A community is about the quality of individual properties and the people who live there. But it’s also about the overall appearance and functionality of public spaces. And when you think about it, there are a good deal of public spaces in any appealing Bradenton community, whether it’s gated/HOA, a condominium, a townhome community, or a retirement community. Clubhouses, pool areas, parks, easements, medians, common areas, and more can make or break the feel of these places people call home.
The Keys to Community Landscape Design in Bradenton
While maintaining a healthy Bradenton lawn and plants is pretty much the same whether it’s commercial or residential, creating a beautiful, durable, and purpose-built landscape design particularly for community public spaces requires special consideration. Designs must consider both function as well as aesthetics.
Functional vs. Aesthetic Considerations
Community landscape design has its own unique challenges that vary based on the purpose of each outdoor space. A great-looking landscape is always our goal, but those appearances have to work with the space and how it’s being used by the community members.
Welcoming Entrance Spaces
Some areas, like the landscape in front of a welcome building or clubhouse, will be almost entirely decorative (not intended for foot traffic), which allows for almost exclusively aesthetic considerations. However “aesthetics” can also include well-placed shrubbery or other plants to hide unsightly MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) systems. That kind of camouflaging needs to be effective without interfering with the utilities systems or their maintenance.
Accessible Public Amenities
On the other hand, areas intended to allow foot traffic to public amenities, like benches or picnic tables, should take accessibility into account, including the thickness/durability of the grass, available shade, and the density of surrounding greenery. Too often we see benches placed willy-nilly in deep St. Augustine, where it’s basically a fitness challenge to get there (and the view’s not great, either).
Clean, Tropical Pools
Pool landscaping in Bradenton communities often lends itself to tropical plants, but you also have to consider the mess that those plants—and their mulch, if they require it—might spill over onto the pool deck and the water itself. And the pool is not an area where people want shade from overhanding trees.
Low-Key Easements and Dividers
Some spaces maintained by a private community include medians that divide roads and strips of land that separate roads from sidewalks. While these areas are ubiquitous, some communities try too hard to make them stand out. The issue is that intrusive barriers with tall plants can interfere with traffic and pedestrians by distracting drivers and even creating unnecessary blind spots.
Community Landscape Maintenance in Bradenton
All of these community areas have great potential for beautiful, well-tended landscaping and green space. On the flip side, they can quickly become an eyesore that makes everyone who lives there feel neglected.
In order to welcome newcomers into your community, and to ensure the highest possible quality of life for the people and families who already live there, HOAs, condominiums, townhome communities, and retirement villages need to care for their landscaping as an extension of caring for their residents. And who better to care for your property than a family-owned, local, Bradenton landscaping company with extensive residential and commercial knowledge and experience?
