Garden Improvement Ideas to Increase the Value of the House

The garden in our house has not only aesthetic but also commercial value. With rough calculation, we can estimate the average estate price in the U.S. right now is around 400,000 USD. And the twenty percents of the price is determined by the condition and features of the house’s garden, of which the value will be around 80,000 USD. That is surely a big amount of money, is not it?

gardenEven if you do not plan to sell your house in the near future, you still need to bear in mind that your house is your property investment. Committing negligence toward garden maintenance is simply not a wise act.

Below is a list of garden improvement ideas that can increase the value of your house. And if you are devoted enough to the ideas, it is guaranteed that you can achieve more value than that twenty percents of profit.

Fence means privacy

FenceThe first thing you need to pay attention to is how your garden can give privacy protection to you. Short garden fence or just squared see-through panels are absolutely a bad choice. Your neighbors can see your activities, and you will not have the space to spend your day alone without anyone observing.

Perhaps, such a design can still be appropriate, especially for a front yard garden. But a house with an open front yard garden normally has a large space in the backyard, which is designed to be the private space for the family living in there.

If you find that your backyard fences are too short, plan a replacement. Add some bushes or a tree with thick leaves to add more coverage of your fence panels, or use vine plants to close the gaps between them.

Creating a special spot

Garden LightA well-maintained garden with plants alone will hardly reach that twenty percent price rise. Consider adding a purposeful spot, such as a BBQ spot or a shed, to your garden.

A shed is quite affordable and practical. It can be a personal napping place, a library, a workshop, or even a personal working space. Garden shed gives a different experience because it is separated from the main house and more connected with the natural elements of the garden.

Although building a swimming pool can sound alluring. You would be better to avoid it because all swimming pool needs complicated maintenance.

Cutting the upkeep

intricated fountainA big fountain can be a tricky garden feature. If you know just the right strategy to sell that, especially when the fountain is designed by a famous architect or follows the most recent trend, then you do not have any problem. But generally, buyers from the common background will not notice the artistic value of an overly-intricated water fountain.

rake and spadeIf you need fast money, consider renovating your garden landscape and downgrade all of the high-maintenance features.…

Ecosystem Gardening for Sustainable Environment

Improving house aesthetic by creating a landscape garden on the yard might have been on the list of house renovation plan. But there is one more thing that every one of us should have in mind, which is the sustainability of our garden and how it contributes to the bigger ecosystem.

girl in play groundOnce you build a landscape garden, it means more than it seems. You use up space, soils, and resources for it. And if your intention is just to pursue artificial beauty, then you will do more harm than good for the environment. Planting non-native plants can damage the local population and has the potency to boost one species’ reproduction, which can disrupt the natural balance.

Using toxic materials, such as plastics, and non-safe colored decorative ornaments in the garden can also give bad impacts to the surrounding plants and animals. Plastic is not degradable, and artificial coloring can change the chemical balance in the soil which make it lose its fertility.

You should learn about ecosystem gardening further to help the local environment to thrive and flourish. Read below to know more.

Native plants vs. nonnative

Hand toolLandscape garden is perceived as the way for the homeowner to express his/her individuality. As a result, the majority of the plants are from foreign origin, as exotic plants stand out among the local ones.

But exotic plants have their insidious traits. For example, ginkgos can add the accent of a landscape garden and are famous in the United States, yet the trees can only host five species of caterpillars. A U.S. native oak tree, on the other hand, is habitable to five hundred local caterpillars.

If you possess the same mindset, and a thousand others are following the trend, would not it threat those caterpillars? And if you think that being concerned with caterpillars is a silly idea, you should learn how one animal fits in the food chain and the overall ecosystem.

The toxic and non-toxic materials

ComposterBuying garden ornaments is not a simple task, especially for someone who is gravely concerned with environmental issues.
Plastic-based ornament contains chemicals that can leach to the soil. Unrecyclable plastic is even worse; once you have the ornament broken, it cannot be recycled and end up polluting nature.

If you want to contribute to the recycling industry, opt to buy ornaments made of recycled materials.

Water source

fountainIf you use water coming from the household pipes, not only it will cost you significant money, but it is also a wasteful act. Plant do not need filtered water to survive and live. So why not using rainwater?

Build a rainwater barrel to store and mildly filter water. , and use the water for the plants. It can save up more than forty percents of your water expense.…