It doesn’t matter.
It just doesn’t matter how many times I see it . . . I still go nuts.
It’s junk, it’s lazy, it’s “I don’t give a damn”. It’s certainly pathetic.
[ What’s really sad . . . it’s everywhere. ]
Look, I understand that some people have severe budgets to deal with, but why do some(most) developers of American strip malls emasculate/whack/obliterate any chance a landscaper has of putting something decent in front of their latest money-making venture?
Why? Why? Why?
Flip side
Why does said contractor, “designer” give up. Yes the budget is bare bones but there are ways to be a little creative here.
- Hold onto the evergreens for seasonal interest and to hold the scene together.
- Get rid of the McDonalds scheme . . . “a red one then a gold one”. I mean c’mon.
- Every shrub installed is the same shape, giving the low-budget maintenance guy a chance to power shear every shrub into the same gumdrop . . . 😦
- Plant some perennials, even if they’re quart sizes, add some live groundcover, cluster the evergreens . . . and for the same money you got a little something. Something.
Sheeesh, these guys are driving me crazy.
Folks can talk about ”being green” and environmentally friendly, and sustainable all they want; but frankly, I still see this junk being put in all over.
And it’s driving me crazy.
The Whispering Crane Institute 
As an amateur trying to learn design basics, I wish you could take this picture and show an alternative. How can this be improved on a similar budget?
Even some nice decorative landscape boulders and mounds would have made this look much better, without effecting the cost very much at all.