The Future of Landscaping
October 8th, 2009by Drew Roberts, CPCU, ARM
New Landscaping Opportunities
The landscaping industry, like every industry, will continue to evolve over time with new technologies and new opportunities. I have read a few articles about a new niche of landscaping that should continue to expand in the years to come. There is a growing awareness among consumers to ‘Be Green’ and protect the environment, and this has expanded into combining landscapes with buildings. There are more and more residential and commercial buildings either being constructed or renovated with green roofs. Here a few articles about these roofs:
- Moma Roof Projects
- US Postal Service’s 2.5 Acre Green Roof Park
- In Search of a Good, Cheap Green Roof
There are even other buildings that have exterior walls constructed to allow growing plants. Here is an example with 12,000 plants on the side of an eight story building.
Other houses are being constructed with a complete self-sustaining system around it full of plants such as ferns. Here is a link to an article that describes an unusual house in Paris.
On top of these examples, there are other buildings that are almost entirely botanical. These are not your typical tree houses either. Architects are grafting young willow trees together to create the building described in this article.
As these unusual niches grow, there will be a need for landscaping business to not only install, but also maintain the plants that are apart of them. This opportunity will continue to be small for a number of years, but it is a good example of how the landscaping industry will continue to change and adapt to the marketplace.
