What does our yard say about you?
When neighbors drive by your house do they see a well kept yard that indicates a homeowner who values both the house and the property? When people new to the neighborhood drive through does your house give the impression of the best kept home in the neighborhood?
Some call it curb appeal, some call it pride, but a well kept yard and home make a great first impression. With the size and details of many of today’s homes, however, making that great first impression is a little more complicated than simply mowing the yard once a week.
ECO Friendly Lawn Care Supplies Produce a Yard That Is Attractive and Save for Children and Pets
Whether you decide to do your own lawn maintenance or hire someone else to maintain it, one of the latest trends is the use of ECO friendly lawn care products. Even though homeowners want a healthy yard that is free of weeds, many homeowners see the value and environmental impact of applying ECO friendly lawn care products that are better for the environment.
Organic lawn care has several advantages. The first and most important may be that these products are safe for children. As an adult, you can probably think back to childhood days when your father yelled into the house, “Keep the kids out of the grass today. I just applied fertilizer and it needs 12 hours to dry.” Today, of course, those warnings to stay off the grass seem quite alarming. The question of course is what if in 12 hours it rains and the grass is wet again. Does that mean that the chemicals will again be harmful?
In addition to keeping the lawn safe for children, ECO friendly lawn products make a yard more safe for pets as well. The same pets and children who romp around in a back yard are the same ones who later come in the house to sit on the sofa and roll around on the carpet. With that it mind, it simply makes good sense that the chemicals you use to get a great looking yard should be safe for every member of your family.
Safer lawn care products are also better for the environment. Understanding the run off that often occurs any time you water your yard or are blessed with a heavy rain shower, family friendly lawncare products make good sense. The decision to use ECO friendly lawn care products is a decision to be more careful about children, pets, and the environment.
Landscaping Decisions Also Have a Major Impact on the Values of Homes
Landscaping can raises the property value of a home by as much as 12%. Combine this real percentage with the overall impact a first impression can make and some realtors indicate that attractive and well maintained landscaping can increase your home?s resale value by nearly 14%. In fact, many realtors recommend that by spending as little as 5% of a home?s value on landscaping the owner may get a Return on Investment (ROI) of as much as 150%.
In addition to increasing the resale value of a home, a well landscaped yard is also more enjoyable for the family. In a time when families are more and more busy with their schedules of work, school, and sports practices and other activities, an updated outdoor patio area may be the answer to getting the family together more often. Long evening meals on the deck or Sunday afternoons enjoying a popular yard game may be the ticket to encouraging your teenagers to sit back, relax, and disconnect for awhile.
Research indicates that as many as 83% of Americans think having a yard is important. Nor surprisingly, of those with a yard, 90% think it is important that the yard is also well-maintained. Of the homeowners who are getting ready to upgrade their backyard spaces, 50% say that they spend six or more hours on their yard every single week. Of that time spend in the back yard, the three most common activities are relaxing, gardening, and entertaining.
As the hottest temperatures of the summer wind down, maybe it is time to improve your outdoor space.