Whether you’re planning on selling or just wanting to be the best house in the street, a well landscaped garden can add thousands to the value of your home as well as plenty of general kerb appeal to make the neighbours take note!
A Michigan University study found that home owners achieved a 109 percent return on every landscaping dollar spent – which is a better result than any other home renovation.
Here’s 6 great landscaping tips which will increase your home’s value
1. Lay a new lawn
A green, well cared for lawn is like a new glossy timber floor or soft woollen carpets for your outdoor space. It will make your home stand out from the rest! Turf can be a very cost effective option for large spaces, couches are the most budget friendly, but don’t stand up will in the shade. Believe it or not, a Premium Sir Walter Buffalo lawn is a sought after asset for your home. New buyers will see it as a low maintenance, hardy, drought tolerant addition.
Take the time when laying your new lawn to include some irrigation for the most effective long term care and maintenance which can be even more cost effective if you’ve got an existing water tank installed. Irrigation is one of the few types of plumbing projects home owners can tackle themselves!
2. Define the garden and lawn
There’s nothing worse in a garden then an overgrown lawn and particularly if you don’t have clearly defined edging in place. Use simple products like Link Edge, Skemah Metal Edging or pavers to define your lawn edge for a more tamed and formal effect. Plus, if selling your home, a garden edge will tell your prospective buyers that your garden is low maintenance and keep it looking shmick!.
3. Trees increase value
Trees on nature-strips throughout Brisbane create a fantastic streetscape, just take a drive down Laurel Avenue in Chelmer or some of the older leafy streets throughout Kenmore, Chapel Hill and Indooroopilly. Some of Brisbane’s most sought after realestate sits amongst ancient laurels, figs, Jacarandas and gums.
Amazingly the beautiful Camphor Laurel trees that create such beauty in Chelmer are actually a declared noxious weed in Brisbane! So Laurel Avenue will forever remain one of a kind in the River City!
If your street is looking a little bare, plant a street tree on your nature strip. Brisbane City Council encourage responsible planting of your own trees or you can even request one from the council here. If taking it on yourself, buy a suitable more advanced tree for instant impact.
Larger shrubs and trees can also provide solutions for those problematic and uncontrollable areas of your gardens. Such as your nosy neighbours, street noise and extra shade and temperature control.
The economic value of greenspace case study prepared by the Brisbane City Council found “leafy streets, with 50 percent more tree cover, added up to $29,000 (5.4 percent) above the median house sale price”.
4. Flower all year round
Keeping your planting scheme simple will allow your garden to appear easier to maintain and give it a more uniform look. But don’t get too caught up with it. Plant diversity encourages biodiversity and is great for your local ecosystem. Plant flowering plants that will treat you with eye candy and scent throughout different times of the year.
A simple Mock Orange hedge or Jasmine creeper will flower through spring and summer, gardenias will flower multiple times throughout the year including autumn, camellias in late autumn and winter.
Use native options for a more natural feel such as lilly pillies, bottlebrush and grevilleas all of which will attract birds to your garden.
5. Keep it clean
If you have large paved or concreted areas it can be quite the mission to keep them clean whether it’s soiling from the kids, birds, leaves or moss and mould from the rain. Use cleaners such as Maestro or HD Cleaner to help remove the tough stains and apply a quality penetrating or topical sealer to give continued protection. Just like the floors in your house, you want your outdoor space to be clean, tidy and low maintenance!
6. Keep the weeds at bay
How many houses on your street have weeds forming the boundary hedge? Keep the weeds at bay using a quality garden bark or mulch to a depth of between 75-100mm. Quality mulch can do more for your garden than just keep down the weeds. It will protect your soil from erosion, stop the soil drying out from extreme heat and continually break down feeding your plants with much needed organic compost. Bark and mulch is the ultimate tool for long term low maintenance!