The Top Landscape Design Mistakes to Avoid in Northeast Florida

When you manage a commercial property in Northeast Florida, you don’t have time for landscape problems.

You want a landscape design that works best for you, in terms of aesthetics and functionality. And many bad landscaping choices can be prevented when designing your commercial landscape.

These top landscape design mistakes are the biggest ones to avoid:

• Ignoring traffic flow
• Not understanding your commercial landscape’s drainage
• Installing the wrong plants
• Planting too near structures and buildings
• Not installing mulch
• Ignoring seasonal color
• Hiring an unqualified professional

Let’s learn more about them so you can ensure your property doesn’t develop costly problems down the road.

Skip These Landscape Design Mistakes

No one wants to discover that they have a big problem with their commercial landscape.

Whether it’s due to bad landscaping choices or dated landscape trends, you can avoid these commercial landscape issues in North Florida by avoiding them.

Ignoring Traffic Flow

Your commercial landscape should look good, but it also needs to function for visitors and guests.

This includes having room for adequate parking, entryways that cars can navigate smoothly, delivery entrances, and walkways for people to make it from the parking lot to the building entrance.

A key part of avoiding landscape problems is ensuring that your commercial landscape design considers your site's traffic flow.

Not Understanding Your Commercial Landscape’s Drainage

Another bad landscaping choice we see is creating a landscape that doesn’t consider drainage on the property.

Adequate drainage for irrigation and stormwater—especially with our afternoon rains in Florida—ensures your property won’t become a muddy mess. It also protects your building structures from water damage that can lead to costly repairs.

A proper landscape design will utilize tools like plant choice, grading, hardscape materials, and drainage techniques to ensure water moves efficiently through your facility.

Installing the Wrong Plants

There are many options for trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals for your commercial landscape.

Just because a plant looks nice doesn’t mean it is right for your location or landscape. Maybe it is not right for your shady or sunny spot, or maybe it is known to have a pest or disease problem in the area. Maybe the mature size doesn’t fit the space you’re planning for.

Choosing the wrong plants is a landscape problem that you may not see right away, but you can experience significant cost increases in maintenance and end up having to pay to replace these installations.

Planting Too Near Structures and Buildings

Like choosing the wrong plants, trees and shrubs should be planted near your commercial buildings or structures, including HVAC units and other key equipment.

Not only can this become a maintenance nightmare leading to landscape problems, but it can also be a safety issue, creating places for people to hide or hindering security cameras from proper visibility.

Keeping large plants away from structures and properly using landscape lighting can help promote safety in dark areas, ensuring visitors and guests feel comfortable navigating your property at all hours.

Not Installing Mulch

Prioritizing mulch installation is a key component of commercial landscape design and maintenance.

Even if you’re trying to cut costs, this is one bad landscaping choice to avoid. Why? Because mulch – to start – gives your property an instant neat and tidy look.

In addition, it helps control weeds, maintain soil temperature, retain soil moisture, and add organic nutrients to the soil as organic mulch decomposes. It can even help control erosion.

Ignoring Seasonal Color

Every property needs a wow factor, and seasonal color can deliver just that to your Northeast Florida commercial property.

Ignoring the opportunity to boost your visibility, appeal, and local business reputation with color is a bad landscaping choice.

Adding annual flower rotations is a commercial landscape enhancement that can boost curb appeal. You can maximize this by focusing on color placement, such as targeting highly visible areas like entrances, near signage and around outdoor seating.

Hiring an Unqualified Professional

Hiring an inexperienced commercial landscape service provider in Northeast Florida could be one of the biggest landscape design mistakes you could make.

This choice can disadvantage your property from the beginning. Not only can it look aesthetically unpleasing, but it can also lead to security issues, visitor injury claims or liability issues, and costly repairs.

You’re looking for someone who listens to your needs and how you want to use your commercial space. You want someone who has worked on properties like yours and understands how function and aesthetics can work together to benefit you. You want a pro who can work with all areas of your property – from softscapes to hardscapes.

Avoid Dated Landscape Trends by Working With A Pro in Northeast Florida

Let’s face it: Your commercial business and building represent your brand, and your landscape can speak to that with a design that reflects your mission and vision—whether that is soothing or healing, professional, sustainable, modern, or innovative.

A Northeast Florida commercial landscape professional can bring the right commercial landscaping enhancements that don’t lead to landscape problems down the road and instead keep elevating your business so more people engage with you, more traffic is drawn to your site, more customers gravitate to your business, and you even save money and conserve water and energy.

Need help with your commercial curb appeal? Contact Taylor Anthony 365 today. We’d love to give you some ideas on how to elevate your commercial property to that next level.

Want a Northeast Florida commercial property that has great curb appeal? Request a proposal today. Together, we can help your grounds look amazing while also providing great areas for function and usability.