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2021 has been a revolutionary era for landscape architects to embrace new and exciting landscaping trends. In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and the escalating concerns about the delta variant, Americans are spending a significant amount of time shut in their homes. The retreat to the great indoors has caused many of us to reconsider the state of our front yards and backyards. When you spend all day within the same 2,000 square feet, you start looking for things to refresh! In fact, 16 million Americans took up gardening during the pandemic. With this uptick in outdoor living and gardening interests, now could be the time to call a landscape architect and get designing. 

Let’s take a look at the new trends that landscape architects are loving this year. 

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2021 Landscaping Trends

Lose the lawn in favor of eco-friendly alternatives. Landscape architects are getting creative to reinvent the traditional water-guzzling green grass lawn. For this reason, many are opting for attractive groundcover plants to full-on succulent “lawns”. By switching to a drought-friendly alternative, homeowners can expect to save significantly on water bills without sacrificing style. 

  • Ground cover: Low-growing groundcover plants like Buffalograss and Kurapia look very similar to grass but require 75% less water. 
  • Succulent landscape: Arrangements of tall and short succulent plants, cacti, and boulders can add life, color, and dimension to a front yard space. 
  • Turf lawn: A turf lawn might be costly to install, but it requires next to zero maintenance and zero water. These days, hyper realistic turf is available for those that love the real lawn look. 

Incorporate smart technology into planting areas. There is no shortage of technological wonders in the twenty-first century. Using smart technology, more and more gardeners are installing subsurface irrigation systems and smart sprinkler systems. These can control your watering schedules through a simple iPhone app. Moreover, advanced smart irrigation systems can monitor evaporation, soil conditions, plant water use, and weather. In the spirit of outdoor living, landscape architects are also noticing the rise of outdoor speakers and lighting with wireless connectivity. 

Grow food with modern victory gardens. The victory garden is a WWII era concept of growing as much food on every inch of viable space of a landscape. Back then, labor and transportation shortages made it difficult for fruits and vegetables to get to the market. Today, the trend is coming back in the spirit of frugality, eating locally and organically, and enjoying home-grown nutrition without having to go to the store.   

Xeriscaping lets your garden maintain itself. Xeriscaping is the practice of designing landscapes to reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation. The key to xeriscaping is choosing native plants that are already perfectly suited to live in a particular climate and using minimal or strategic irrigation. As a result, xeriscaping creates a low-maintenance landscape that requires 50 to 70% less water. 

TALK TO A PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

A professional landscape architect can help reinvent your yard into a space that you enjoy in every season. If you are looking for a professional to help with your Bay Area landscape design, contact Meadowbrook Design! You can schedule a consultation by clicking here. Our office can be reached at (925) 200-3661.