The Ultimate Guide to 2022 Landscaping Trends

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As we creep closer to spring here in the Midwest, thoughts start turning to the landscape.  Did you know that a good, updated landscape can increase a home’s value?  Have you been considering fixing up the yard or investing in a new patio, firepit, or outdoor kitchen?  If so, keep reading.  We’ve compiled a list of what’s going on in the industry and a forecast of where landscapes are heading in the future.

Maximizing Outdoor Living Spaces

We have all been affected in one way or another by the pandemic.  Its effects on the landscape industry have been impactful.  People are staying home more and looking at and using their yards.  This is leading to an increase in changing our outdoor spaces from simply something to look at to an extension of our living space.  We are using our homes more and more often to socialize, relax, and work allowing outdoor living spaces to create value in many ways.

Outdoor Electronics & Lighting

Outdoor lighting is huge if you want to expand your outdoor living space.  With the new technology in lighting you can create a multitude of scenarios with your lighting.  Path lighting for safety, bistro lights for character, up-lighting for aesthetics…it’s all there.  LED fixtures and bulbs allow for an array of colors at your fingertips.  Bluetooth allows you to control it all with your phone.  Add an outdoor Bluetooth speaker system and you’ll be ready for anything.  

Speaking of outdoor electronics, how about an outdoor TV?  Imagine sitting around your firepit at night and watching football games in the fall.  The grill is going and there are drinks at the bar.  

Creative Spaces for Living, Working & Entertaining Outside

For those of you working from home, how about a secluded nook in the corner of the patio?  There’s a pergola with vines protecting you from the sun.  Background music is on the speakers and you can comfortably enjoy a change of pace from your desk in the basement office.  Or maybe you’re reading your favorite book, nestled in big wicker chair in the warm sun and a water feature is gently gurgling in the background.  The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming.  Can a relaxing moment get any better than that?

Outdoor Kitchens: Grills, Bars, Sinks & More

Outdoor kitchens have been popular in the past and they are not going away.  Renovations to patio space to include grills, bars, sinks and refrigerators is going full steam ahead.   In addition, we’re seeing built in patio planters to hold kitchen and herb gardens.  Turning away from high-maintenance decks to concrete or natural stone patios is the way to go.  While up front the cost may seem higher, the long-term benefits of durability and low maintenance will ultimately save you both time and money.  

There are constantly new innovations in composition, as well as new styles and colors to work with.  Whatever your style, there is something that will work for you.

Grow Your Own Food

Along with patio gardens, more and more people are turning to including edibles in their landscape.  Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, hops, apples, plums, pears, peaches, and several herbs…all of these and more will come back in our landscapes year after year.  People are finding that growing their own food is economical and provides them a sustainable alternative to mass produced food.

Sustainable Landscapes    

Adopting eco-friendly practices in landscaping has been at the top of trends lists for years and continues to be a priority in landscaping for both commercial and residential customers.  More and more communities are moving towards incorporating environmentally-friendly solutions to mitigate some of the unpleasant side-effects of urbanization.  Using things like permeable pavers, green roofs, planting natives, increasing biodiversity, minimizing irrigation usage, building rain gardens or bioswales, and using battery powered equipment are trends that are not going away.  Learn more about how you can create a sustainable yard here.

Proper Landscape Maintenance & Design

As we focus more on and spend more time in our landscapes, landscape maintenance is more important than ever.  Well-tended shrubs, mowed lawns, and beautiful plantings are now expected in both commercial and residential spaces.  With proper design, you can even start to incorporate sustainable practices, without sacrificing a high-end look.  While all landscapes require maintenance, trusting your landscape professional to choose the right plant for the right place can minimize the work you have to put in to keeping your landscape looking fabulous.

A Varied & Exciting Garden in Every Season

As we expand our living spaces to the outdoors, considering asking your designer to incorporate succession planting.  Successional gardening and planting mean that you have a thriving and interesting garden all year round.  A well-balanced landscape is going to have something to look at, no matter the season.  Aside from the well-known interest in flowers and fall color, you can find beauty in winter with colored or textured tree and shrub bark, berries, seed heads and seed pods that hold on until spring.

Gardening to Attract Birds, Butterflies & Bees

Leaving ornamental grasses up and seeds on your perennials can increase the number of birds coming to the yard and eco-friendly landscapes are definitely hot right now.  Finches love to visit the coneflower seed heads over winter and robins and waxwings are huge fans of crabapples.  You can go wrong with a special bed or area in the yard dedicated to bees, butterflies and birds.

In a nutshell, in 2022 we are going to see a continuation of expanding our outdoor living spaces in a multitude of ways.  We’re going to cook more, work more, and enjoy more time in our yards.  We’re becoming increasingly aware of our environment and our co-existence with it, therefore finding ways to interact with it instead of controlling it.  Technology will continue to be our friend in the landscape as we find balance between personal comfort and enjoyment and using our outdoor living spaces.

The American Landscape team is ready to help you make any one of these popular landscaping tactics part of your 2022. Get in touch today to start planning! Call (262) 252-4260 or reach us at: amerlandscape.com/contact-us/.

Why All the Neighbors Can’t Help but Look at the Landscaping of this Brookfield Home

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Transforming a blank space takes vision. For this project, we were tasked with the landscape development for a newly-built, contemporary home in Brookfield, Wisconsin. The design and construction involved hardscape, landscape, drainage, irrigation and lighting elements for the property.

“Classic, timeless, simplicity, and refined” were the directives given by the client for the design and implementation of this project. This was achieved through the right selections of hardscape colors, mature landscaping elements and an eye for connecting all the outdoor spaces into one cohesive design.

See the transformation in this short video compilation of before and after images:

 

Patios

Spacious, classic bluestone patios provide restful retreats for peaceful relaxation and stunning sunset vistas.

Retaining Wall & Staircase

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Elegant, modern-themed retaining walls and staircase flights transcend the steep grades of the site and the use of U-Cara wall block for the wall and steps complements the modern style of the architecture. 

Walkways

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A sweeping front walkway and intimate courtyard of patterned bluestone creates a beautiful and timeless front entryway to the residence. Pathways of natural flagstone and contemporary rectangular concrete steppers cross the lush green lawns, connecting the outdoor living spaces and introducing texture, pattern and visual interest to the hardscape aesthetic.

Trees/Shrubs/Perennials

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Specimen trees, arcing evergreen hedges and generous groupings of flowering shrubs and perennials provide a diverse combination of bloom, structure and seasonal splendor throughout the site.  

Lighting

As the sun sets, the home comes to life with a stunning display of up-lite trees, highlighted architectural features and the warming glow of path lights along patios, walks and wondering pathways.

All elements of the landscape were carefully designed to complement and beautify the home’s exterior. A mix of materials gives the landscape interest and texture, while the trees, shrubs, and perennials soften the hard edges and provide seasonal color.

Put our talented designers to work on your own landscape project. Contact us today at (262) 252-4260 or https://amerlandscape.com/contact-us/.

A Landscaping Makeover

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Brookfield, Wisconsin

 

Our clients purchased this Brookfield, Wisconsin property because they were looking for a home more conducive to spending their golden years than their previous two-story home, which was located atop a large hill. This particular home struck their fancy, mainly for its unique configuration with a central courtyard in the back of the home. They have a special appreciation for the outdoors and landscape, and felt like the footprint afforded unique opportunities for strong visual and physical connections, as well as an uninterrupted flow from the interior to the outdoor living spaces.

 

Front Entrance BEFORE

 

Front Entrance AFTER

 

With those goals in mind, the home was completely re-imagined both inside and out, in collaboration with an architectural team. Interior walls and functionality were reorganized to create an open concept and new opportunities for clear sight lines through the center of the home out to the landscape. Furthermore, the rear wall to the courtyard was replaced by floor-to-ceiling sliding glass panels – basically putting the courtyard space on center stage within the context of the building architecture.

Courtyard BEFORE

 

Courtyard AFTER

 

The design challenge, as we saw it, was to create a plan that worked in context with the very symmetrical, modern appearance of the home, yet broke from that rigidity to create a softer, more livable feeling within the outdoor space. With that in mind, the hardscape was organized to highlight the newly-created visual corridor through the center of the home from front to back.

Along this central axis is a front entrance courtyard with a raised central planting bed and over-sized black metal planters planted with rotating seasonal decor.

 

 

Paving material selections were intended to blend with the contrasting black and white color scheme on the building exterior. Paving stones were selected to be large so as to contrast with the size of the bricks on the façade. Planting beds were intentionally woven through the space in a very non-symmetrical manner to accomplish the goal of softening the lines. Site furniture was meticulously selected for its combination of modern appearance and ergonomic comfort.

See the full transformation in the video.

Ready to tackle your own landscaping transformation? Get in touch with one of our expert designers today!

May Landscaping Checklist

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Flowers

  • Remove spent flowers and foliage (once yellowed) on spring flowering.
  • Plant tender annuals after the last expected frost date, approximately May 15.
  • Set flower supports early. Let plants grow through them.
  • Over-wintered tender annuals or tropicals such as hibiscus, gardenia, mandevilla and geranium may be pruned, cleaned, fertilized and gradually introduced to a protected location outdoors once night temperatures reach 50°F.
  • Begin pinching top 1-2 inches of new growth on chrysanthemums to encourage full bushy plants.
  • Prune sage, butterfly bush, Russian sage and Caryopteris back to the point of new growth.
  • With sharp spade, edge flower beds.

Lawn

  • Fertilize with a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer and apply a broadleaf herbicide for weed control.
  • Make sure you are mowing at the proper height.  Never remove more than 1/3 of the turf height at one time.  We recommend keeping your grass at a length of approximately 3”.
  • Re-seed or repair damaged turf areas. Keep newly seeded or sodded turf areas well watered.

Trees/Shrubs  

  • Prune spring flowering shrubs right after they are done flowering.  These plants use the growing season to develop next year’s flowers, so pruning them late in the season will prune off next year’s blooms!  These include:  Forsythia, lilac, viburnum, fothergilla, kerria, mockorange and weigela.
  • Start monitoring your plants for pest infestations. Insects in moderation are a natural and necessary part of the environment, but excessive groups of them or excessive damage from them sometimes warrants treatment.  Contact your landscape professional for identification and a treatment plan.
  • Apply systemic insecticides to trees and shrubs (for example birch & viburnums) prone to borer right after they are done blooming.
  • It’s still a good time to apply a balanced, slow-release fertilizer to shrubs and perennials.

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APRIL Landscaping Checklist

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Flowers

  • Remove all boughs or coverings from your perennial beds to allow plants the light and air they need to grow.
  • Once actively growing, divide perennials like hosta, grasses and daylilies.  It’s also a good time to transplant if you need to move something.
  • Bring spring to your yard by planting containers with pansies, snapdragons, violas, ivy, forced bulbs, and other cold tolerant plants.
  • We can still get frost well into May so it’s best to wait to plant tender plants until after Mother’s Day at the earliest.
  • Some vegetables thrive in cold weather and are not hindered by frost.  If you want to grow vegetables try planting lettuce, cabbage, radishes, carrots, and other cold hardy veggies.
  • Topdress your perennial beds with compost or mulch before plants get too big.  They’ll still come up through a light covering without problem.
  • Fertilize beds with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer and apply your first application of pre-emergent herbicide (such as Preen) to landscape beds.

Lawn

  • Once lawn is actively growing and is around 4” tall, mow it to 2.5 to 3 inches, removing no more than 1/3 of the turf height at a time.
  • Once soil temperatures have warmed towards the end of the month you can start planting seed and installing sod.  It’s always a good idea to add some fresh topsoil to the area first, and remember to water, water, water!
  • It’s time to apply pre-emergent crabgrass control product, and as soon as you see weeds actively growing you can start treating for broadleaf weeds.  Remember to only use a product labeled for broadleaf weed control in lawns.
  • Core aeration can provide many benefits to your lawn by helping reduce thatch, improving soil porosity, reducing soil compaction, building strong root systems and increasing nutrient absorption.  If you’re someone who doesn’t want to use chemicals on your turf, aeration is your best route to get thick, healthy turf.

Trees/Shrubs  

  • The number one thing to do now is remove your winter protection from trees, shrubs and roses.  As temperatures warm, keeping wrappings and coverings on will damage your plants.
  • As tree and shrubs become available, they are safe to plant, as long as they are roughly in the same stage of dormancy or growth that our native trees are in.  If you buy a fully leafed out tree that was shipped here from a southern state, you will notice some setback and possibly damage as they are not acclimated to our climate.
  • It’s a great time to plant bare-root trees and shrubs.
  • Remember, even if there is no foliage on the plants, you need to keep them watered if it is dry.  Their root systems are developing underground.
  • Examine trees and shrubs for winter injury.  Prune out any damage.
  • There is still time to do some renewal and corrective pruning before plants leaf out.  Remember, don’t prune your spring blooming plants now (such as lilac, weigela, forsythia, etc.) as you will be pruning off flower buds.  The best time to clean those up is right after they are done blooming.
  • Apply a balanced, slow-release fertilizer to trees and shrubs to give them a little boost.  Topdressing the root zone with compost and adding a light covering of mulch is also beneficial.  Remember to keep much at about a 3” maximum and do not mound it around the stems and trunks.
  • Spraying crabapple trees for disease and insects can be started now.  Remember not to spray while they are blooming!  If your tree is older and really an eyesore each year, consider removing it and planting something new. 

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Menomonee Falls, WI 53051

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