WHAT'S more important: The size of plants in your yard, the design sophistication or the plant selection?
In a paper published by Alex X. Niemiera, of the Virginia Tech department of horticulture, some interesting answers to that question were revealed.
Niemiera's work, along with studies from other researchers, looked at the increase in property value gained by installing various forms of landscaping. People in the survey perceived plant size as more important than design sophistication or plant selection when evaluating the increase in property value attributed to landscaping.
As a gardener at heart, the size of the plants in my garden may be important but plant selection outweighs all other concerns, at least for me. When looking at increasing property value by installing new landscaping, building in sizable plants can be achieved only to the limit of what's commercially available and what the budget will afford; whereas, design sophistication can be worked on inexpensively on paper until just the right mix of elements, lifestyle improvements and affordability is attained.
Many of the choices and perceptions surrounding landscape value depend on whether you are selling or staying in the home.
For the owner who is looking to sell, improving curb appeal is the primary goal and usually it must be done inexpensively. Basic curb-appeal improvements should brighten, clean and organize the landscape.
Improvements like edging lawns to define space, mulching beds to improve presentation, planting annuals for colour and cleaning hardscape surfaces will yield the immediate results for a modest investment.
Planting a new, wellchosen tree in a suitable location can help with privacy issues and help frame the space to allow potential buyers to feel comfortable when viewing the property. Pruning of plants before a sale should not be done to prune every plant into round balls, which only makes the landscape look dated and needing replacement.
For the homeowner who is not selling and plans to stay for several years, landscape improvements can be designed and chosen to be more lifestyle friendly and focused on improving the outdoor living space while allowing the improvements to be phased in as the budget allows.
Patios and decks are generally the most common type of outdoor lifestyle improvement. After all, a space to sit and relax suits almost everyone's lifestyle.
Walkways are often overlooked for improvement, even though many of them are built too small to accommodate growing families and future access needs. The best advice I can offer when building a walkway is to save the small, narrow pathways for inside garden beds. Build sidewalks around the house in proportion to the size of the house. The standard 1.2-metre-wide sidewalk seen around so many homes always looks diminutive and undersized in relation to the house. Wider is better with walkways, to improve design proportion and to provide comfortable access in future.
For my money, poured concrete walkways seem a little passé, especially when compared to the many types of natural stone, pavers and slabs available today.
But gardens are not just hard surfaces or a collection of plants that live around the house. Gardens are places of relaxation and inspiration, or at least they should be.
The creation of a sense of sanctuary in the garden by combining plants, features and outdoor living space will always yield the best monetary and spiritual return for the long-term owner.
In a previous column I quoted some facts and figures published by the Journal of Environmental Horticulture that outlined returns on investment when landscaping the home. By far the best monetary return (five to 10 per cent to the value of the property) came from the additions of sophisticated landscape design elements.
Just exactly what sophisticated means is open to some interpretation; however, we are generally talking about adding formalized and well-designed planting beds, walkways, driveways, patios, ponds, arbors, pergolas, outdoor barbecue areas, above ground decks, properly placed trees of merit and so forth.
Niemiera concluded in his paper that the return on investment for landscape improvements depended on the specific features added but the range was within five to 10 per cent.
He went on to conclude by saying, "In contrast to many home improvements, the value of an investment in a landscape improvement increases over time with the growth and maturity of trees and shrubs."
For most of us who are lucky enough to own a home in the expensive Metro Vancouver region and plan to stay, there is little benefit in adding poorly built landscape improvements that would have to be fixed later. But all this talk of return on investment when talking about gardens seems to be missing the point of having and growing a garden.
For many people it's about living a healthy lifestyle, mental stimulation, spirituality and creating a place of sanctuary.
Todd Major is a journeyman horticulturist, garden designer, writer, consultant and organic advocate. For advice contact him at [email protected].
