Buying or selling a home?

Landscaping contributes to your home’s worth, as well as your family’s well-being. Your yard is the first impression of your home that potential buyers will see. Beautiful landscaping can increase home value by as much as 17 percent.

In a rush to save water, especially in drier areas, many damaging programs have been introduced encouraging people to “rip out” their lawns, replace living landscapes with rocks, mulch, cactus or artificial turf (“plastic grass”). Some homeowners have even been subjected to drought-shaming for maintaining their yards. While these efforts may be well-intentioned, they dramatically undermine one of our most fundamental and important ecological systems: the all-American yard.

If you want to get the highest possible selling price for your home, make sure your REALTOR® understands the benefits of your living landscapes so he or she can promote them with buyer’s agents who show your home.

How Your Living Landscape Benefits the Environment & Your Health

REDUCES ENERGY COSTS. Planting the right gtass, trees and plants makes your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE. Without grass and other living plants, your outdoor dining area, barbecue, fire pit and other outdoor living areas will be hotter and less enjoyable. Plus, green space reduces stress and makes kids smarter. 0

PRODUCES OXYGEN. Just 50 square feet of turfgrass produces enough oxygen to meet the daily needs of a family of four.

REDUCES RUNOFF. Grassy areas mitigate storm water runoff, slowing and absorbing it, while also cleansing water of impurities and dust.

SEQUESTERS CARBON. Turfgrass is the biggest carbon sink in the country, and lawns sequester more carbon than it takes to maintain them.

PROTECTS TREES. If you stop watering your yard, your trees don’t get water either, leading them to dry out and become vulnerable to disease and pests. Losing mature trees not only hurts the urban ecosystem, it also can cause local temperatures to rise and home values to drop.

For More information:

Fact sheet: Living Landscapes Worth Homeowner’s Time & Effort

Fact sheet: The Benefits of Living Landscapes Beyond Curb Appeal

Infographic: Beyond Curb Appeal: Why Living Landscapes Matter for Homeowners