A well-designed landscape enhances your home’s curb appeal and can boost its market value. Conversely, a few common landscaping errors can have the opposite effect, potentially deterring buyers and reducing your property’s worth. For homeowners and real estate investors, avoiding these pitfalls is necessary to protect your investment.

This guide outlines five landscaping mistakes that could decrease your home’s value and provides professional advice on how to avoid them.

5 Landscaping Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Neglecting Soil Quality
  2. Improper Tree and Shrub Placement
  3. Poor Maintenance and Overgrowth
  4. A Lack of Cohesive Design
  5. Choosing High-Maintenance Features

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1. Neglecting Soil Quality

Ignoring your landscape’s soil condition is a frequent and costly error. Poor soil can lead to weak, disease-prone plants and struggling trees that detract from your property’s appearance.

Mound of topsoil for a residential landscaping project

Mound of topsoil for a residential landscaping project

But understanding how soil affects tree growth is the first step toward a thriving landscape. When soil lacks the proper nutrients, pH balance, or drainage, even the most expensive plants won’t flourish. Before you invest in new greenery, test your soil to determine its composition and amend it to create a healthy environment for roots to grow strong.

Fertile loam soil

Fertile loam soil

 

2. Improper Tree and Shrub Placement

Planting trees and shrubs too close to the house is a mistake with long-term consequences. Roots can damage the foundation, sidewalks, and underground pipes, causing expensive repairs. Overgrown branches can scrape against siding, damage the roof, and block natural light from entering your windows.

Home with newly planted trees too close to exterior walls and foundation

Home with newly planted trees too close to exterior walls and foundation

Always research the mature size of any tree or shrub before planting and provide ample space for it to grow without interfering with your home’s structure.

Traditional home with large mature trees planted further away from the structure of the house

Traditional home with large mature trees planted further away from the structure and foundation of the house

 

3. Poor Maintenance and Overgrowth

An overgrown, unkempt yard can signal neglect to potential buyers. Weeds, dead plants, and out-of-control bushes create a messy look and can suggest that the sellers don’t properly maintain the property.

Home with overgrown garden and landscaping

Home with overgrown garden and landscaping

Consistent maintenance, including mowing, weeding, pruning, and mulching, is part of this maintenance.

Modern luxury home with a low-maintenance backyard

Modern luxury home with a low-maintenance backyard

 

4. A Lack of Cohesive Design

A random assortment of plants without a clear plan can make a yard feel chaotic and unappealing.

Cluttered backyard bushes

Cluttered backyard bushes

A successful design is cohesive and complements the architectural style, which research suggests has a positive effect on your home’s value. This includes a thoughtful color palette, repetition of certain plants or elements, and substantial trees.

Stone wall with neat short hedge

Backyard with elegant stone wall with neat short hedge

You don’t need a complex design, but having a unified vision will make the space feel more inviting and professionally planned.

 

5. Choosing High-Maintenance Features

While elaborate water features or exotic gardens may appeal to some, they are a turn-off for many buyers who see them as too expensive and time-consuming. For maximum appeal, focus on attractive, low-maintenance solutions.

Desert home with an unconventional backyard swimming pool

Desert home with an unconventional backyard swimming pool

Select smart landscaping upgrades that increase the value of your home, such as native plants, hardy perennials, and efficient irrigation systems, which provide beauty without demanding constant attention. These thoughtful choices appeal to a broader range of potential buyers, making your property more marketable.

Landscaper installing native plants and sod

Professional landscaper installing hardy sod and native plants

 

Final Thoughts

Elevate Your Landscape, Enhance Your Investment!

By steering clear of these common landscaping mistakes that could decrease your home’s value, you’ll protect and potentially grow the value of your home. Healthy soil, proper tree placement, regular maintenance, cohesive design, and smart feature choices can make your property stand out to buyers and neighbors alike.

Backyard of a beautifully landscaped modern home

Backyard of a beautifully landscaped modern home

 

Sources

“The Effect of Landscape Plants on Perceived Home Value.” n.d. VCE Publications | Virginia Tech
https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-087/426-087.html

 

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