It’s no secret that good landscaping can add substantial value to your home. In fact, great landscaping can raise the value of your home by up to 11%, sometimes even more.  The bonus about landscaping is that in addition to adding to your home’s value, it can be one of the easiest home improvement projects to do. How can you make your landscaping add to your home’s value?

Match the Style of Your Home

As with any home improvement project, you should keep the style of your home in mind when planning your landscaping. For example, you wouldn’t want to put in a Japanese garden if you have a Victorian style home, and vice versa. For a Victorian home, you would probably go with a cottage style or country landscape as it fits in with the formality of the home.  Modern homes look best with landscaping that has greenery and natural looking beds that blend in with the contours of your property. So for these homes, formal landscaping looks out of place.

Have a Plan

Any great landscape needs designing. Make sure you have a balance between planting too many high maintenance plants and just plain grass with no landscaping. Aim for a foundation planting with a few points of interest. Your landscaping should be diverse, but not too much. In other words, don’t go buying a bunch of different types of plants.  You should aim for a uniform look that has just enough variety to make your landscaping interesting.

Seasons Change

Make sure that your landscaping looks good all year. Even in the Southwest, the temperatures change with the seasons.  For example, in Spring you may want blooming bulbs, in summer cacti, and so forth. Buyers will see that the landscape will be attractive all year, further increasing its value.

Trees

You might think that trees are too much maintenance.  But they can actually add significant value to a home. According to one study, homes on streets lined with trees had a 10 – 15 percent higher sale price compared to similar neighborhoods with fewer trees. Trees have many advantages.  In the Southwest they can add valuable shade and relieve stress.

Edging

A well maintained lawn can look even better when it’s edged. An edged lawn gives the appearance of being easy to maintain since there’s fewer weeks. It’s also a great first impression for buyers, as it shows that you take meticulous care of your lawn and property.

Focusing on your landscaping will be one of the best ways to improve your home’s value, as long as you have a plan and keep it from getting too complex.