Daylilies and Black-eyed Susan are excellent choices. They are resilient, low maintenance, and offer vibrant blooms that can handle high-traffic conditions.
To make them even more suited for high-traffic areas, combine the plants with hardscape elements, such as pavers, stepping stones, and gravel, for pathways that are both attractive and durable. This combination helps protect plants from excessive damage while providing a practical walking surface.
Transitioning Between Seasons
A fresh and inviting landscape throughout the year requires seamless seasonal transitions. Seasonal transitions keep your landscape vibrant and appealing. As different plants thrive during various times of the year, planning for these changes helps maintain continuous visual interest and health in your garden beds and overall outdoor space.
Best practices for seasonal plant changes
Plan ahead: Schedule planting times to coincide with the changing seasons. For instance, spring bulbs can be planted in the fall and summer annuals in late spring to ensure a smooth transition.
Use seasonal plants: Incorporate a variety of seasonal plants to keep your landscape looking fresh. For example, use winter jasmine and pansies for winter, daffodils and tulips for spring, lavender and geraniums for summer, and chrysanthemums and miscanthus for fall. (Of course, this selection will vary depending on your area.)
Maintain your greenery: Keep up with maintenance services like pruning, mulching, and fertilizing to ensure plants are healthy and prepared for the upcoming season.
Mix perennials and annuals: Combining perennial plants, which return each year, with annual flowers, which need replanting each season, creates a dynamic landscape.
Perennials like shasta daisy and oakleaf hydrangea provide a constant backdrop, while annuals add seasonal color and variety.
Adapt to weather conditions: Be mindful of local climate and weather patterns. Choose drought-tolerant plants for hot, humid weather and winter annuals for colder months to ensure your landscape thrives year-round.
By following these best practices, you can achieve seamless seasonal transitions that keep your commercial property inviting and well-maintained throughout the year.
Let's Make Your Landscape Legendary
You might not think plants can add much to your business, but a well-designed landscape can make a significant difference in making your property inviting to your potential clients.
Invest in professional landscaping services to make sure your property always looks its best. And when it comes to the best, there's no one but Landscape II. We'll turn your space into a beautiful and inviting place that impresses all year round.
Contact Landscape II for a FREE consultation today! Find out why our designers and architects are the top choice in Pennsylvania.
Looking for low-maintenance ideas to elevate your property? Don’t miss our blog, 4 Low-Maintenance Commercial Landscaping Ideas for State College, PA.
Frequently Asked Questions
What plants are used commercially?
Commercial landscape plants include a variety of trees, shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses, and ground covers chosen for their durability, low maintenance, and visual appeal.
What are landscape ornamental plants?
Landscape ornamental plants are decorative plants used in landscaping to enhance the visual appeal of an area. These can include flowers, shrubs, grasses, and trees that offer aesthetic value through their colors, shapes, and textures.
Which of the following are commercial uses of plants?
Commercial uses of plants include enhancing property aesthetics, controlling erosion, providing shade and privacy, attracting wildlife, and improving the overall environment of properties for commercial clients.
What types of plants are used in a residential landscape?
Residential landscapes often use a mix of trees, shrubs, perennials, annual flowers, ornamental grasses, and ground covers to create visually appealing and functional outdoor spaces.
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