For many, landscaping refers to the concept of keeping your yard looking nice. However, landscaping can mean a lot more than that — in a big way. Landscape services can cover everything from moving a lawn to tree trimming. It can make or break the appearance — and value — of your property. In fact, landscape services can transform the entire atmosphere and feeling of your home. Why have a boring yard when you’ve always wanted a waterfall? If you want certain types of trees to grow on your property, why not plant them? There are so many ways in which landscaping can enrich your life — you need only take advantage of the opportunity when it’s presented to you. Let’s look into the different ways that landscaping can change the way you look at your home and land.
Landscaping: Adding Value To your Property
Landscape services aren’t simply for dreamers who want to transform their land into a bamboo forest. There’s also a practical element to landscape services in that they can greatly increase the value of your home. Lawn care is one simple enough way that you can take advantage of landscaping in terms of your home’s sale value. A well-cared for lawn can make your home look a lot better to those simply driving by — and those simply driving by can turn into potential buyers. Simple, general landscaping can raise the value of your home by up to 12%. Its resale value can be raised by up by 14% should you landscape. In fact, if you spend as little as 5% of your home’s value on landscaping, it could have a return of 150%. It’s well worth the investment. For buyers, a home that is already landscaped when they buy can mean less work in the long run, thus making it a more appealing option. Overall, about 63% of poll respondents say that they’d be willing to pay more for an apartment or house located in green spaces. This is compared to 34% willing to pay more for homes in good shopping areas, and 33% willing to pay more for homes located near good cultural venues.
How Beautiful Landscaping Adds Emotional Value
There’s more to landscaping than the cold, hard, facts of buying and selling your home. In fact, maybe you aren’t planning to sell your home at all, at least not in the near future. Landscaping can enrich your life on an aesthetic and emotional level. This is especially important for people who live high-stress lifestyles. It’s estimated that more than half of all homeowners upgrading their outdoor spaces reported spending more than six hours there a week. Landscaping can mean addressing your backyard, or your garden, or the front of your home — it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s what you want it to be, you can gain an emotional value from it. According to laboratory research, something as simple as visual contact with trees can reduce your stress level within five minutes, as evidenced by changes in blood pressure and muscle tension.
The Environmental Benefits Behind Landscaping
The long-lasting benefits to landscaping aren’t solely about you, but the environment at large. There are many ways in which landscaping can benefit the environment; for example, the addition of trees can stimulate new plant growth in the overall area. You might want to think of, for example, investing in plants and trees that are struggling in your state or town. A new acre of forest can add six tons of carbon dioxide and four tons of oxygen; this can meet the annual needs of 18 people. Landscaping can also reduce your overall energy use. Properly placed trees can reduce your air conditioning needs by 30%, and can save 20 to 50% of the energy used for heating. This can have a lasting impact on your carbon footprint, and make your home a lot more environmentally-friendly in a big way.
