Love Your Landscape – March 2015

Hardscapes encompass landscape components such as pavers, concrete, stone, brick, block or wood. As an industry, hardscaping saw significant growth in concurrence with the U.S. economic downturn when people started looking at outdoor living spaces in unconventional ways. Rather than spending hard- earned dollars on expensive get-away vacations, Americans began upgrading or creating outdoor living spaces.

“Outdoor living spaces continue to be popular because homeowners are staying in their homes longer,” says Ken O’Neill, vice president of marketing for Belgard Hardscapes. Remodeling has allowed consumers to create the perfect home for their families without relocating. A big part of those renovations dollars are now directed toward outdoor spaces—in the front yard for curb appeal and in backyard living spaces for enjoyment and entertainment purposes.

A recent trend in outdoor design is the increasing size and functionality of traditional patio spaces. O’Neill states, “Consumers want things like outdoor kitchens and fireplaces. That means more square footage. Oversized pavers work well in these instances. Once you get to 500+ square feet, bigger stones simply look nicer because they are more to scale. Many homeowners don’t fully understand the potential of an outdoor living space until they’ve lived in it for a while.”

A market research study by the National Gardening Association found that homeowners spent a record $45 billion to hire professional lawn and landscape services in 2006. These services also included homeowners creating their very own backyard ‘get-a-ways’ with outdoor rooms and living areas. National Gardening Association President Mike Metallo says, “The increased use of lawn and landscape services over the past five years reflects the fact that homeowners appreciate the many benefits of a well-designed and maintained lawn and landscape but may not have the time or inclination to do this work for themselves.”

The American household demand for landscaping products is projected to grow 6.9 percent per year through 2017 to $6.5 billion, reflecting the slow rebound in sales following the 2007-2009 recession and subsequent slow recovery.

Southern Oregon continues to be a very desirable location to live. Because of our moderate climate and cool summer evenings, we live in one of the best locations to create outdoor living spaces. This spring is a great time to plan your new outdoor area. At Sage Landscape Supply, we look forward to working with you and your contractor to help create the perfect outdoor environment!