Increase Home Value And Protect The Environment With Landscaping Upgrades
Posted on: 2 October 2015
A lush, green lawn, colorful flowerbeds, and flowing trees are important for your home's curb appeal. Not only does landscaping offer passerby and guests a first impression of you and your family, but it can also add 28 percent to your home's total value. In addition, certain updates to your landscape can help conserve your local water sources and decrease energy usage, benefitting the environment and your finances. If you are a homeowner hoping to improve your home's curb appeal and value in an eco-friendly manner, consider a few landscaping updates. Using this guide, you can enhance your home's look and value while conserving water, energy, and money.
Conserve Water
Implementing new grass, flowers, shrubs, and trees will require water. Water is not only essential for new growth, but it is also necessary for ongoing growth and appeal. Unfortunately, watering your landscape each day can be wasteful, decreasing local water sources and increasing your monthly water bills. To conserve water, consider the following landscaping updates for your home:
- Drought-Tolerant Plants – When choosing grass seed, flowers, shrubs, and trees, opt for drought-tolerant plants. Bermuda grass seed thrives in most climates and thrives in the sun, which reduces the need for watering. To add color to your yard without the worry of constant watering, install hydrangea shrubs and coneflowers in beds and natural areas.
- Rain Barrel – Periodic watering will be necessary for your landscaping, but you do not need to use your outdoor hose or irrigation system. If you fill a standard 55-gallon rain barrel each week and empty it to water your yard between April and October, you can save up to 1300 gallons of water.
- Mulch for Moisture – Add mulch around trees, shrubs, and flowerbeds, as well. Mulch adds appeal to your landscaping, but it also traps in moisture, reducing the amount of water needed. To reduce costs, consider making your own mulch using an attachment on your lawn mower. Mulchers will grind up grass clippings or tree bark to create a natural method of conserving water around your landscaping. Adding a layer of shredded newspaper under the mulch is also smart for preventing moisture depletion.
- Artificial Grass – Planting grass seed or installing sod will require constant watering. However, you can still have a green lawn without increasing your water consumption. Consider investing in an artificial turf for your lawn. This synthetic grass appears similar to a traditional lawn, but does not require watering, fertilizing, or weed control. While the cost may seem higher compared to traditional lawns, it is a smart investment in eco-friendly landscaping.
Conserve Energy
While surprising to hear, you can use landscaping to conserve energy around your home, too. Considering half of your home's total energy usage stems from heating and cooling, planting trees in designated areas to insulate your home is a smart, eco-friendly investment.
Planting deciduous trees in the eastern, western, and northwestern sides of your home will increase shade. Also, make sure these trees offer some shade over your outdoor heating and air units. This will help your home's indoor air remain cool in the hot summer months. To increase shade, consider the following trees for around your home:
- Maple
- Alder
- Red Oak
- White Pine
- Giant Arborvitae
These larger, shade-producing trees will conserve energy, protecting the planet's natural resources, but they can also reduce your cooling costs by 35 percent. Of course, planting trees around your yard also adds tremendous appeal to your home.
Landscaping is an imperative part of your home's overall look and equity, but it does not have to wasteful and expensive. Using these landscaping updates, you can conserve water and energy while reducing your monthly bills.
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