Just like all other industries, the landscape industry is always changing and growing in different directions. These trends can change based on several different factors and each industry will have different factors that play a role in changing trends. Let’s take a look at what factors are currently influencing trends in the landscape industry.
Landscape industry trends are defined and impacted by consumer demand, trends in the fashion world, supplies available, technology, and environmental factors.
These five factors are driving forces not just in the landscape industry but in many others as well. They affect each industry differently and make a lasting impact in each. Let’s see how exactly these five factors have set trends in the landscape industry. We’ll look at how this affects a huge range of things starting from lawn design on a much smaller level, all the way to landscape architecture on a much larger scale.
Consumer Demand Plays a Role in Trends
It may go without saying, but there would be no need for supply if there was no customer demand. Therefore, what the consumer demands plays a huge role in what the industry supplies. In landscaping, we are currently seeing a trend toward Eco-friendly buildings that focus on using materials that are healthier for the environment, and utilize solar energy sources. This shift in an eco-friendly direction probably comes from a growing concern for the environment and an increase in trying to preserve our planet.
This type of design is so popular in fact that there is a unique name for it in the design world. It is called “Sustainable Design”. Take a look at this article from fibreguard.com that talks about the importance of sustainable design and how it impacts the earth. It also showcases a prime example of a proposed piece of architecture that architects are hoping to create with materials that are more environmentally friendly.
If there was one factor that I would say has the greatest influence on any given market, I would say it is consumer demand. It is hard to justify creating anything new if there is no demand for it in the market. It simply wouldn’t make sense. Even all of the landscapers and landscape designers who are employed today are employed because there is a demand for their services. If there wasn’t, then so many of those roles would be eliminated.
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Trends in the Fashion World PPlaya Role
Trends in fashion have a lot larger reach than just the fashion world. From academics to food, to landscaping, fashion has its roots reaching into every industry. Fashion has always been about being visually pleasing and beautiful to the eye. We can see how landscape architecture has certainly taken a page from this book and applied it to itself.
If you look at landscape architecture today, in addition to being environmentally friendly, it is inarguably sleek, modern, and sexy. It is on trend with what we are seeing fashion-wise in Milan and Paris. Gone are the days of ornate architecture and the religious themes of the 1800 and 1900’s. In their place we have minimalism, and the concept of less is more.
We are seeing many more simple yet beautiful landscapes and buildings that have a bigger focus on serving a practical purpose than a focus on being intricately beautiful. Think of cathedrals and churches built in the 19th century that paid a lot of attention to religion and carved many intricate designs on the outside. Even the windows used to tell stories through stained glass!
If you looked back to the fashion back then, large ball gowns with poufy sleeves and thick skirts were all the rage. Extravagance was splashed everywhere and simplicity wasn’t in anyone’s vocabulary. We’ve come a long, long way from those poufy skirts, and have been trending more and more towards sleek, simple, and modest.
Whether you look at purely lawn landscaping or the larger scale of landscape design, there is a huge push towards a simplistic straightforward aesthetic.
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Supplies Play a Role in Landscape Design
Looking back into the past of landscape design, there was a lot more usage of precious materials and luxurious materials. Using marble and lavish gems wasn’t just for the fancy cathedrals of Paris. It was also common in lawn ornaments and fixtures. Fast forward a century or so, and the trend is once again a lot more simplistic approach. People adorn their lawns with anything from cutesy little gnomes to pink plastic flamingoes. A part of this, like we talked about above has to do with consumer demand (as a culture we are moving away from materialistic items and looking for emotionally satisfying ways to spend our money) but it also has to do with what materials are available.
It isn’t exactly easy or cost-effective these days to casually order five tons of Italian marble to build a fancy fountain in your front yard. Nor do you see that in most neighborhoods anymore. Instead, landscaping focuses a lot greater deal on using plants, flowers, and other natural products to beautify the lawn.
Technology Will Affect Trends
Technology has always played a huge role in the way trends change. The more technology we have available to use the better we learn how to do our jobs and the faster we can complete them. Landscaping has changed dramatically in just the last two decades thanks to the new technology that has been invented.
Landscaping jobs can be completed faster, designs can be created with much more intimate detail and 3D renderings have never looked more lifelike. As new technology continues to be developed and introduced to the industry, there will continue to be changes in trends. We see this already with things such as an increase in the use of 3D models to propose ideas for new spaces, and Oculus technology that lets us “see” what a design would look like in our space before it is even built.
As we continue to make breakthrough after breakthrough and try new things, technology coupled with the other four factors we’ve looked at today will determine what the future of landscaping looks like. This goes hand in hand with our next factor, which is environmental trends, because the more technology we have available to us the more ability we have to work on large-scale projects while still being environmentally conscious.
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Environmental Factors Affect Trends
We touched on this a little bit above, but environmental factors play a huge role in how the landscape industry has changed. There is a lot more of a focus on how construction and building projects can affect the planet, and a lot has been done to offset these carbon emissions that come from large-scale developments.
This has set off a trend in the landscape industry by causing a shift towards undertakings that don’t take up as much energy, use solar power sources and as we looked at above use more environmentally friendly materials.
Again, you can see this on a larger scale of new design projects, but you can also see this in lawn design and home landscaping. Consumers are more focused than they ever have been on planting trees, using recycled materials, and using less pesticides than they ever have in the past.
Bringing it All Together
As with all things, landscaping is an ever-changing industry, which is affected by a great many trends and changes. The five factors we looked at above are powerful in many industries and have the power to shape and change the landscape industry in whatever way demand grows. We could very well see another surge toward opulence and extravagance when it comes to landscape design in the future, or we could see an even further retreat into simplicity and a focus on the environment. We may also see other factors overtake the industry together and push it in a new direction we haven’t yet seen!
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Which one of these factors has the greatest control over what the future of landscape design will look like?
If I had to pick one, I would say consumer demand. As I said above, there would be no need for supply if there was no demand. Therefore, whatever direction consumer demand moves in will affect how the industry changes and which direction it goes towards. Supply and demand have been affecting every industry for decades now, and they will always play a pivotal role in how the market changes.
Are there other factors that affect landscape industry trends?
Other factors that may affect the industry include inflation, labor shortages, and available natural resources (which somewhat fall in with available materials). These factors will also play a role in how the future of landscape changes and what the industry will look like down the road. Labor shortages for example could affect how many landscaping projects can be completed per year.
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Meet Shawn Chun: Entrepreneur and Landscape Business Fan.
I’m a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a landscape business owner at a job site, driving down the road or anywhere else I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Landscaping Business Boss: I want to help landscape business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.