A properly developed plan to landscape your residence has long been known to add value both in terms of lifestyle enhancement and resale. What is interesting is how significant that added resale value might be. A few years back, Walt McDonald the past president of the National Association of Realtors was quoted as saying, “When people ask me how they can get strong interest in their property, I always tell them to fix up their landscaping. If a homeowner is reluctant to do it, I tell them they won’t get top dollar.” It has been estimated that reasonable landscaping plans add from 5-15% to the resale value of a home. So here are four landscaping ideas!
Walls and Boulders Stone retaining walls, stone seating walls and well situated boulders all contribute to a natural balance between the formal house and nature. The color resplendent garden that is bordered by a stone retaining wall with cleverly seated boulders speaks to both your enjoyment of your home and to a potential buyer.
via Wikicommons
Natural Play Places Mr. Jeff Stafford for HGTVGardens.com writes that “parents are creating exploratory spaces, mini-forests and woodlands where nature—not a plastic slide—provides the play”. From where we sit, it seems that there is a strong turn towards the “playing in the woods” approach as opposed to “playing on the monkey bars”.
Flagstone Paths The noted Atlanta landscape architect, Eric King, says that “a flagstone path can meander through the woods, lead from the front of your home to the rear, help you access your garden or connect various lawn areas. They’re an excellent device to help create visual connections within the yard”. Texas limestone in “flag” type pieces offers both a practical and aesthetic solution here.
via Wikicommons
Minimal Maintenance Landscapes Lower maintenance grasses are at the forefront of many landscape plans. Austin, Texas landscape designer Mark Word tells us that “there is a type of Pennisetum that’s a cross [hybrid] that they created at Texas A&M. We use it quite a bit. It’s just a real heavy-duty grass that doesn’t need much water and when it gets it, it kind of blows up. That’s the kind of thing people are looking for”.
So there you have four landscaping ideas. These are pretty tried and true ideas. Get to work folks
