A beautiful lawn can be a lot of work but can really help showcase your home. Wondering what you can do to improve your home’s exterior appearance? Matt Plaza, owner of Plaza Landscape and Lawncare of Auburn, NH shares these expert tips to help increase your home’s curb appeal while still keeping the work low-maintenance for you.

  1. Ensure plantings near the front and back of the house are maintained and not allowed to grow out of control.
  2. Trim back or remove bushes that are overgrown and taking over the house – especially if they are touching the house.
  3. Keep walkways and steps in good shape and repair any cracks or unlevel surfaces to help make them safe and presentable. Adding a new walkway is great option for adding an attractive feature to your home’s front entrance. A solid stone walkway typically runs $11-$17 per square foot, while pavers average $9-$17 per square foot. Another cost-effective option is to, lay stepping stones in the grass for $1-$3 a piece.
  4. Keep your lawn looking great with weekly maintenance that includes watering, mowing and fertilizing.
  5. Mulched beds can become overgrown very quickly so be sure to stay on top of regular weeding..

Once you’ve invested time and money into your landscaping, ongoing preventative care is key to keeping it looking good. But aesthetics are just a part of why it’s important – even average landscaping can add up to 28% to your home’s overall value! And going from standard to great landscaping can increase a home’s value 6-7% above that!

There are also certain plants and projects that save you money while increasing your home’s value at the same time. Take trees for example. The National Tree Benefit Calculator tells you what a tree is worth based on property values in your zip code, carbon dioxide reduction, energy savings, and even storm water runoff. A tree could be worth up to $2,500 and three properly placed trees could save you $100-$250 a year in annual energy costs, as well as reducing winter heating bills by 15% and air conditioning bills by 75%.

Outdoor lighting is also high on the list for what buyers look for, with 41% saying it is essential and 49% saying it’s desirable. In addition to lighting your home’s exterior, it also helps to protect against slips and falls, and makes your home a less desirable target to intruders.

Don’t overlook the importance of your home – both inside and outside. When you invest in landscaping, you not only enhance your home’s beauty, but increase its value as well.

Thanks to Matt Plaza, of Plaza Landscape and Lawncare of Auburn, NH for sharing your expert advice for this article. For more information on Plaza Landscape and Lawncare contact 434-6170.