March 29th, 2012 5:48 PM by Office Fax
Trees and flowers are blooming. The grass is getting tall enough to cut. Spring certainly feels like it is upon us, and it might have you thinking about the exterior appearance of your house. Although your spring maintenance list is probably long enough as it is, if you are looking to add value to your home and property, you might consider adding more landscaping. Michigan State University researchers found that good landscaping increases perceived home values by 5 – 11% after conducting a study in 2005. Another study done on the subject revealed that the sophistication of the landscaping design and the plant size were the two biggest factors in determining how much value landscaping added to home value. So what does this mean for you as a homeowner? Landscaping the area around your home can be an easy and rewarding investment for the future of your property. The great thing about this kind of home addition is that you can be involved as little or as much as you want to be and can be done with any size budget. Regardless of whether your do it yourself, or you hire a professional to plan and execute the entire project here are a few tips:
· Choose plants that are native (naturally found in) to your area
o Native plants generally will require less maintenance since they are plants indigenous to the area
o Native plants also make your landscaping look more natural with the surrounding properties
o You can Google “native plants (insert name of area) and probably find a pretty extensive list of native landscaping options
Ex: For Missouri, Easter Redbud trees have very attractive deep pink flowers in the spring, while a bed of Iris Cristata perennials creates clouds of blue flowers in early spring with foliage that keeps well through mid-summer
· Install lighting around your landscaping to showcase your efforts while entertaining guests at night and to make sure no one accidently walks through a bed of your annuals while trying to get the dog back inside
· Don’t plant too much, it is still nice to have a lawn
· Consider an irrigation system for your installments if your budget allows, or else be sure you have plants that require an amount of maintenance your are able to give them on a regular basis
As I mentioned before, adding landscaping around your home can increase its financial value when it’s time to sell, but there is no reason you can’t enjoy a nicer looking property yourself in the meantime.