Factors influencing landscaping in 2022

The spring of 2022 is going to be exceptional for landscaping. After two years of social distancing, the lawns and gardens are finally ready to receive friends and guests. This year, landscaping will see interesting trends influenced by various factors.

Overcoming cabin fever – After two years of isolation and lockdowns, the global situation is finally improving. Doorbells are getting busier for reasons other than door deliveries. House parties and weekend get-togethers are slowly returning.

Outdoor workspace – Working from home is the new norm in many industries and for many types of jobs, but working from home does not always have to be confined to the corner of the study. Setting up a worktable in the garden is relaxing for the mind and provides a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Cooking and eating outside – The smell of sizzling meat and vegetables is going to fill the air this spring. Stone ovens, open-to-air cooking spaces, and grills will start to see a comeback.

Organic food – Homegrown organic food may be a fad, or maybe not, but while you are in the middle of it in 2022, it will cause tectonic shifts in the garden scape.

Suppose you are a contractor looking to make the best of this exciting market in 2022. In that case, you need suitable materials to deliver the landscaping ideas discussed above. There are a lot of materials that can make your project beautiful and practical. In this article, let us examine two of them, rocks and dirt.

Rocks

Rocks are effort-intensive materials, as moving and laying them can take a lot of labor. Once the landscaping is done, they are easy to maintain. They have a long life. They are deterrents for weeds and are a natural retardant against fire. Depending on their application, they come in different types, shapes, and sizes.

River Rocks – They are excellent finishing surfaces on your gardens. They are good protection against erosion and surface runoff. River rocks are also colorful and aesthetically pleasing.

Oversized Cobblestone and Boulders. – Large rocks like oversized cobblestones and smooth boulders are an excellent choice for lining your water features. They add aesthetics to the garden waterfall or provide retention for the garden stream. Boulders act as brakes on rolling grass lawns and make the landscape more natural.

Washed Pea Rocks – Mulching flower beds with tinier pea rocks can help retain topsoil from erosion while providing a pleasing appearance. They find application in draining rainwater or micro-irrigation.

At Legacy Materials, we provide a variety of rocks for your next construction project, whether you need oversized cobblestone and boulders for landscaping gardens or are working with river rock on septic system projects. 

Dirt

Dirt is a vital element of landscaping. It allows for more sophisticated designs. Dirt is easier to handle and to lay. The type of dirt used depends on the purpose of use.

Topsoil and Black Dirt – Topsoil or Black Dirt can have excellent applications in gardening and lawns. Topsoil is rich in nutrients making it a valuable material for indoor gardens, pots, backyard gardens, and shaded avenues. Topsoil is also suitable for lawns as it is rich in nutrients. Black dirt can come in handy for lining walkways, small barriers, or retaining water in water features.

Fine Fill Sand – Fill sand comes in bright colors and contrasts with black dirt in landscaping. They are an affordable backfill option for wet areas. They do not have structural value but are an excellent landscaping material.

Fill Dirt – Fill dirt is an excellent choice if you want to add undulations to your lawn and create rolling mounds. They can also be used as concealment fill over pipes and utility cables.

Porous Backfill – This all-weather material has excellent draining properties that are useful for the high rainfall season. It also resists thaw degradation. It finds use in garden walkways or in concealing pipes and utility cables.

Did you know that Legacy Materials provides Iowa DOT Certified Concrete Sand? This means that select products are passed by the Iowa Department of Transportation’s quality assurance program. 

Materials that will trend in 2022

All stakeholders like landscaping material suppliers, contractors, and end-customers alike are getting ready for a super-hot market in 2022. Some of the trends that will drive demand for landscaping materials are:

Gardening for fire scaping and floodproofing- Landscaping is moving on from just being pretty to becoming lifesavers. River Rocks and fill dirt embankments can be a break in rolling lawns and vegetation to prevent the spread of fire. Porous Backfill is an excellent drain for stormwater. 

“Making your own food” to “creating your own food”  – Lockdowns left us with so much banana bread and exotic stuffed vegetable ideas. Call it backward integration if you will; all the attention currently appears to be on producing your own food, and topsoil and black dirt can help with good growth. Arguably, it is so much more satisfying when you pluck that tomato fresh off the pot on the ledge outside your kitchen window than while taking it out of the refrigerator.

Gravel gardens that are great looking and easy on the wallet – Gravels, fill dirt, large boulders, and washed pea rocks are filling gardens fast. They are easy to create and are pretty to look at, but they need much less effort to maintain as they do not grow shabbily even if left unattended.

Ask us how

Getting the right supplies for landscaping projects is a job half done. With so many options that serve so many trends, contractors will need the right partners who can guide them through material selection and until proper use. At Legacy Materials, our experts can help you meet the demand spikes of 2022. You can visit us at www. legacymaterials.org or call us at 515-432-7333 for help.