Landscape Design Utah

Murray Best Landscape Award: Waterwise Sloping Front Yard

Our guest had a steep hillside front yard with mostly turf and turf park strips on a large corner lot that were mostly grass. They also had a small backyard and wanted to enjoy their large front yard more, as well as reduce watering and lower maintenance.

Most of the sod was eliminated except in key activity areas near the home.  We added seating areas and site features like meandering dry stream beds with cobble rock, boulders, and mounded areas. These were created for visual interest and interesting elevation changes with drought-tolerant plants that bloom and give color throughout the year, with lower maintenance that were readily available at Glover Nursery.

The client received a substantial reduction in their watering costs along with a front yard landscape that they could use more as an extension of a smaller back yard. They were also thrilled to have received the Best Landscape of the year in Murray, judged on its water usage and aesthetic appeal.

Cottonwood Heights: Waterwise Sloping Front Yard

Our guest had a steep hillside that was mostly grass with a home that was in a Southwestern style. They requested a lower water, lower maintenance landscape that blended with the home’s architectural style.

Most of the sod was eliminated except in key activity areas near the home and replaced with site features like meandering dry stream beds with cobble rock and boulders, and mounded up areas to create visual interest and interesting elevation changes. 

The plant palette was chosen to mimic a southwestern style, but still within Salt Lake City’s difficult plant hardiness zones. We ensured the plant material would be readily available, and we coordinated with the contractor to ensure the plant material was of the highest quality and was promptly available as the client needed. We discussed with our guest the type of irrigation system that would be a water-efficient drip system suitable for the slope.

With the help of our residential landscape design services, our guest received a substantial reduction in their watering costs, along with a landscape that met their style and tastes, and reduced their mowing/maintenance hours on their yard.

Draper commercial restaurant with a lack of privacy and unique site challenges

Our guest owned a restaurant with an outdoor seating area that was noisy and uninviting along a busy street that also looked dated and in disrepair.  

Although Glover Nursery is best known for designing residential landscapes, we also collaborate with local businesses to transform challenging outdoor spaces into welcoming, functional environments.

Their typical clientele had many children, so they wanted to create a space that created a barrier to the street that was safe and blocked out traffic and noise. The client also requested that the plant material have a lot of colors and textures, but not have an excessive number of plants with bees to frighten the children.

The end result: Glover Nursery created a space that was more up-to-date while choosing plants that had excellent screening and/or sound barrier characteristics. The plants had lots of colors and textures without attracting a lot of bees. The seating areas were updated and more functional.

Existing Bluffdale Multifamily housing project with plants that were not secondary water-friendly, with a high loss rate.

Our guest owned a large modern campus of over a dozen apartment buildings with a large pool and clubhouse. The project had many plantings around buildings, in common areas, and along streets that were dying or requiring a lot of upkeep to make them look appealing.

The client was losing a large quantity of shrubs every year, as well as expressing concern that they did not have enough winter interest, and the complex looked dead for over 6 months. The managers were fielding many complaints about the condition of the property and were concerned about losing renters.  They wanted a more inviting space, and that’s what we set out to do.

As their landscape designer, we looked over the complete complex and replaced plants that were more appropriate for secondary water applications. Glover Nursery also looked at the microclimate weather exposures that the plants were faced with (Sun, shade, high winds, high salts, etc.) and replaced them with plants as needed that met that criteria

The end result the campus was updated for plants more appropriate to the site conditions. The plants also had more winter interest and year-round appeal. The maintenance went down considerably, and their renters commented on how the property was transformed into a more beautiful and inviting environment.

West Valley: Conversion of a large yard with high water use and higher maintenance landscape into a low-water, award-winning landscape.

Our guest purchased another lot next to them. It had approximately 1/3 acres that had a high-water usage lawn, and we converted it to a park-like setting. We created walking paths and gathering areas, and used different rock colors and textures to delineate the different usage areas and create visual interest.

We eliminated all the lawn and created a drought-tolerant planting scheme with plantings in key areas along the path and gathering spaces, and areas of less usage. We created a variety of elevation changes and a mix of rock colors and sizes inspired by the natural Utah landscape.

Our guests now have a large space where water usage has been reduced significantly. It has a park-like feel with seating and pathways, and mowing was eliminated and replaced with plants with less maintenance.

The guest received the landscape of the year award from West Valley, judged on its water usage and aesthetic appeal.

Millcreek: Challenging existing site conditions and lack of privacy.

Our guest purchased a lot from a custom homebuilder that we readily work with as well. The lot had the Mill Creek running through it that cut off most of the backyard, creating mostly a large, unusable, sloping easement area very visible from the street with little privacy.

As their landscape designers, we worked with the client and the homebuilder to create a plan that added more retaining walls along the stream. This is to make it safer and a more accessible bridge to reach the easement areas and more seating and pathways, and activity areas along the stream.

Glover Nursery was able to provide very mature plant material that created instant privacy and a more intimate setting.  We blended the easement area with the rest of the back yard, creating a more cohesive balance.

The client now has more space in their yard, and the stream is a huge asset instead of a liability. They host weddings at their home and have extended an invitation for family and neighbors to enjoy the yard as well.