The Sunday Mail
Garden Affair
Go to any holiday resort, the landscaping immediately attracts your attention.
As you arrive for your holiday, the gardens themselves have already worked on your mood before you get inside the hotel.
Landscaping is a way to improve the aesthetic appearance of an area by changing the contours and adding ornamental plants.
Landscaping or garden design is a way to bring value to your property no matter where it’s located; it’s not just for the flashy suburbs like Borrowdale.
It brings or increases the value of your property by as much as 10 percent, according to real estate agent Mr Sibanda who says “landscaped properties are a joy to sell because they sell faster and the competition is higher to get them as compared to those with unmade gardens.
“Prospective buyers are keener the moment they set eyes on the property.
“Perhaps a house is selling for $250 000 in the low-density area, the price easily jumps to $270 000 because of landscaping whilst in the high-density a mark-up of $5 000-$8 000 can be added safely”, says Mr Sibanda.”
A property consultant, Brian Cool, says landscaping is one of the home improvements that one can make that continues to add value to the property as the years go by, whilst interior decor and design concepts regularly go out of style.
He reiterates that it helps the property sell faster and that it can sell at 6 to 12 percent more than those that are not landscaped.
Driving through the suburbs of Harare, one cannot help but notice the contrasts of the well-laid garden with lush green lawns and the ones with nothing.
Just a lawn by itself softens the reception of the area and cools the temperature of the garden, particularly in summer.
Mr Tale, who has been in real estate for a number of years, also testifies that landscaped gardens are easier to sell because of their attractiveness and have an even greater significance if a whole suburb is well-landscaped because the real estate value of the area takes on a greater appeal, becoming the envy of outsiders and a well-sought-after suburb.
Landscaping has many other added benefits besides value such as reducing the runoff of water and reducing local flooding.
Trees and garden plants help to filter pollutants, providing cleaner air, particularly if one stays near a major highway.
Landscaping provides privacy and softens the concrete jungle that we live in today.
The trend worldwide is for greener cities due to air and noise pollution caused by a greater amount of vehicles on our roads.
The planting of vegetation on building roofs is the new trend today. However, it is important that home owners seek professional advice or do proper research as to which are the best plants to be planted in gardens to avoid future headaches.
Some gardeners plant large species of trees in their gardens, putting their houses at risk of damage from both falling trees and large roots cracking their foundations or lifting their driveways.
