This past weekend I was in Seattle, USA, for my son’s soccer tournament and I managed to escape briefly to Starbucks and to Barnes and Noble. When I left the store, I took the picture below.
This is a nice example of a well-maintained commercial landscape. Note how tightly pruned everything is. The Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) and Junipers are boxed; and even the Rhododendron is shaped.
I’m not crazy about the topped shore pines (Pinus contorta) but this is a commercial parking lot where there is more to consider than just plants.
Sight lines are very important so shoppers can safely enter and exit with their cars. And when they exit their vehicles they won’t be interfered with since the plants are tightly pruned inside the islands. Even needle drop is minimized by tight pine pruning.
It’s not easy to see from my picture but trust me, weeds are nicely under control here.
Coquitlam, BC
Now let’s look at an example closer to home. This is a casino parking lot so the cars don’t come and go as much. Clients usually spend more time inside the casino than the average shopper does in a mall.
Discreetly armed with adult diapers, they park themselves at their favourite machine and then they stay there. At least that’s my impression. I have no idea what really happens inside casinos.
Note that the shore pines aren’t topped and the island has a layer of lava rock over landscape fabric. I did some weeding here.
Again, there are good sight lines for drivers.
And lastly, because this is a casino, there are security cameras everywhere. You can’t escape them. Not that suspicious characters could hide in lava rock. I suspect most of the robberies occur inside the casino.
Conclusion
Commercial landscapes are special places. To maintain them well you have to consider more than the plants on site. Drivers require good sight lines, and all signs must be clearly visible.
