Nowadays, people are willing to spend a little bit extra to enhance their outdoor spaces, infusing them with luxe patios, outdoor kitchens, wildlife-friendly gardens, and more.
There’s no doubt these landscaping projects will make your home outdoor experience fun, but some offer a bigger bang for your buck than others, either by helping save money in unexpected ways or increasing your home’s resale value.
Factors to Consider When Deciding on Landscaping Projects
Think Big
A complete landscape upgrade can be expensive to pull off at once. What I advise my clients is to have a clear vision and consider the ultimate goal for their backyards, then begin the upgrade in stages—be it a place to relax and unwind with a sauna or a screened-in patio with a TV and an outdoor kitchen to entertain guests.
Do What Resonates with Your Ideals
For some, having an outdoor bar to entertain guests and family is all they could ask for, while a butterfly garden would be a bliss to those who want to sit, relax, and enjoy nature’s serenity. In the end, we all have our preferences, and you should put your money into what brings you the most joy.
Consider the Time Frame
If you plan to move from the house you live in a year or two or the house is an investment property, the best upgrade you can give your home is a well-maintained landscape. However, if your plan is to stay in your house for a couple of years, then you’re free to personalize it the way you want and make improvements that will increase your quality of life.
Landscape Maintenance
You’ve probably been dreaming about starting a kitchen garden, but if maintaining it will be difficult and you lack the time to water the plants, then it might not be a wise decision to undertake the project. Some of the highest maintenance additions to the outdoors are pools and intricate landscaping, and neglecting them can make them less alluring to potential homebuyers when selling your home.
We’ve taken it upon ourselves to find the best landscaping projects recommended by experts to help better spend your landscaping bucks and maximize your gardening budget.
Take a look!
1. Build an Outdoor Kitchen
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, formal dinner parties have become less and less frequent as people have started to enjoy a more casual, laid-back sort of entertaining in order to socialize. One easy way to host your backyard barbecue is to invest in an outdoor kitchen.
Functional outdoor space has become increasingly valuable to homebuyers, and an outdoor kitchen is up there when it comes to things buyers will pay a premium for, adding 2.2% to the house’s purchase price.
2. Construct a Pizza Oven
An outdoor kitchen is great, but not all of us are fortunate to have the space for a full-on outdoor kitchen. No need to worry, though, especially when landscaping projects like a pizza oven exist!
In today’s market, homebuyers are willing to splurge more on small backyard luxuries that have that ‘wow’ factor and are just plain fun, and a pizza oven perfectly fits this description. Plus, it can add 2% to your home’s purchase value.
3. Install Outdoor Lighting
I have all kinds of outdoor lights in my yard: solar lights, string lights, uplights, spotlights—you name it. And there’s no better feeling than getting to enjoy your outdoor space, whether it’s day or night, especially when you’re looking to entertain outdoors after hours.
Moreover, outdoor lighting can add 1.2% to your home’s purchase value.
4. Add a Firepit
What’s more fun than having bonfires in your backyard? And the best part is you can DIY a firepit all by yourself! And don’t confuse a firepit with an outdoor fireplace—for an outdoor fireplace, it’s better to leave it to the professionals.
That said, a firepit can have a home sold nearly a day faster than anticipated and for 1.1% more of the home’s value, which is a higher premium than that for an outdoor fireplace.
5. Consider Native Plants
One time, I made a mistake (a tiny one) by choosing plants that weren’t suited for my area, based solely on the notion I would dedicate all my effort and time to ensure they reach their full potential. But as life goes, I definitely didn’t have the time (nor the effort) to see this landscaping project come to fruition, and it all came tumbling down—in my defense, they were glorious flowering plants, only I didn’t get to experience them😑.
Choosing plants, trees, and grass that are native to your area and well-adapted to your local environment is critical to helping keep your garden healthy and thriving, even when you aren’t always on top of your gardening responsibilities.
6. Add Mulch
Mulch isn’t the most attractive landscaping project to partake in, but it’s definitely budget-friendly and will give you good value for your money.
Mulch also makes garden beds less susceptible to weeds and reduces the time spent in garden maintenance by helping improve the soil’s moisture retention, which is very essential if you live in a drought-prone area. Furthermore, when selling your home, it makes your landscaping look more charming and cleaner.
Add at least two inches of mulch to your garden beds—if you’re using a larger mulch that creates more gaps for weeds to take root and evaporation, you’ll have to go a bit thicker.
7. Plant Trees
I can’t get enough of trees in my backyard, and I’ve enjoyed a myriad of benefits from having them, including reducing my heating bills by buffering my home from cold winter winds, shading my home on hot summer days, and thus reducing my cooling costs, and enhancing my home’s curb appeal.
Here’s another fun fact: according to the Arbor Day Foundation, well-placed trees are said to reduce air conditioning costs by up to 35%. Additionally, trees can help dampen the noise from the streets and keep the nosy neighbors from distracting your ‘me-time’ by creating a privacy screen.
8. Install a Bluestone Patio
If you want to entertain outdoors, patios and decks are a key addition. According to Zillow data, a bluestone patio can add 2.2% to a house’s selling price. Bluestone in itself is famed for its durability and beauty and can be used to impart a sleek, modern touch to your space or a more rustic, natural vibe.
9. Focus on the Front Yard
Curb appeal not only makes a good first impression to guests and family when they step foot in your front yard but is also critical to your home’s value. Consider an easy-to-care-for but attractive landscape that’ll create a beautiful space to live in and bring a return on investment when selling your home in the future.
10. Lawn Care and Maintenance
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the National Association of Landscaping Professionals (NALP), lawn and landscape maintenance were found to have one of the most significant returns on investment among landscaping projects, with a 100%+ ROI.
It may not be the most spectacular way to spend your landscaping budget, but a well-manicured lawn and landscape is essential to boosting up curb appeal, especially when you’re looking to sell the house.
