A commercial property in Northeast Ohio can look professional and polished with the right blend of plants, trees, tamed turf, and hardscape elements. It draws shoppers into a retail center, tenants to an HOA or apartment complex, and employees to an office park, for example.
One thing that elevates those landscape beds on commercial properties is a tidy appearance free of weeds and trash, as well as a uniform, consistent look.
To create this vision takes the addition of another material to your commercial landscape beds. This material is usually mulch or rock beds.
Mulch is certainly a great addition to your commercial facility, adding a number of impressive benefits. But rocks in landscaping have a unique look and also offer some of these same incredible perks.
Incorporating small rocks and large boulders into a commercial landscape design can brighten flower beds and enhance your design. They certainly shouldn’t be dismissed.
Let’s talk about landscaping with stones and how they can elevate your commercial space.
Benefits of Rock Flower Beds
Shredded hardwood mulch is known to retain soil moisture, suppress weed growth in landscpae beds, insulate the soil to maintain consistent soil temperatures, and reduce lawn mower and string trimmer damage to your plants by keeping beds separate from turf.
Stones in flower beds, which are a common alternative to mulch, offer similar benefits, as well as a few others that mulch can’t provide.
Rocks Don’t Need Replaced
Rock beds become a great long-term investment for commercial facilities in Northeast Ohio.
While they have a higher up-front cost than mulch – $175 to $185 per yard installed compared $85 to $95 per yard installed for mulch – river rock can keep the same look for quite some time because it doesn’t break down.
And because 1 yard of stone won't have the same coverage as a similar amount of mulch, you’ll be using a lot more stone to get the coverage you need. But since rock doesn’t break down like mulch you won’t have to replace it annually, so you get more life out of it.
Rocks Can Tolerate A Lot
Rocks more easily tolerate extreme weather; not much can wash rock beds away because they are heavier.
Stones by nature are less susceptible to environmental damage. For instance, they are fire resistant. These qualities make them more permanent and low-maintenance additions to your site.
Strong Winds Won’t Budge Rocks
Similar to how floods won’t budge rock beds, strong winds or storms or even animal activity won’t impact stones in a commercial landscape.
Stones are harder to move by any force, making them stand sturdy in their place.
Rocks Make It Hard For Weeds To Grow
While mulch also suppresses weeds, strong weeds can still find ways to break through.
Weeds may have a harder time penetrating a well installed rock bed because of the weight and depth of stone it would have to clear to emerge. It also may have less chance of getting the sun it needs to germinate because the ground is shaded by the stone.
Rocks Can Architecturally Blend Into Your Commercial Landscape Design
When it comes to rocks in landscaping, you can choose almost any color or combination of stones to enhance and complement your commercial building architecture.
This can build a brand image or create a consistent look that brings everything together in your commercial landscape design.
River rocks, which are most often used, come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Typically, you’ll see a mix of beiges, tans, and bits of gray and light blue. They are also softly rounded in shape with a smooth finish because they’ve been smoothed by water currents over time. This gives them a more pleasing appearance, almost as if they were shaped by hand.
Common Ways Rock Beds Enhance a Commercial Landscape in Northeast Ohio
While most people think of trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals when considering their commercial landscape design options, stones in flower beds are often under-used.
Here are just a few simple ways you can use rocks in your commercial landscape designs.
Rocks Can Be Solutions To Damaged Areas
There are some areas of your commercial property that suffer more damage than others due to high volumes of traffic.
These are usually walkways or entrances. And not only do vehicles cut these areas too close, but so does foot traffic and even regular salt applications in winter can result in salt burn in these spots.
Rock beds in these spots versus turf can solve these problems and improve your commercial facility’s overall appearance at the same time.
Rocks & Water Features
Rocks beds are also natural companions to water features or water gardens.
If you have a hospital with a healing garden, for instance, you can bring some tranquility and healing elements to the sapce with a water feature and rock bed.
When it comes to mulch versus stone, stone is better for helping drainage in certain locations, so it is also a great water filter. If you have areas that hold water, for example, stone can help keep them less soggy, draining excess water slowly through the river rock versus creating unsightly puddles.
Landscape With Stones on Pathways
If there are areas where foot traffic has worn away turf or just spaces where you’d prefer more permanent pathways, landscaping with stones is a great concept here.
Stone is excellent for high-traffic areas because it can take a beating. So if you have spots where people tend to cut through on your property instead of using the walkway, stone is great for these locations.
Rock can also set these areas apart visually and direct customers or visitors where you want them to go, protecting your landscape beds and turf from damage.
These areas also are welcoming and inviting, making them great additions for any commercial property to include.
Hide Unsightly Areas With Stone
Landscaping with stone can also be escalated a notch on your commercial landscape by incorporating larger rocks for specific purposes.
For instance, maybe you need to conceal utility equipment or create safety areas around an entranceway to prevent vehicle traffc from getting too near. Boulders serve these two purposes perfectly.
Rocks can also anchor a design in your outdoor recreational areas with unique focal points, adding an organic, natural look and feel.
Hire a Commercial Landscape Professional in Northeast Ohio Who Understands Landscaping With Stone
When you choose to use stone in your commercial landscape, you’re choosing a unique look for your site.
But this also means you need to hire a landscape professional that knows how to work with stone. For instance, certain plants will grow better in rock beds than others. Usually, these plants are hardier. Options to consider include ornamental grasses, as well as plants like Russian sage, yarrow, and sedum.
You also want your commercial landscape professional to be able to install rock properly. If soil gets caught in between the rocks, for instance, you could still get weeds. Since rocks are harder to replace than mulch, you want a service provider to install them correctly from day one.
As you contemplate what you’d like to use in your landscape beds, we’re here to tell you stones in flower beds are a great choice. Remember, without some kind of landscaping material in your beds, they will likely sprout more weeds and lack that polished, clean look you’re after to help attract tenants, customers, buyers, students, guests, and visitors.
If you’re wondering if stone can help you elevate the look of your commercial facility, give Turfscape a call. We can give you some options and help you decide whether stone can be the right addition for your site.
The end goal will be an enhanced look that is unique to your commercial business and raises your local reputation and brand potential in the area.
Want to learn more about our mulch and stone services in Northeast Ohio? Get started today with a free quote. We’ll review your options together so you can feel confident and make a great choice.
