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Architects expect strong sales in 2011 for outdoor living/landscape design

Despite the fact that the economy is still on the mend, landscape architects anticipate strong interest in outdoor living and designed residential landscapes, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects’ 2011 Residential Trends Survey.

The survey asked 245 residential landscape architects about the relative popularity of certain design features and elements, including outdoor living features, outdoor recreation amenities, landscape and gardening and sustainable design. Architects were able to pick multiple features, which were then ranked by percentage of votes.

So what were the most popular features expected this year?

The top five outdoor living features are: lighting (96.2%), fire pits (94. 2%), seating/dining areas (94.1%), grills (93.8%) and installed seating (89.5%).
 
Among the popular landscape garden elements are a focus on low-maintenance landscapes (94.2%), native plants (87.2%), water features (81%) and food/vegetable gardens (80.3%).

And the most common sustainable design features are expected to be water-efficient irrigation (83.1%) followed by permeable pavers (77%) and reduced lawn (72.6%).

The full results can be found at asla.org/land.

Survey: Government involvement will increase
In an industry facing more local, state and federal regulations, being able to shape policy is becoming crucial for lawn care, irrigation and pest management contractors. A new McKinsey Global Survey found companies aren’t more effective at managing ties with governments than they were in late 2009, but they are engaging in more collaboration.

Of the survey’s 1,396 respondents, just more than half said government and regulators will be among the stakeholders with the biggest economic effect on their companies in the next three to five years. Only customers ranked higher on the list of possible influencers. Also, 61% of respondents said government’s involvement in their industry will only continue to increase.

Two-thirds of the executives who responded said companies in their industries should proactively and regularly engage with governments and regulators, but less than 50% of the companies said they actually do.

“Companies might benefit most from adopting the same practices used by those that already have good relationships with government,” the survey said. “Even the successful companies can improve their overall performance by developing proficiency in many other activities.”

Consumer confidence reaches 3- year high
U.S. consumer confidence rose to a three-year high in February – another hopeful sign for the economic recovery.

The Thomson Reuters and University of Michigan survey index on consumer sentiment rose to 77.5, the highest since January 2008. The index was at 74.2 in January of this year. Analysts said the survey pointed to indications that consumers were weathering higher gas prices and felt optimistic about the labor market.

“Consumers do appear to be taking the rise in gasoline and food prices in stride, which is very encouraging,” Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Penn., told Reuters. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a few bumps along the road, but I do think the consumer will continue to play an important role in the recovery.”