How Commercial Landscape Design Can Improve Your Tulsa Business

Sometimes business owners can overlook an important aspect of their company, something that can actually have quite a large impact on their business. Although commercial landscape design may not at first seem like it will greatly affect a business, there are a number of ways that landscaping or a lack of landscape design can impact a company - either for the good or for the bad.

First impressions are most important. 

Business owners are well familiar with how important first impressions are for a customer. But sometimes owners can focus on how the inside of their store looks without realizing that the inside isn’t exactly the first impression the customer may have. When a customer drives up to your store, what do they see? A beautiful and eye-catching landscape design can really impress customers even before they reach your front door and even attract new customers. If two similar businesses were next door to each other, wouldn’t you first walk into the business that was most attractive on the outside? Effective commercial landscape design can help a business stand out amid the competition. Landscape design can take into consideration the personality or brand of the company and successfully reflect that brand image with unique landscaping elements.

As with first impressions, we often do judge a book by its cover, and the same can be said with businesses. A well-manicured lawn and good landscape design can tell a customer that the business owner is diligent, pro-active, and interested in delivering quality. On the other hand, a building without any landscaping can give the opposite impression of its owners.

Attention to landscape design at a business can also tell customers that the owner is concerned about the environment, is eco-friendly, and is interested in creating a pleasant atmosphere for his employees.

Increase employee productivity.

Studies have shown that employees work better at companies that have attractive commercial landscape design and other natural elements.

Regarding a commercial landscape design project at PepsiCo World Headquarters, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) noted that the improved outdoor environment “resulted in lower turnover, less absenteeism, shorter lunch hours, and greater productivity.”

“The quality of a person’s physical surroundings has a real and profound impact on their attitude and performance as well as their enjoyment of a place,” the ASLA noted.

Thus, adding more greenery and landscape design to your business, possible even with outside benches, fountains, or other decorative landscaping elements, can help increase job satisfaction for employees and promote a peaceful, happy environment for employees and customers alike.

Improve market values. 

Commercial landscape design has also been shown to help enhance the market value and curb appeal of a business.

“The proof is in the data, with 99% of real estate appraisers confirming that plants enhance tenancy and the sales appeal of commercial real estate,” E-Landscape Specialty Solutions of Maryland noted. They noted that commercial landscape design provides an “instant wow” factor to a company, providing the quickest way to give a “face-lift” to a building’s façade.

Thus, commercial landscape design can quickly and easily refurbish the look of an otherwise older building, giving it new life, literally and figuratively.

Good landscape design and maintenance might even help to deter crime.

“In a California study, landscaped areas were relatively graffiti-free, while open, no landscaped areas were graffiti targets,” Terra Flora Landscaping in West Virginia noted. “Well planned and maintained landscapes are seen as safer than unmaintained plantings.”

And there’s many other benefits to Tulsa commercial landscape design including significant energy-savings when landscapes are designed specifically with these elements in mind.

The Tulsa landscape design professionals at Oklahoma Landscape can engineer the best landscape design plan for your commercial property. We can take care of all your commercial landscape design and lawn maintenance needs so that you can focus more on your business. From office parks to apartment complexes to hospitals, we can provide you with a custom landscape and lawn care maintenance program for your specific commercial goals.

Let us take the hassle out of commercial landscape design and maintenance and keep your property looking great all year round.

Adding Privacy to Your Tulsa Outdoor Environment

Lilly, the list expert at Listotic shared some clever ways to add privacy to your outdoor space, on both a small and large budget. Here is some of the ingenious ideas she found, as well as some that we’ve discovered.

Planting for privacy.

As Tulsa landscapers, we’re partial to plants. They can serve a variety of purposes, including acting as a natural privacy fence. Privet hedges will provide the most privacy and can give a more formal appearance to your outdoor space. But you can also grow your own living wall using a variety of plants, trees, and shrubs like Italian Cypress, Emerald Green Arborvitae, Gold Cone Junipers, Skyrocket Junipers, and other evergreens.

You can also create this living wall of plants by hanging pots in tiered rows. Choose just about any plant or growing vine such as Morning Glory to grow a layered wall of privacy plants to separate your space. Another idea is to build a garden using potted herbs or other potted flowering plants. This garden wall may not provide complete privacy, but it will give you more room in your herb garden.

Listotic also suggested purchasing Faux lvy for immediate privacy along an iron fence or trellis, as well as planting bamboo for a tall and dense screen of foliage planted either in the ground or in a planter. Another great suggestion using plants is to line your outdoor living space with tall garden pots. These large pots easily add height to your plants and shrubs while also creating a very decorative privacy screen for your landscape.

Enclose your outdoor living area. 

Sometimes it’s easier to add privacy to just your outdoor kitchen area, deck, or other smaller outdoor space rather than creating a partition around your entire yard. Building a pergola or adding lattice panels with growing vines on a deck or other outdoor structure can add a notable amount of privacy. You can also add curtains made with outdoor fabric around your pergola or outdoor structure to enclose your outdoor kitchen or dining area. These outdoor curtains are also great for creating your own luxury resort cabana area next to your pool or spa.

Create either permanent or mobile walls. 

If you want something more decorative than a plain wooden fence, but want an optimal amount of privacy, a stone wall may be just the thing your outdoor living space needs. A wall constructed of natural stone that matches the architecture of your home can add a sophisticated charm to your outdoor environment and add value to your home and property. The Tulsa hardscape specialists at Oklahoma Landscape can build a decorative stone wall that gives you added privacy and can transform the look of your backyard.

For a less permanent privacy fence, you could simply use re-purposed doors or shutters to separate the yard or block the view to an area.  Outdoor privacy screens are also available that are great for enclosing a small area of the yard and can easily be moved.

When designing and building a complete Tulsa outdoor environment for your home, our landscape architects keep your outdoor privacy needs in mind. Using the best hardscape materials, we can design your outdoor living space so that you can have the privacy you need to comfortably “find yourself outside.”

How to Have a Great Summer Party in Your Tulsa Outdoor Living Space

Tulsa residents will have fun firing up the grill in their outdoor kitchen this summer and entertaining friends and relatives as they celebrate goodtimes. But planning a party can get stressful, so we’ve got some great tips to getting your Tulsa outdoor living space all ready for the event.

Here are some tips from Real Simple on outdoor entertaining:


Outdoor lighting is a must. A little ambient lighting is enough to keep your guests safe out the dark. Globe string lights that are elegant and give off a warm glow, the article reported, are great for outdoor dinner parties as well as hurricane lanterns and tealights along with string lights.  The landscape lighting experts at Oklahoma Landscape can also install the right accent and pathway lighting to complement your home and landscape during anytime of the year.

Make sure there are enough seats. If you anticipate running low on seating, you might think about using some of your indoor furniture or even renting folding chairs. Another option the magazine mentioned could be to spread out quilts on the ground for picnic-style seating, if it’s a very casual party.

Repel flying pests. If you don’t have a mosquito misting system already in place, you might try adding some fans to your outdoor living space. “Mosquitos are weak flyers, so even if a fan is set on low, it can create enough airflow to keep them away,” Laura Harrington, an associate professor of entomology at Cornell University told Real Simple. This works best in small areas like a deck, she said. Also she recommended emptying anything with standing water in it, and giving guests bug wipes that contain repellent picaridin in place of DEET, which could damage clothing.

Keep the kids entertained. Many Tulsa homeowners have a custom swimming pool area where kids can have fun during the party. But some other kid diversions, Real Simple suggested were blowing bubbles, a Slip ‘n Slide or sprinkler, and even some inexpensive disposable cameras to let them capture the event, “say cheese”.

Make the music memorable, not just loud. Don’t make guests have to cover their ears with blaring music. “If you’re using a boom box or an iPod dock, place it above ear level so it’s not blasting directly at guests’ heads,” Michael Antonia, owner of the Flashdance, a Los Angles production company said. “And turn it toward the side of the house – you can make it a little louder and the sound will spread out better.” For the best music setup, the article noted that using four or more speakers, spread out and set at a lower volume work best.

Remember these outdoor entertaining tips to have a fun and be safe! For more ideas on designing and building the perfect outdoor living space, contact the Tulsa landscape contractors at Oklahoma Landscape.

Keep Your Tulsa Outdoor Enviroment Inspired!

 Perhaps your looking for ideas for your perfect summer entertaining spot? Wondering about are  the luxury outdoor living trends for Tulsa? Well, here is some help that is sure to inspire!

Outdoor entertaining. What better place to cook for a dinner party than in your outdoor kitchen? Cook in style with a state-of-the-art outdoor kitchen, complete with built-in pizza oven and wine refrigerator.

Make the premier outdoor entertaining spot for your kids or a romantic night underneath the starts with an outdoor entertainment center complete with a giant movie screen! Watch the game with friends while you grill or have an awesome pool party with these giant backyard theaters with surround sound.

Have an elegant evening of entertaining by adding an al fresco dining area under a pergola with dangling vines and surrounded by sparkling lights.  Try a long European-style table for an even more opulent look.

Beautiful pool design. Every Tulsa outdoor living space needs a custom-designed swimming pool. Especially if your home overlooks a beautiful landscape or cityscape, an infinity pool might be the perfect addition to your outdoor space. And a custom spa or hot tub would be the perfect complement to your pool. An outdoor shower with a built-in bench can provide great functionality for your outdoor pool area.

Every luxury pool area pairs nicely with a great lounge space. Why not opt for a luxury cabana by the pool? Create the ultimate napping area with a canopy cabana bed outside by your infinity pool.

Keep warm on a cool night. Whether underneath the stars or built in connection with a covered patio area, outdoor fireplaces and fire pits provide practical warmth and add a consistent elegance to your Tulsa outdoor living space. They can become the focal point of your outdoor environment. A place for people to gather, mingle, and reminisce. Add luxurious lounge seating and you have a complete backyard getaway area.

Outdoor fireplaces are a great place to chat with friends and family. Fire pits create the warm atmosphere we all love to gather around on a cool summer or fall night.

Do you want to transform your backyard into a luxury outdoor living space? The Tulsa landscape contractors at Oklahoma Landscape can help you create the outdoor environment of your dreams.

Tulsa Outdoor Environments - The Top Outdoor Living Trends of 2014

A great outdoor living space perfect for entertaining is in high demand in the 2014 landscape design world. Like many Tulsa homeowners, people across the nation still want “attractively designed” outdoor environments to create more space for entertaining and relaxation.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recently published its 2014 Residential Landscape Architecture Trends Survey, which reports on the latest demands in landscape design. In rating the expected popularity of various outdoor design elements, residential landscape architects from across the country ranked the category of gardens and landscaped spaces as most popular with a 94.2 percent rating, closely followed by outdoor living spaces like kitchens and entertainment spaces with a 92 percent rating.

“Homeowners know that designed landscapes add value to their lives as well as their property values,” ASLA executive vice president and CEO Nancy Somerville said. “They’re interested in livable, open spaces that are both stylish and earth-friendly.”

According to the ASLA, having a landscape architect skillfully design your outdoor elements and landscaping is one the best investments for your home and can add as much as 15 percent to its value over comparable homes. And, the ASLA noted, the home value literally grows over time while you enjoy your outdoor living space.

What is in popular demand for 2014 among outdoor living features? Outdoor lighting was rated first by 98.3 percent of respondents, followed by seating and dining areas with 97.7 percent, fire pits and fireplaces with 95.4 percent, grills with 94.3 percent and installed seating with 89.6 percent.

What do these results tell us about Tulsa outdoor environment trends for 2014? Outdoor living spaces that are ideal for entertaining are in high demand. Many homeowners would like to spend even more time entertaining or relaxing in their outdoor environment in Tulsa, and they can with the right outdoor lighting design.

Sustainability and low maintenance landscapes were again also in high demand as popular landscape and garden elements for 2014. Native plants were high on the list of eco-friendly design elements along with fountains and ornamental water features as popular landscaping and garden elements. Many are also favoring food and vegetable gardens including orchards and vineyards.

“Decorative water elements – including waterfalls, ornamental pools, and splash pools – were predicted to be in demand for home landscapes (86.1 percent). Spas (76.4 percent) and swimming pools (73.8 percent) are also expected to be popular,” ASLA reported.

Patios, terraces, and decks are high on the list for outdoor structures as are fencing and pergolas. These additions can really become an extension of your home and living space. More and more functionality and customization are being added to these outdoor environments in Tulsa.

Elegant and practical outdoor living spaces will continue to be popular home additions. For more landscape design and outdoor living space ideas, contact the Tulsa landscape architects at Oklahoma Landscape.