Everybody wants to love where they work.
While there are a lot of factors that make up a great workplace, landscape amenities can make a big impact.
Think walking trails. Contemplative gardens. Rooftop patios.
Start with an appealing, inviting entrance, and you make both employees and visitors happy to walk through the door.
The Washington DC area has two distinctly different corporate campus environments. Downtown companies have different options than a suburban corporate campus.
Let’s take a look at some of the options for corporate campus landscaping amenities:
Downtown offices have unique landscaping needs. They should be appealing, beautiful and inviting — but they have limited space.
Corporate offices in downtown Washington DC are mostly streetscapes. Employees and visitors typically walk out onto the sidewalk from the front entrance.
That means the landscaping consists mostly of flower pots and tree boxes that contain decorative trees.
It needs to be inviting, clean and neat. The landscaping just outside an office entrance says a lot about the office itself. Tidy, appealing landscaping shows the owners care about first impressions.
Large planters brimming with colorful seasonal plants create big impact in limited space.
A downtown DC corporate campus might have a rooftop patio or a terrace. These are great getaways where employees can sip coffee or enjoy lunch.
This type of spot needs comfortable, attractive seating. It needs shade. It should be relaxing.
Colorful plants are a great touch when landscaping a corporate campus. The foliage of trees, plants and shrubs helps soften hard edges and provide visual interest year round.
Another idea for corporate campus landscaping, a green roof. A green roof is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems.
In addition to providing a lush, relaxing space, green roofs absorb rainwater, provide insulation, create a habitat for wildlife, and even help to lower urban air temperatures.
Green roofs are especially beneficial in cities like Washington DC, where so much area is taken up by rooftops.
A suburban corporate campus has more room than a downtown office. That means more options for landscape amenities.
There might be room for walking trails for employees to encourage fitness and breaks. They need to be kept clean and safe. Visibility is important, which means no overhanging branches or plants that block pedestrians’ vision.
Attractive, comfortable seating areas are popular for landscaping corporate campuses and business areas. Employees love to take coffee breaks and eat lunch outdoors in nice weather.
Benches and planters add both seating and interest.
Some companies bring in food trucks for lunchtime variety. Those areas have to be clean and appealing.
Water features add calming tranquility to outdoor seating areas and help drown out nearby traffic noise.
All of these features make work a pleasant place to be — and increase employee morale.
Everybody loves shade, and it should be included in corporate campus landscape design. Create shade with beautiful trees or shade structures like pergolas to keep people cool and relaxed.
Suburban corporate campuses often have room for a contemplative garden. Think perennials, rose bushes, statues and fountains.
This can be a great perk for employees, a place to de-stress and re-group.
Add a pergola overhead and it can be a great covered meeting place. Who wouldn’t rather attend a meeting outside?
Sometimes we get a request from a property manager to spruce up an office front they’re trying to rent or sell.
If the landscaping is dated, with shrubs painstakingly pruned into giant cubes, we can update it with a looser, more modern feel.
Modern landscapes typically incorporate native plants and a lot of grasses that create movement.
Hip new start-ups will be more drawn to a looser landscape design, with flowing ornamental grasses that add a fresh, more relaxed vibe.
Walls of greenery inside corporate campus buildings are increasingly popular. These go way beyond a few houseplants. You might see a striking bamboo garden, towering 30 feet tall.
While we don’t install those at Level Green Landscaping, we partner with reputable companies who do, to provide seamless service both inside and out.
The first step to creating a perfectly landscaped corporate campus is finding the right landscaping company to hire.
At Level Green Landscaping, our mission is to help you create a beautiful, functional landscape perfectly suited to your property.
Our experienced team can install plant beds, walking trails, rooftop gardens, green roofs, seating areas, and more to enhance your corporate campus, whether it’s downtown or in the suburbs.
And once everything is finished, we can keep it looking fresh with regular maintenance services, including mowing, edging, blowing, pruning and more.
Contact us at 202-544-0968 or by filling out our form online. You can also request a free consultation to see how we can enhance your landscape design.