6 Landscaping Design Trends

Landscape design can significantly boost a home's value, especially in the Chicagoland area, where the unique climate calls for specialized landscaping approaches that can handle all weather. Here is the scoop on the latest landscape design trends, which is all about color, sustainability, and functionality.

1. Native Plant Landscaping

Transitioning outdoor spaces from a [mown] lawn to a more wooded or rough edge is a perfect way to promote a meadow or prairie design that reduces lawn care, water usage, and mowing, and can still be quite ornamental. When you remove shrubs in an area beneath large native trees, always try to replant what would naturally grow there. Some favorite plants for this are common witch hazels, hazelnut shrubs, dogwoods, and native cherry.

Visit the Chicago Botanic Garden in north-suburban Glencoe for beautiful native plant-centered design ideas.

2. Drought-tolerant plants

The Chicagoland area endures all of the seasons at their most extreme, so in the summer, it can get incredibly hot and dry. Weather patterns are only getting more extreme as the years go by. So, as a sustainability measure and to ensure their landscaping still looks great regardless of the weather, many homeowners are now incorporating or even prioritizing drought-tolerant plants.

Some hearty plants such as evergreens, woody plants like lavender or Russian sage, and tuberous plants like peonies and irises are excellent choices. 

3. Sustainable Landscaping Practices

Ways to incorporate sustainability into your landscaping include avoiding harmful chemicals, composting food scraps and yard waste, and using rain barrels to collect water. If you choose to do the latter, check with your local laws regarding rainwater collection. Some states restrict how much water can be collected and how it can be used.

Incorporating sustainability into your landscaping might also add value to your home. According to a recent survey, consumers said they would pay up to 9.7% more for sustainable products.

4. Pops of Color

Like interiors and fashion, color schemes ebb and flow in popularity. The ubiquitous blue and white scheme is now being paired with more vibrant tones like magenta and chartreuse. We have always used color in flowers and now there also seems to be more pops of color in outdoor upholstery.

5. Water Features

Utilizing water elements in landscape design is another way to create a more inviting space. Some of the more popular ways to incorporate water features into a design include small gurgle fountains, water walls and sprouts associated with pools and spas.

Water features also have mental health benefits. According to research, spending time near water can reduce stress, improve your mood and promote relaxation.

6. Minimalist and Low-Maintenance Designs

Homeowners today love low-maintenance living, and this extends to landscape design. Choosing the right plants for minimal upkeep, like landscape shrub roses instead of hybrid tea roses, is one key. If you want to take it a step further, you can install an irrigation system, so you don’t have to spend your early mornings watering your plants.