Introduction
Air conditioners are an essential part of many households, especially during the summer it protects us from hot weather. However, the condensing units that come in the form of big, ugly, metal boxes and are placed outside of the house does little to improve the beauty of your property. In fact, if you don’t cleverly landscape around them to camouflage them, it can ruin the appearance of your property. You can hire professional help by searching “landscape companies near me” on Google or try your own hands if you like to tend to your property on your own.
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few tips you can follow to landscape around your AC unit:
- Maintain appropriate distance around the air conditioner – In order for your air conditioner to work properly, it should not be under direct sunlight and there should not be any plants or other objects that can obstruct the airflow around it. A safe bet is to keep your plants about 2 to 3 feet away from the unit without overcrowding it. This would allow the AC to function optimally.
If the air flow around the machine is obstructed, the unit can become less energy efficient, suffer from a shorter lifespan, and need more repairs. Ultimately, it would cost you a lot more money.
- Choose appropriate plants for concealing the AC unit – Choosing the type of plants to place around your air conditioner is an important element of landscaping around it. There are a lot of options to consider but not all plants are suitable.
For the best results, it’s recommended that you utilize a combination of tall trees, shrubs, and hedges to create a cooler micro-climate and offer plenty of shade without compromising the air flow.
Evergreen shrubs, flowering shrubs, and ornamental grasses are some tall plants that you can consider. Alternatively, you may consider a combination of trellis and climbing plants such as trumpet vine, rose, clematis, morning glory, and ivy.
Additionally, you can try to add some vibrancy and distract the attention from it by adding plants such as thyme, alyssum, sedums, foxgloves, forget-me-not, and more beneath them.
- Select the proper plant alternatives around the AC unit – Some people don’t like to plant shrubs, trellis, or anything else that needs regular maintenance. In such cases, it’s best to utilize alternatives that don’t require any maintenance and also prevents the growth of weeds.
Here are a few suggestions that you can follow:
- Ground cover – Ground cover plants are short and don’t have to be mowed. Thus, they are a good option around air conditioners.
- Decorative rocks and stones – Decorative rocks and stones are available in a variety of textures, sizes, and color and can improve the look around your AC unit. Plus, they also help to absorb the moisture and drain away excess water away from the machine.
- Pavers – Pavers are an excellent choice if you want to control the growth of weeds around your air conditioner.
- Mulch – Adding mulch can allow you to block out weeds and also improve the appearance of your garden. However, you should exercise some caution and ensure it is not piled up too high or directly against the AC since it can retain the moisture.
- Gravel garden -A gravel garden can take a weekend or two to set up, but the end results are worth the effort. You can simply reposition your air conditioner on a raised cement platform and cover the area around it with gravels. Additionally, you can introduce a mulched plant beds to offer some greenery. However, it requires much less maintenance since you don’t need to mow grass or deal with weed overgrowth.
- Use a screen, lattice cover, or trellis – If don’t want to fill your gardens with plants and want some extra creative freedom, you can hide the AC unit using a lattice box, screens, or trellis.
Let’s see how below:
- Lattice box – Lattice boxes are visually beautiful since they look like a combination of screen and trellis. However, there is no need to maintain any plants. The most important thing to remember when using lattice boxes to camouflage your AC is to make sure there is no lid since it would obstruct the air flow. Also, make sure that you meet all the space requirement for installation and can access it without any issues.
- Trellis – Trellis can be an excellent option to camouflage your AC unit since it allows you the freedom to decorate it with vines and even add ornamentations to improve the look of the surrounding. However, you have to keep it well-tended and make sure it doesn’t interfere with the air flow of the condenser unit.
- Screens – You need plenty of space for your condenser unit if you are planning to add screens around it. The screen should also include an open side or door for easy accessibility.
Whatever you choose to hide your condenser unit, ensure it is sturdy and installed properly to prevent the risk of damaging the machine.
- Using evergreen plants to create a windbreak – One of the best ways to protect your air conditioner against bad weather conditions is to use evergreen plants as windbreak since such plants are firmly planted into the ground.
We recommend you consider spruce, cypress, boxwood, cedar, and other such evergreen plants since these never lose their leaves and act as excellent windbreaks when trimmed properly.
- Carefully plan the overall maintenance of your property– Landscaping is an artform in itself but you have to consider a lot of things and plan according to make sure nothing in your property is harmed. For instance, you must avoid dispensing grass clipping towards the direction of the AC unit when mowing your lawn since they block ventilation. If twigs and small stones are picked up by your mower, they can even cause damage to the machine.
Conclusion
If you are still worried about managing the landscape around your air conditioner, you can call in professional landscape artists to deal with the problem. All you have to do is search “landscape companies near me” and you would be able to select from a list of experts that offer their services in your area.