Outdoor living spaces, sprinklers and a 'less is more' approach top latest trends for landscaping

Apr. 22—GRAND FORKS — Cool outdoor living spaces are among the latest landscaping trends, according to Wayne Riley, owner of Riley's Landscaping and Irrigation.

Patios, fire pits, outdoor kitchens and other kinds of hardscape projects — landscaping that involves building environment structures out of hard materials — have grown in popularity since COVID kept people home, he said.

"(Hardscape has) been booming quite a bit," said Riley, of Grand Forks.

Riley is already busy with phone calls from customers interested in starting their own landscaping projects this year, though his business doesn't start on actual projects until the frost is out of the ground. This usually occurs in May, though with the pleasant winter, it could happen earlier, he said. Either way, this year is looking to be a year of outdoor living spaces, which Riley enjoys creating. Projects like paver patios, outdoor kitchens, fire pits and paths are the most satisfying to him. He enjoys the before-and-after effect.

"There's such a transformation," he said. "It's quite the change."

Another trend he's noticed is the increase in people asking for sprinkler systems, especially in the past five to seven years.

On the flip side, there is a shrinking popularity in having lots of different plants around yards, he said. People are trending toward a "less is more" style to make things easier to maintain, Riley said.

"They want to look nice but have maintenance be free and easy," he said.

The process of getting a landscaping project done begins with a phone call or an email, Riley said. For him, that first interaction leads to setting up an appointment, where he comes over to the property and discusses the customer's needs and wants.

"Everybody has such a vast array of wants, needs, budgets," he said. "Every design is a little different."

After the appointment, Riley sits down and creates a computer-generated design for the project and comes up with an estimate. He sends both over email to the customer, who can ask questions, make comments and make changes or modifications as needed. After that, the actual work begins. Riley's Landscaping and Irrigation, Riley said, can do a year's work of worth in seven months.

The season for his company to do work, he said, is from around May 1 to Nov. 1. By the Fourth of July, landscaping companies are pretty much booked up for the year. And for those interested in doing a landscaping project in 2024, the sooner they call the better.

"The time is now," Riley said.