First impressions happen fast. A prospect pulling into your car park, a customer arriving for a meeting, a new recruit turning up for interview: they have all clocked your building’s entrance before they have reached the door. It takes seconds, and it says something about your business whether you intend it to or not.
If what it is saying right now is we haven’t got round to it yet, a commercial soft landscaping project might be exactly what your property needs.
So what exactly is soft landscaping?
Landscaping broadly divides into two categories. Hard landscaping covers the structural elements such as paths, patios, walls and paving. Soft landscaping is everything living: trees, shrubs, plants, grass and the soil that supports them.
For commercial properties, a soft landscaping scheme typically means creating or refreshing the planted areas around your building. Entrances, car parks, communal areas and boundary planting all benefit from the kind of considered, professional planting that looks intentional and well cared for throughout the year.
It is not just about making things look nice. A well-designed commercial planting scheme is low-maintenance by design, uses the right plants in the right places, and stays looking sharp with routine grounds maintenance rather than repeated expensive interventions.
What does a commercial soft landscaping project involve?
The video above shows a project the Greengrass team completed at an office complex, and it is a good illustration of what a proper commercial soft landscaping installation looks like from start to finish.
The landlord was completing a refurbishment to ready the premises for marketing. The existing planted area at the building entrance had reached the end of its life. Rather than simply replanting on top of tired, depleted ground, the team started from scratch. Old planting was cleared, the existing soil was dug out entirely and replaced with enriched organic topsoil, giving everything that followed the best possible foundation.
The planting scheme was chosen and sourced by Greengrass for year-round structure and visual impact. For architectural form, the team specified cubed hornbeam, hornbeam spirals, Ligustrum standards, Ligustrum pom-poms, Yew balls, Euonymus Green Spire hedging, Cupressus and Italian cypress. These are plants chosen to hold their shape and create a strong visual frame for the building in every season.
Underplanting was selected for movement, texture and seasonal colour: salvias, Skimmia japonica, hydrangeas, agapanthus, ornamental grasses and phormiums weave through the scheme to soften the structure and bring life at ground level throughout the year.
Set against a crisp bed of large decorative grey cobbles, the planting really stands out. The contrast between the deep greens, seasonal reds and the cool grey stone gives the scheme a clean, considered quality. Against the warm brick, contemporary paths and dark-tinted glass of the building, the overall effect is one of quiet confidence: nothing overdone, just a space that clearly has professional care behind it.
Why spring is the right time to plan
April is when commercial properties start to show the difference between those that have invested in their outdoor space and those that have not. The season is already moving, grass is growing, weeds are establishing, and any tired planting is looking worse by the week.
Getting a soft landscaping scheme planned and on the ground in spring means it has the full growing season to establish. Plants put in now will be settled and thriving by summer, rather than struggling to catch up later in the year.
If your commercial property’s outdoor space is due a refresh, whether that is a full planting scheme, a replant of tired borders or simply a review of what you have got, now is a good time to start the conversation.
Get in touch with the Greengrass team to discuss your commercial grounds.
Tel. 01206 392813 / 01473 846164 info@greengrassltd.com
