3 Essential Landscape Upgrades to Maximize Your Property’s Potential

The weather is warm and the lobby is buzzing. Now is the time for your property to shine. Meet your spring and summer travelers with a memorable welcome: an impeccably manicured landscape bursting with color. These three essential upgrades will help your landscape reach its full potential.

1. Make an Impressive Entrance

It’s the first and last thing your guests will see: the entrance drive and porte-cochère, and it can play an outsized role in shaping a guest’s impression of their stay. The most effective entry landscape feels immersive and considered, engaging sight, sound, and scent to create a sense of place. Among our favorite tips for sprucing up your entrance:

• Play with scale – Whether it’s oversized planters flanking the entrance or a statement light fixture, create a focal point. If space doesn’t allow for larger pieces, consider layering planters of various sizes to similarly create drama.
• Appeal to all the senses – Installing a seasonal color display in a pleasing color palette is a great start. But to truly stand apart, consider how you can engage the other senses as well. For example, fragrant flowers delight the nose. The relaxing trickle of a water feature provides a welcome respite for the ears.
• Stay local – Incorporating local elements lends authenticity to guests’ stay. Favor native plants and locally sourced materials for accents to avoid feeling generic. 

2. Tackle Your Turf

Stressed and patchy turf can be a distraction from otherwise well-manicured grounds. The good news is spring is one of the best times to address these issues, giving you lush lawns just in time for high season arrivals.  

• Break-up soil compaction – Drainage issues, thin grass, lagging growth or discoloration are all signs of compacted soil or a build-up of excessive thatch. Aeration combats this by poking holes into the soil that make it easier for roots to expand and access the air, water, and nutrients they need.
• Plant the seed for better turf – Overseeding is a great option after aeration is complete. Aeration provides the perfect environment for new grass seeds to germinate, helping to fill in patchy areas as soon as possible. 
• Consider a turf renovation – If more than 50 percent of the lawn is in poor shape or affected by weeds, a turf renovation is the best option. Depending on how the space is used, this could be an opportunity to either replace with a variety of turfgrass better suited for your site or convert the area to lower-water use beds or hardscape.

3. Prime Your Pathways

Finally, consider the guest experience through the lens of safe-passage and line of sight. Now is the time to enhance pathways, refine pruning, and make any repairs to areas that could trip up their experience.

• Prune with purpose – Use the lower occupancy period before the rush to shape up shrubs and trees surrounding pathways and buildings. This should be done with two considerations in mind: risk management (to alleviate the potential for injury) and visibility (both for aesthetics and security).
• Repair hardscape – Uneven pavers and cracked concrete may initially seem minor, but there’s often no warning before they become consequential. These repairs are best made now, before they get lost in the busy season shuffle.
• Enhance the egress – Spruce up any pathways lacking personality with low-growing plantings along the edges that soften hardscape and add lush texture and color. If it's not already installed, be sure to also add LED or solar lighting to illuminate the pathway and create ambiance.

Ready to create a picture-perfect stay for your guests? Whether you manage a single property or a portfolio of many, our knowledgeable local experts have the experience and resources to make every site ready for high-season traffic. Schedule your free consultation today.