Which Design Elements Are Underutilized in Residential Landscaping?

Which Design Elements Are Underutilized in Residential Landscaping?

In the quest to enhance residential outdoor spaces, we've gathered insights from twelve landscape professionals, including Landscape Designers and Presidents. They share their expertise on underutilized design elements, from optimizing with hardscape elements to transforming spaces with fiberglass planters. Discover these experts' top tips for elevating your home's landscape.

• Optimize with Hardscape Elements
• Strategic Tree Placement for Efficiency
• Incorporate Lighting and Music
• Embrace Naturalistic Plantings
• Transform Front Yards into Lively Spaces
• Utilize Open Spaces Intentionally
• Integrate Boulders for Texture
• Master Color Coordination
• Choose Real Turf for Biodiversity
• Extend Usability with Landscape Lighting
• Employ Stone for Versatility and Durability
• Transform Spaces with Fiberglass Planters

Optimize with Hardscape Elements

Our business specializes in kitchen gardens and therapeutic gardens, which means we focus on optimizing gardening experiences in many ways. Various kinds and sizes of raised beds, benches, bird baths, and trellises are hardscape design elements we use regularly but find them underutilized in common residential landscaping. Our goal is to create inviting garden spaces where you can rest, de-stress, recharge, and grow organic food at the same time. Trellises are probably our favorite hardscape elements, due to their versatility in shape, material, color, and size. Besides increasing growing space for vining vegetables, they add a lot of year-round interest to any garden space, help create garden rooms, and invite entrances.

Strategic Tree Placement for Efficiency

One often underutilized design element in residential landscaping is the strategic placement of trees for shade and energy efficiency. Many homeowners overlook how well-positioned trees can naturally cool a home, reduce energy costs, and create comfortable outdoor living spaces. By planting deciduous trees on the south and west sides of a house, you can block summer heat while allowing winter sunlight to warm the home. This not only enhances the aesthetic appeal but also contributes to long-term environmental and financial benefits.

Incorporate Lighting and Music

The enchanting effect of accent lighting and the captivating qualities of music in the night garden are often underestimated. Skillfully placed landscape lighting not only guides movement but also frames views in an unmatched way. Meanwhile, the gentle murmur of soft music weaving through the garden enhances the sense of place, creating a magical ambiance. By setting your lights and speakers to operate on timers, you can ensure the garden truly comes alive after dusk before you even arrive.

Embrace Naturalistic Plantings

A lot of residential designs include plants that are easily maintained. Don't be afraid to opt for a more "naturalistic" approach to residential landscape design. Natural gardens that utilize native plantings can be a much better option for visual interest across all seasons and provide a great source for pollinators and wildlife. Consider utilizing those not-so-easily maintained plant species and allow the plants to grow and thrive the way they are intended to. Ask yourself this: "If plants can thrive without being trimmed in the wild, why should I do it in my garden?" Select the plant species that will thrive and look well together, and let them fill in the gaps in your garden and grow naturally. Within a couple of years, your home garden will be full of beautiful year-round color, pollinators, and wildlife!

Transform Front Yards into Lively Spaces

Front Yards! Most Front yards are boring un-usable, non-life-giving lawn, completely underutilized space. Almost always your front yard can be reclaimed and used, how about some veggie or flower beds, a nice fountain, and bench. Even if you wont "use" the front, it can bring in pollinators and hummingbirds, and it can become a wonderful entry to your home, not to mentioned saving cost on water, and increasing home value! Finding a good designer can help transform this blah space into a wow for you and the whole neigborhood!

Utilize Open Spaces Intentionally

One design element that I believe is underutilized in residential landscaping is the thoughtful use of open spaces. Too often, I see designs where all the key elements--patios, gardens, pathways--are clustered near the home, leaving vast, unused portions of the yard overlooked. By strategically using these open spaces, a landscape can feel expansive and inviting, encouraging homeowners to explore and engage with their entire property, not just the area near the house.

Open spaces, when designed with intention, offer versatility and breathing room, allowing for various experiences within the landscape. These areas can become opportunities for personal reflection, wildlife habitats, or outdoor activity zones that adapt to the changing needs of the family. Curved lines in planting beds or hardscapes can gently guide the eye and feet through these spaces, making the landscape feel more like an organic extension of the home rather than just an attachment to it. The result is a landscape that isn't just aesthetically pleasing, but one that also gives back to nature, promoting biodiversity and environmental resilience.

By breaking free from the tendency to crowd everything close to the house, homeowners can experience a dynamic, engaging landscape that evolves with them, offering new and exciting ways to connect with the outdoors while providing a sense of serenity and pride in their home environment.

Integrate Boulders for Texture

Boulders! Big, weathered, mossy boulders are hard to beat for all year interest. You don't have to water them, no one can steal it; placed properly they can retain almost any slope, and they look great even in the winter. Boulders can break up a space naturally and add a nice textural element you just don't get with plants.

Master Color Coordination

I believe color coordination is one element that is highly underutilized in landscape design. I believe landscape design is a delicate balance of Art and Science where it is up to the designer to know their selection range based off of the conditions of the site. For example, Cherise Charm Loropetalum and Crimson Fire Loropetalum are both dwarf Loropetalum that reach roughly the same size but Cherise Charm has cooler undertones and Crimson Fire has warmer red undertones and that can completely change the coordination of color in my plant selection. Without color coordination, the end result can clash or become garish.

Choose Real Turf for Biodiversity

Real turf is being underutilized right now. Its essential for biodiversity in any garden and i feel artificial grass is being used far to much. with the price drop in automated lawnmowers the fact that cutting the lawn takes up time is not even an excuse anymore. The only real setting its good for is an ultra shaded garden.

Extend Usability with Landscape Lighting

Landscape lighting is a highly under-utilized design element in residential landscaping. Properly placed lighting can completely transform an outdoor space, extending the usability of patios, walkways, and gardens well into the evening. Beyond functionality, lighting enhances the beauty of landscaping features, highlighting trees, pathways, and architectural elements, while also improving safety and security.

Many homeowners don't realize the potential of low-voltage, energy-efficient LED lighting to create ambiance or showcase the key features of their property. A well-thought-out lighting plan adds value to the home and creates a welcoming environment that can be enjoyed day and night.

Employ Stone for Versatility and Durability

One design element I believe is often underutilized in residential landscaping is stone, especially considering its versatility and durability. At Simonson Landscape, we've utilized various types of stones--such as limestone, granite, and slate--across a wide range of projects, including modern gardens and minimalist landscape designs. Stone provides a timeless structure and durability that few materials can match, making it an ideal choice for both aesthetic appeal and long-term sustainability.

In 2016, we presented our award-winning garden, 'Le Jardin des \'Emergences\', at the Chaumont-sur-Loire Garden Festival, where we embraced the avant-garde use of stone to create a striking landscape design. This project serves as a prime example of how natural stone can be used in innovative ways, offering both structure and beauty to outdoor spaces. Stone brings depth, volume, and realism to landscapes, acting as the backbone of the garden, much like evergreen shrubs in traditional designs.

Different types of stones are perfect for specific landscape styles. For example, in Mediterranean landscapes and desert gardens, where the mineral aspect often dominates over vegetation, stone helps create a cohesive, grounded design that reflects the natural environment. Stones can be used to build garden walls, paving for walkways, fireplaces, or even garden benches that harmonize with other landscape elements.

One major advantage of using stone in landscape architecture is its cost-effectiveness compared to other materials like wood. Particularly in French landscape projects, especially in Paris, stone has become more affordable than wood due to the rising costs and maintenance demands of timber. Stone, on the other hand, is a durable material that requires minimal upkeep, lasts for decades, and can withstand harsh weather conditions without deteriorating. In this context, choosing stone over wood for garden designs is a practical, cost-efficient, and sustainable decision.

By incorporating stone thoughtfully into the design, we not only create a visually stunning landscape but also provide a durable, low-maintenance solution that will endure for years to come. Whether used for paving, garden paths, or architectural features, stone allows us to design landscapes that stand the test of time, offering both aesthetic beauty and functional value.

Transform Spaces with Fiberglass Planters

People underestimate the power a proper planter can have to transform a space for residential landscaping. Whether it's to fill up a space, add a statement piece, or create more visual balance, using a planter is a sure way to achieve any of those goals. Specifically, a fiberglass planter is not only going to achieve your design goals but is also going to withstand weather conditions with minimal need for maintenance.

Most fiberglass planters are painted using automotive-grade, UV-resistant paint, which is formulated specifically to maintain its durability and vibrancy even with inclement weather conditions. When it comes to design versatility, durability, and preserving the health of your plants, composite fiberglass is undoubtedly going to give you the best value.