Why use a landscape contractor when you’re already pretty good at mowing the lawn yourself? Here are five benefits of hiring a professional landscaper that might surprise you.
1. Energy Efficiency
Shade trees are an important way to connect outdoor design with environmental awareness. An expert landscaper can not only make your property greener but also make it “greener.”
At Heffner Landscaping, we pride ourselves on caring for the environment. We try to minimize our own carbon footprint, and we can help you minimize yours too. Here are three ways a landscaper can make your greenery “greener:”
- Trees not only look beautiful; they can also provide mini-habitats for local wildlife. A single tree can act as an ecosystem that can support intricate webs of animals, plants and other helpful organisms. A professional landscaper can tell you what kinds of trees will be most supportive to your local flora and fauna.
- Trees also create oxygen and can act as carbon sinks. They soak up carbon dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gases that could otherwise end up in the atmosphere.
- If situated correctly, trees can help regulate the temperature in your home. This can lower your cooling and heating bills considerably and help to minimize your carbon footprint.
According to data provided by the American Public Power Association, a well-designed yard with shade trees in strategic locations can bring your total air-conditioning bill down by as much as 50%.
The tricky thing is, though, this won’t work by just planting any trees anywhere. Ask an expert landscaper to give you suggestions of which trees will be most helpful for our climate here in North Carolina, as well as where they should be planted.
2. Safety
Landscaping isn’t just about the vegetation. An expert landscaper can actually make your property safer.
Besides taking care of your flora, Heffner Landscaping also provides hardscaping services. Hardscaping is a kind of landscape architecture that involves manicuring the actual ground beneath your feet.
We can add subtle physical touches to your garden, such as walkways, retaining walls, and patios. This can not only make it easier to get around, it can also make your yard safer. A well-placed and well-built pathway meandering through otherwise treacherous terrain can save you or a more fragile relative from a disastrous fall.
Hardscaping can also make your property safer by installing a lighting system in your yard. Outdoor lighting can illuminate and beautify your home. It can highlight special features of your garden or be the perfect finishing touch to line your walkways. It can also be a safety hazard.
Using a professional to install your outdoor lighting system is the best way to prevent fire hazards or electrocution. Professionally-installed pathways and patios can also help prevent trip hazards and property damage.
3. Noise Reduction
Although it won’t work miracles, a properly-landscaped yard can help reduce unwanted noise on your property. A recent study by the Environmental Protection Agency showed that surrounding your home with the right kinds of trees in the right places can actually cut noise pollution in half.
If street noises or loud neighbors are constantly grating on your ears, why not replace them with the sounds of North Carolina singing birds or peaceful rustling leaves? An expert landscaper can work with you to create a wall of natural sounds that can mask annoying wavelengths and keep the outside world outside.
4. Plant Health
You may be able to notice when your plants or your lawn are doing really bad. Yellow grass and dry leaves are sure signs that something is wrong. An expert landscaper can read much subtler problem signs and address issues before they turn into catastrophes.
Do you know how to keep your soil’s pH balance within its optimal range? Can you tell when your lawn needs more nitrogen and when it’s had too much? Your landscaper can.
Landscapers are experts on plant health. We know how to promote plant growth and how to keep growth in check. We can tell when your garden needs fertilizing and when it needs pruning.
If you don’t have the time to study up on drainage, transplanting or the effects of tree shade on the shrubs below it, just leave your yard in the hands of professionals. Expert landscapers have studied the latest tricks and treatments that can keep your lawn green and your plants thriving all year round.
5. Real Estate Value
A professionally-landscaped property can attract home buyers like a beautiful garden attracts honeybees. You may not be thinking about selling your home any time soon, but regularly hiring expert landscapers can increase your property’s resale value in case you ever need to move.
No one wants to buy a home with a tornado for a yard. If it isn’t already intuitively obvious, real estate statistics clearly demonstrate that 60% of buyers admit they base part of their decision about which home to buy on the condition of the yard.
Keeping your grounds in tiptop shape is an investment in your future. A good rule of thumb we’ve found is that investing just 5% of your home’s value into landscaping can up its market value by as much as 15%.
Bonus Point: Professional Equipment
Most large-scale landscaping projects require the use of professional tools and equipment. Even if you’re willing to spend money on renting or buying the right equipment, you’ll still have to study up on how to use each one and find a place to store it all once the job is done.
At Heffner Landscaping, we already have all the tools needed for every specialized job imaginable, and we’re experts at using them. Instead of building another storage shed on your property, you can hire North Carolina’s best landscapers to get the job done. We’ll bring all the equipment needed, take it with us when we leave, and you can use the extra space to plant another tree instead.