Landscaping is often characterized as the bushes or flowers you have in your yard. However, landscaping can include a great deal more and encompasses the entire yard. How the grass is mowed is part of the landscaping, as well as ornamental items, borders, fountains, flowers, bushes, trees, and so much more. Landscaping also includes areas around any structures in your yard including a shed, sauna, pool, Jacuzzi, or outdoor kitchen. How you incorporate these things into the property are all part of the landscape.
Over 80% of Americans believe having a yard is an important feature for a property. Over 90% of those people also believe that keeping the yard well-maintained is important. The financial benefits of nice landscape and a well-maintained yard have been well researched. According to recent studies, landscape can increase the resale value of a home by 14%. Additionally, it can decrease the amount of time the house spend son the market by up to six weeks.
Real estate agents will be the first to encourage a homeowner to spend some time and money on their landscape. Research has shown that investing as little as 5% of your home’s value into the landscape can provide a return on investment of as much as 150%. There are no other renovations you can make that will provide that high of a return on investment. Landscape has value in itself, but it also greatly increases the curb appeal of the home. Simply maintaining a nicely manicured lawn will increase curb appeal.
Nearly 100% of people surveyed assert that spending time in their yards is important to them. There is a growing trend of creating elaborate and comfortable outdoor spaces, which include outdoor kitchens and dining areas. It has been found that homeowners who invest in outdoor living spaces spend six or more hours a week in their yards.
Slightly over half of homeowners are budgeting $10,000 or more on their outdoor projects when hiring landscapers. While many people do their own basic lawn care and mowing, special projects including outdoor living spaces, are often left to professional landscapers.
A professional landscaper will understand what will grow best on your property taking into account plants native to the area, your soil, and the amount of shade on your property. Although hiring a landscaper is an expense, their expertise can save you a great deal of money. If you are unsure of what you want, professor landscapers can also provide landscape design ideas to help you make a decision. Landscaping design ideas can be as simple as the right color combination of flowers to a full outdoor living space.
They can also offer their opinion on how and where you can safely add more trees to your property. While trees can pose some disadvantages including disrupting root systems and leave sin the fall, they also provide many benefits. Trees can dramatically reduce air conditioning costs by shading the house and shielding the house from direct sunlight. A tree can also remove 26 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which equals 11,000 miles of car emissions.
Other plants also provide environmental benefits. For example, shrubs and turf can effectively remove smoke, dust, and other air pollutants surrounding your home. High quality landscaping can increase the resale value of the home and make you more likely to spend time outside with the family.