Oct 03 2007
Green Landscaping Adds Green Value
(ARA) - Thinking of selling your home? Sprucing up your yard will help get buyers attention and can add up to 15 percent to its value. It may even be the difference between a potential buyer and a drive-away. Want to hear more?
Michelle Dawson, realtytimes.com, notes Mark S. Henry of the Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics at Clemson University found that excellent landscaping added 4 to 5 percent to the value of a good home. In addition, homes with poor landscaping in the same neighborhoods as those with excellent landscaping sold for 8 to 10 percent less.
What tips can you follow to add value of your home? Several sources are available: ask a friend who has landscaping experience, visit your local nursery to discover what is popular in your area and,look around your neighborhood to determine the style of landscape that is being used.
Now, how do your proceed?
* Fertilize your lawn so it has eye-popping deep, green color. Use a high iron fertilizer like Milorganite 6-2-0 to get this deep, green color.
* Clean up all debris. Cut down and remove tall weeds.
* Trim trees and shrubs. Remove dead branches. Employ an arborist to safely trim trees that are beyond your capability.
* When choosing new trees and shrubs, look for those that fit your property. Don’t cover windows with shrubs.
* Plant colorful annuals.
How can you do all this in an environmentally green manner? You can start by using a goof-proof fertilizer such as Milorganite 6-2-0. According to Mike Archer, market development for Milorganite, “Use a fertilizer that gives you goof proof results. Milorganite fertilizers contain no salts; therefore they won’t burn or streak your lawn. Plus, Milorganite’s high iron gives you a deep, green, eye-catching color. This is without your lawn needing excessive water or mowing.”
Several tips can help you decide what landscaping will work best. First, pick plants that are low maintenance. Plants that are native to your area will take weather extremes in stride. Pick shrubs and trees that physically fit the area. This will lessen the need for pruning. Pick plants that have interest for several seasons. One shrub that fits this requirement is the red twig dogwood. Red twig produces abundant flowers in late spring and bright red bark that contrasts with snow in the winter. Choose flowering shrubs that produce berries that birds enjoy.
Adding value to your home is not difficult. You can also be Green while doing so. In fact, being Green in your yard care not only is good for the environment, but it also tends to be goof proof, which is important during the stressful time of selling your home. For more on goof proof Milorganite fertilizers, check out www.milorganite.com.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
Leaves turn brilliant colors, evenings cool and the kids go back to school. So long summer, hello fall garden cleanup.
You may already know that composting is a better way to deal with bags of leaves and backyard waste. But if you’ve avoided composting because it seems like too much work and mess — or you [...]
As the leaves turn different colors and the weather becomes cooler, many Americans begin to engage in outdoor cleanup. Consider the number of Americans injured in yard work accidents every autumn and you may begin to suspect that “fall” is actually short for “pitfall.” Fall, it seems, is becoming the season for back injuries, tumbles [...]
Probably one of the most widely used landscaping surfaces around, bark mulch can be used for pretty much anything. I have seen it used for children’s playgrounds, and if you are trying to incorporate a swing set or mini playground into your landscaped space, then bark mulch may be the product for you, and [...]
This last summer, I was at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton/Burlington, Ontario, Canada. It was my first time to the gardens, surprising since I went to college in that area, and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. None of it, however; was as nice as the Rock Gardens. [...]