Tech in the Landscape
I have this grand idea. I’ve pitched it to software designers who have shut me down. But, nonetheless, it’s a dream. An app or platform that brings all home, or at least exterior home, smart devices together into one space. Reason being, is that landscapes are becoming very techy. Over the last 10 or maybe 20 years, I’ve watched this sector grow.
Early on lighting was based on a dumb timer that needed to be changed every fall and spring to follow daylight saving time. Then they came out with a unit that could connect to your GPS location and it would adjust accordingly. That little plug-in got smarter and soon adapted other timing demands. Not long after, lighting manufacturers caught on and built that into the transformer itself. Now, the transformer connects to your internet so you can control it with an app. Every light can be managed from your app: timing, dimming, color, themed with other lights etc. It’s not just the transformer and control unit that is smart, every lamp and bulb has its own little brain.
Now take that same technology evolution and apply it to every part of a landscape. Being one who got into this because for nature, honestly, I’m a little taken back, or maybe out of my element. Pools are all controlled by an app, you can turn up the heat leaving Chicago and have a warm pool or hot tub by the time you land at your beach cottage. You will turn on the pool lights and fountain the same way. Music is run from an app that, through various smart hubs, like Sonos, will blast sound inside and outside. The sound levels can be managed separately in every space (kitchen, backyard, garage, living room, etc.). Irrigation will also talk to your phone through the internet to let you know if or when it’s running. Even my gas grill has an app for goodness sake. I can get alerted that the steak has an exact 130-degree interior temperature.
Many homes are or have been smart for some time. It’s taken a while to get that same technology ready for an outside environment and have an accepting marketplace. However, any skepticism or development is long behind us. We are now in a place where nearly any outside component is ready to be a ‘smart’ device. Frankly, I’m still warming up to it. I don’t always like being connected. I don’t actually use my grill to alert me when our steak is cooked. I still like to stand over it, poke it, and cross my fingers. That said, it’s nice to have my music synced between indoor and outdoor rooms while I poke a 20-dollar steak. We are still in that honeymoon stage. You can pick and choose how complex or how basic your systems are. It’s not like a phone, where we are all expected to have one tethered to our hip. You can get as complex or as simple as you want with technology in your landscape. Just know, if you want it ‘smart’ it can be smart. The days of figuring out how to do it are over. Who’s ready for their autonomous mower?