Summer is a season when many Ontario homeowners spend more time in their yards than inside their homes.
The warm weather allows people to shift their focus from the interior to the exterior, and for many, gardening and yard maintenance is a favourite summer pastime. But whether you have a green thumb or are looking to give your property a much-needed makeover, professional landscaping has many benefits that do-it-yourself projects simply can’t match.
“Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, professional landscaping can also increase property values,” says Denis Flanagan of Landscape Ontario. “A professionally designed and manicured lawn and garden that are well kept and maintained will enhance curb appeal, encourage your neighbours to keep their properties in tip-top shape and enhance the value of your home.”
Yards and gardens are often the first impression people get when visiting or passing by your home, and professional landscaping can also go a long way in beautifying the overall look for your street.
Flanagan, a former HGTV personality and one of Canada's most recognizable gardeners, says embarking on a landscaping project can provide you with an extremely satisfying return on investment and additional benefits, including:
· Landscaping can add as much as 14% to the resale value of a building and speed its sale by as much as six weeks;
· Properly selected and placed trees and plants can lower home heating and cooling costs by as much as 20%;
· Tree shading an air conditioner can increase its efficiency by 10%; and
· A mature tree can often have an appraised value of between $1,000 and $10,000.