Chris Higdon, Scapes

Landscape Coordinator and Designer 

Now is the time to make landscape improvements.  It may be more important than ever to consider what improvements you should make in your landscaping.  Needless to say the media has painted a gloomy picture of home sales and home construction.  Whether you are planning to move in the near future or have no plans to ever move, it is still important to consider your outdoor spaces.  If you are looking to sell your home you may need to find a competitive edge over the other homes for sale.  If you are not planning on moving or have decided not to move you should be looking for ways to improve the enjoyment of your property for the long term.

Regardless of whether you will be selling your home or not, there are certain landscape investments that can give you the greatest impact and return on investment. 

Some of these improvements you should consider are:

    Landscaping areas that have high visual impact

    Resolving minor and major problem areas

    Creating New useable outdoor living spaces

 The best way to start is to meet with a landscape designer to discuss what needs and possibilities you have on your property.  One of the most important steps is to develop a landscape master plan and a short and/or long-term budget.  In addition to giving you a much better finished product, having a well designed plan will save you money by helping to eliminate costly mistakes.  As a bonus, if you sell the house, you can use the master plan as a sales tool.

When implementing a landscape plan you need to be able to manage the needs and desires of your project along with the overall budget.  This is where having assistance in determining the “best bang for your buck” comes into play.  At Scapes we consider that part of the design process.

When we talk about high visual impact areas this often includes both front landscaping and privacy.  Front landscaping fits easiest into the description of “curb appeal”.  It is often the greatest return on investment and is often most important particularly consideration when you are thinking of selling a home.  Landscaping for privacy usually involves eliminating views of neighboring property.  Not only does privacy planting help to create a more comfortable environment both inside and outside your but properly designed this can greatly increase the feeling of space. 

Addressing problem areas on your property including issues ranging from drainage and erosion to broken driveways is not always the most enjoyable way to use your budget.  Fixing these problems; however, can go a long way to eliminating obstacles in selling your home and can save you money down the road if you are not planning on moving.  These problems almost never go away and usually cost more the longer you let them sit.

Creating new useable area in your landscape is important whether you are looking to sell your home or just want better use your property.  This wide ranging category includes anything from building an outdoor entertaining patio to creating more useable space through grading and/or retaining walls to more elaborate spaces like outdoor kitchens or swimming pools.  With all the possibilities, your landscape plan should take into account everything from how you want to use these spaces, whether they are for you or future owners of your home, and the specific attributes of your property and home.