In an article today appearing in Horticulture Week, research by multimedia retailer QVC shows that an untidy garden can knock £5,000 off the value of your property. That’s a lot of hard earned money going down the drain!
An excerpt from the full article :
First impressions of the garden are clearly crucial when trying to sell or let a property.
Over half – 55% – of prospective home buyers rated the state of the garden as important as the inside of the house.
The top turn-off for buyers is junk such as old fridges, mattresses and toys littering the garden – cited by 71%.
Other off-putting gardening gripes are dog mess, cited by 63%, overflowing rubbish bins (54%), plants intruding into the walls of the house (53%) and dilapidated sheds (52%) or decking (50%).
Sellers should also take care to avoid too many weeds (47%), uneven or grubby patios (46%), overgrown lawns (42%) and untrimmed trees (41%).
Privacy is the main thing home buyers look for in a garden – cited by 61%. After that, a patio (54%) and lawn (50%) top their wish lists.
But millions of homeowners are failing to tend their gardens regularly and 45% do not grow any plants or flowers.
As a garden designer seeing results of research like this is quite alarming. Creating a great garden that meets the needs of the owners is one of the challenges we face every day. I am frequently asked by people for a ‘low maintenance garden’ and while ‘no maintenance’ isn’t really an option you can certainly design gardens that will look great without too much knowledge or experience.
A recent project transformed a very dull rectangle that was both high maintenance and un-attractive
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- Uninspiring, unusable space
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- Rough grass and weeds!
in to a usable space that not only added value to the property but also added value to the owners and their pleasure in being able to use the garden
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- Low maintenance
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- Entertain & relax
Getting a garden designer to help you with this transformation will help you maximise the value of the space and will ensure that you don’t end up with costly mistakes.
So don’t lose out with your property, the garden is such an important part of it and with a little help you can be really proud of it. We’ll take you through the process and ensure that all your requirements are met, not only offering advice on suitable plants but also on layouts that will maximise your benefit – frequently coming up with ideas that wouldn’t be considered either by yourself or by simply employing the services of a landscaper.
What are you waiting for get out there and enjoy your own personal outdoor world!
Tags: aspirational · benefit · development · enjoy · garden design · gardening · imagination · Inspiration · lifestyle · low maintenance · money saving · opportunity1 Comment
Good article and I’m sure all gardeners will agree with most of the points – I know I’d be very put off by an unkempt garden regardless of how large it is!