The last decade has seen several growing trends in mountain resort planning. First, resorts are looking for ways to expand their four-season appeal and attract more visitors in the summer. Second, many resorts are turning to real estate development to bolster capital, which demands a more labor-intensive residential aesthetic. And lastly, increasing environmental awareness has raised expectations in both the public and regulatory agencies, and requires a higher level of accountability from the ski industry. Planting design—landscaping, in a word—can help address all three of these trends.

Landscaping has traditionally been a low priority for winter resorts. It’s mostly a non-issue for winter operations, as snow blankets imperfections. Once the snow melts, however, a resort can feel naked as its aesthetic and environmental deficiencies are exposed. For those of you who now feel the need to dress your resort appropriately, here’s a look at some of the key issues involved in planning landscaping improvements.


AESTHETIC CONTRIBUTIONS

When the subject of landscaping comes up, most managers tend to think of the benefits in terms of beautification. This perception tends to minimize the various important roles played by vegetation, but it is true that adding plants “makes it look better.” There are a number of ways in which this happens, and understanding them can lead to a more effective landscape design.

First, and perhaps most importantly, a planting design can help establish and/or reinforce the character of the resort. What is it that sets your resort apart from the competition? What is the architectural style established by the base facilities and real estate developments? Who is your target market? What are your target seasons? The answers to these questions can help you tailor a planting design to enhance your image and the visitor experience.

Many mountain resorts are well suited to a naturalized approach to planting design, in which native, informal plantings help to tie the built environment to its surroundings. Others are more residential or even urban in feel, and for these, adaptive plants typical to what one might find at home in the neighborhood are a good choice. A more formal and refined aesthetic can be achieved through intensive maintenance, the use of symmetry and highly ordered groupings, such as a tree lined allée on the approach road. An agricultural character can be established through the use of plantings associated with production and farmyards, such as apple trees, blueberries and lilacs. The bottom line is, a planting design can and should contribute to the aesthetic character and function of your resort.

Plantings can also improve a resort’s appearance by enhancing good views or screening an unsightly one. Key views, such as the first view of the base lodge or mountain during the approach, can be framed or revealed suddenly in a memorable way. Trees can help reduce the sense of scale of large buildings. Mixed evergreen shrub and tree screens are useful in hiding utilities, dumpster enclosures, and other unattractive aspects of development. Trees and shrubs are also useful in blending the built environment with natural surroundings. And because plants grow and fill in within a few years after planting, they also lend an air of permanence to areas of recent development.

Finally, there are the physical attributes of the plants themselves. Most obvious is the seasonal bloom of flowering plants. Planting compositions can be designed to be at their peak at a specific point of the season, such as early spring or mid summer, or they can be balanced to provide color from spring through fall.

There are many other aesthetic attributes of plants besides their flower, however, and these are especially important to consider in resorts where peak visitation usually spans fall through spring. Among them:

• Leaf color and texture can provide quite a show, especially in the fall. Colorful native trees in the northeast include red and sugar maples, sumac and birch. Many western mountain environments feature aspen, which has wonderful leaf texture and movement and can be golden yellow in the fall.

• Evergreen foliage can be picturesque when drooping after a heavy snow, particularly the fine-needled species such as hemlock or balsam fir.

• Fruit that persists on some trees and shrubs well into the winter provides colorful displays against a white backdrop. Favorites include mountain ash, winterberry and hawthorn.

• Bark and stem color and texture can also be attractive in the snow. Many birches have showy, peeling bark ranging from white through coppery brown to bronze red. Redtwig dogwoods also make fine winter specimens.


ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

Plantings can have positive environmental impacts, too. As awareness and concerns over climate change increase, plantings can help resorts take a lead in mitigation efforts. The environment is also part and parcel of the recreational amenities resorts offer. At the same time, winter resorts impact the natural environment through snowmaking, tree clearing and energy consumption. Through careful planning, selective clearing and aggressive replanting policies, resorts can minimize their footprint and set an example for green industry, benefiting both the environment and public relations.

Planting applications can also lead to more tangible and immediately noticeable environmental benefits, albeit on a small scale. For example, plants are useful in creating microclimates by shading buildings and paved surfaces and blocking winds. Plantings reduce erosion by stabilizing steep slopes, such as those found on road cuts. Planted swales help slow and treat stormwater runoff from roads and parking lots, and native plantings can create or restore riparian zones. They also provide habitat and food sources for wildlife. And plantings aren’t just for summer. Designed correctly, a mixed border of evergreen trees and shrubs can also provide an effective snow screen.


SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

Before you go out and stock up on plants, remember that mountain resorts often present challenging environments due to both natural and man-made conditions. There is also the added financial and operational challenge of increased maintenance.

Mountain resorts, for obvious reasons, are often located in extreme environments near the edge of many species’ ability to survive. Cold temperatures, high elevations, high winds and heavy snow loads limit the suitable palette of plants from which to choose—these conditions prove too difficult for many species typically found in commercial and residential settings. Many of the native plant species in your climate may be difficult to come by in the nursery trade, and they are often too temperamental to survive field collection and transplanting. In such cases, the planting design may need to rely on hardy adaptive species that are similar to those found locally.

Regardless of the source, proper planting and care, especially during the first several years of growth while the plants are establishing themselves, will help ensure survival. Trees should be staked or guyed appropriately, and then checked regularly to ensure the straps are tight and not damaging the trunk. Well amended soil and regular watering help reduce stress and the likelihood of damage from insects and desiccation.

The most prevalent man-made challenge to plant materials in the mountain resort setting is snow removal. The bottom line: snow removal and plants do not mix—at least, not without careful planning and vigilance. Trees and shrubs are highly susceptible to damage from plows, either from the blade itself or from the piles of snow pushed up by it. Snowblowers and snow/ice falling from eaves can also cause breakage. In addition, many plants are easily damaged by deicing salts and chemicals, as well as by excessive sanding.

There are several ways to work around these problems. First, the planting design should be done in coordination with a snow removal plan. Designate specific snow storage areas, and craft snow removal techniques to suit sensitive areas. Then make sure these changes are communicated and adopted. Where plant materials are needed in potential problem zones, select perennials and hardy species less susceptible to damage.

Maintenance and competent training are vital components of a successful planting installation, and for many resorts this is an unexpected or ill-prepared-for task. It takes more than a lawnmower and a bottle of Roundup to appropriately care for a designed landscape. Ideally, assign someone with horticultural training and knowledge, whether on-staff or subcontracted, to conduct routine inspections and train maintenance crews. This is particularly important during the establishment phase of the plantings, the first few years after installation. Once established, you can relax requirements such as staking and regular additional watering, although all plantings need annual inspection and pruning.

Though plantings require a little extra effort, mountain resorts have much to gain from landscape design, both in terms of aesthetic and environmental benefits. Think of these benefits as mutually inclusive. A landscape beautification project undertaken at a base area residential area should take into consideration the environmental ramifications of the installation. Similarly, a stream restoration project alongside a parking lot should recognize and capitalize on the aesthetic opportunities. And in all instances, plan landscape improvements in terms of both installation and maintenance, with regard for the unique challenges posed by mountain resorts.