Importance of Landscaping

Have you been considering making changes to your landscaping? Keep reading to learn more about why landscaping improvements are beneficial to both you and your home value.

Photography: Jenifer McNeil Baker
Landscape: The Ground Up
Builder: The Ed Jarrett Company
Landscaping is often something we overlook, however it’s important to consider the benefits landscaping can provide to both you and your property. Outside of the obvious increased enjoyment of your property that you’ll experience when you have a new landscaping project done on your property, there are economic benefits as well.
As Plants Creative explains, curb appeal & increased property value are often affected — The Appraisal Institute estimates that a well-landscaped home can add approximately 6 to 13 percent of value compared to a property without any landscaping. Another source claims that it’s 20 to 25 percent. Curb appeal is real — how a home looks from the road will affect whether someone wants to buy it and how much they’re willing to pay.

Believe it or not, landscaping also affects your energy bill savings. According to a Cornell University study, a well-planned landscape designed for energy efficiency can reduce heating and air conditioning costs. For example, Grass is much cooler than asphalt or cement. It acts as an “air conditioner” for the surrounding area. As Love Your Landscape explains, “lawns can be 31 degrees cooler than asphalt and 20 degrees cooler than bare soil. Moreover, trees shading homes can reduce attic temperatures by as much as 40 degrees.”

If you’re still on the fence, you may consider exploring landscaping options as grasses absorb carbon dioxide and break it down into oxygen and carbon. As Love Your Landscape explains, “a 50’x50’ lawn produces enough oxygen for a family of four. Lawns and plants dramatically reduce noise pollution; they can reduce noise levels by 20 percent to 30 percent over hard surfaces like concrete and pavement!”

Not sure where to start? I’d recommend stopping by somewhere such as GardenWorks and speaking to their team about your goals and asking for suggestions. Anytime I’ve gone in they have provided fantastic recommendations of which items can go where, require what kind of temperatures, sunlight, and so on. Should you have a larger project that will need to be outsourced in mind, here’s a link to the top landscapers across North Vancouver!