Nearly everyone who owns or rents a house has a front or back yard, and these spaces are not to be underestimated. In fact, a person who invests a lot into their front and back yards may enjoy not only the fruits of their labor, such as a yard garden or other garden centers, but they can get a serious return on their financial investment as well. Just like with interior remodeling, landscaping can be a smart move for a homeowner, since such work can generate a high ROI, or return on investment. General trends show that a homeowner may need to invest just 5% of the property’ value on landscaping to generate a ROI as high as 150% of done properly. Landscaping can take a wide variety of forms, from a wooden fence to keep the premises safe and private all the way to a wooden deck, a grill, or even a swimming pool. Plant life is a major part of this, too. A yard garden can make a lawn look great, and it can make a home more appealing on the real estate market along with other landscaping features. Besides, many Americans have a green thumb, and a garden store may never be far away. Flowers or fruit and vegetables can be grown in a yard garden, making it not only great fun but a solid investment. How might plants, such as a yard garden, contribute to landscaping?
Plants
A yard garden is typically built and maintained for recreation, such as growing flowers or shrubs, but some homeowners even grow fruits and vegetables for home cooking, ensuring a supply of natural ingredients. Overall, many American homeowners, especially older ones, have a passion for yard gardens, and this supports a large industry. In fact, American gardeners together report $47.8 billion in lawn and retail expenses per year, and the American home garden industry is set to grow in the coming years. It may increase by another $10 billion by the end of 2018, according to previous estimates. This may be partly due to an increasing interest among young homeowners for gardening. While older generations make up the bulk of home gardeners at 35%, younger home owners are getting into this hobby as well, and this may help fuel growth of the industry.
Who is doing all this gardening, and how much do they spend for all the supplies that they need? As of 2017, for a fairly recent example, close to 117.6 million Americans had done some gardening or similar work in the past 12 months. This added up to a market value of an impressive $272 billion in 2017, and hardware stores and plant nurseries together are a major part of this. In fact, nearly 30% of all American households buy at least one potted plant, and 18-34 year olds, which encompasses the Millennials and older Generation Z members, make up 29% of all gardening households. Home gardens may have various flower species based on the gardener’s interest as well as local weather and soil types. Plants are sensitive, after all, and different species need various soil types, temperature ranges, or exposure to sunlight to be healthy. A newer gardener may want to learn more about flower species from local nurseries and get advice and guidance before starting their garden. This can ensure good plant growth.
Other Hardware
For gardeners, some hardware aside from shovels and fertilizer may be needed to protect a garden. Bricks or stones can form low walls around a garden to keep it contained, and a fence around the back lawn can protect the entire lawn, the garden included, from intruders or stray dogs or wild animals. This may be especially important for home vegetable gardens, since wildlife may want to visit and eat all the plants. In other cases, a wire mesh cage around the garden can protect the plants from rabbits or other wildlife while the plants are growing. Gophers, meanwhile, are underground mammals that can quickly devour gardens, so special measures can be taken against them. Installing underground wire meshes can keep them away, as can speakers in their tunnel that radiate noise. Gophers will be quickly repelled by the constant noise.