Half of homeowners who are upgrading their yard and lawn spend six or more hours out there every week. The time they’re spending their is spent relaxing, entertaining, and gardening. So what are you doing with your outside space?
- Getting time away. One of the biggest reasons that people hire landscaping and design company or invest the time to upgrade on their own is so they can spend more time getting away from it all in a beautiful outdoor space. A Harris Poll Survey conducted for the National Association of Landscape Professionals found that of 2,034 American adults, 75% believed it was quite important to be spending time outside in their yard. More than 80% of Americans think it’s important to have a yard, and of those people, 90% think it’s really important that the outdoor space be well-maintained. Your garden, your landscape design, and even your hardscaping can mean a lot in ways you never expected. So what are people doing in their outdoor space?
- Loving growing things. Most people don’t think of an urban lawn as a place to grow food, but increasingly that’s what people are doing. One in three households is doing some food gardening and 34% are doing flower gardening. Altogether, America’s households spent $3.6 billion growing vegetables, fruits, berries, and various herbs last year. That’s actually more than they spent on flower gardening, which was only $2.7 billion. America’s garden centers and nurseries are increasingly seeing business from local householders looking to put some love into the growing things around them.
- Getting some exercise. There are some things that a landscaping and design company can do best, but there are some things that nearly anyone can do outside. In fact, 90 million households took part in some kind of do-it-yourself gardening activity or lawn care in the last year. In fact, the average person with a lawn is spending four hours a week caring for it. In cooler climates the average is about 150 hours in a year, while those who live in warmer climates spend 208 hours a year working in their lawns.
- Increasing home value. Calling a landscaping and design company can make all the difference to your home’s value. If you spend 5% of the value of your home on landscaping, it can give you a return on investment of as much as 150%. Almost 90% of realtors end up encouraging their homeowners to invest in landscaping, and 97% of real estate agents will recommend landscaping as one of the top improvement options that a homeowner can do.
- Connecting with the local environment. In the past it was all the rage to put in growing things from all over the world. Now we understand that this isn’t the best thing for the local environment. Of those who are adding plants to their yards these days, 92% are choosing native plants that grow well in the region where they live. This is part of a growing movement to connect to the local environment and incorporate it into landscape design ideas while also saving water by putting in plants that thrive in the climate as is.
- Decreasing energy bills. You might not think that working outside in your yard can have much to do with your energy bills. In reality, if you ask your landscaping and design company for suggestions they can tell you what kind of tall shade trees will grow well in your space. These very effectively block light in the summer and have the potential to reduce your air-conditioning energy bill by as much as 20%. Want to save some energy in the winter? Trees can also provide an excellent wind block to keep your home just a little bit warmer during those cold winter months.
What are you doing with your space? Your yard or garden is a great place for you to connect with nature, get some exercise, save some money, and improve your property value. Why not call the landscaping and design company to see how you could improve your space and get outside yourself and see the possibilities.
