Benefits of Hiring a Professional Landscape Designer

Whether in your front, side or backyard, landscaping adds instant equity to your home value. Furthermore, a well designed landscape has the potential to further appreciate the home value over time. While the actual increase in value is largely subjective, it consistently ranges from between 5-15%. Given that Frisco, Texas has a current median home price of $396,500, new landscaping can increase that value by up to $59,475. With so much money on the line, you should strongly consider the benefits of hiring a professional landscape designer before breaking ground.

A professional landscape designer should have extensive knowledge of local plant life and soil conditions, a firm grasp on building principles as well as an overall design aesthetic that suits your taste. A designer will use these skills to assemble an overall blueprint, enabling you to put the plan into action. When selecting a Frisco, TX landscape designer for your project, you would be wise to partner with someone that is a good listener. Designing a landscape is never “one size fits all”. Your design should fit your needs, your style as well as your lifestyle. A good landscape designer will ask a lot of questions about you, your budget, your style, how you want to use the space, how involved you want to be with your landscaping as well as what your intentions are for the future.

Depending on the amount of money you plan to invest in your new landscaping, the best way to bring value and interest to your landscaping would be to add both plant life (trees, garden beds, new turf) and outdoor living space (patio space, kitchens, pathways). Consider incorporating some or all of those improvements to your landscape design.

Plants are the color palette in a well conceived landscape design. They are used to paint a picture and should represent the homeowner’s style as well as their needs. A well-chosen tree or shrub line can easily provide privacy and shade while new turf can give your children a surface to run and play. In addition to offering function, plants should be used to create visual interest throughout the seasons. A qualified landscape designer will have knowledge of our north Texas native plants, should be well aware of the blooming habits of plants, understand which plants leave a garden bare during the winter and assemble a design that gives you a reason to appreciate your landscaping year round.

While our North Texas summers can often be too hot to venture outdoors, we are blessed to live in an area that invites us to play outside throughout the rest of the year. When designing an outdoor living space, a landscape designer needs to be thoughtful about your budget as well as considering your lifestyle. For example, a homeowner who entertains a lot would be a prime candidate for an extended patio space with room for an outdoor kitchen and enough seating for parties while a family with small children might benefit more from a small extension, leaving enough turf area for the kids to run. Pathways are not always necessary, but offer a thoughtful way to navigate tricky side yard areas or simply provide you with a classy way to get from one landscape feature to another. Regardless of the reason, a pathway should always lead somewhere.

Although not as glamorous as extensive planting and patio improvements, you will bring hidden value to your home by incorporating the right irrigation into your landscape design. To ensure your turf and plants thrive for years to come, plan to add a drip line irrigation system for all new garden bed and trees. In addition, if you have extensive patio work done, make sure the landscape design accounts for the necessary changes to your current sprinkler and drainage systems.

Once you have decided to invest in your landscaping, carefully consider your budget before contacting a landscape designer. You can expect to invest around $5k for new plantings and a garden bed with irrigation and between $5k-$15k if you intend to extend your patio or install an outdoor kitchen area. A responsible landscape designer should be able to tell you at your first meeting if your budget is sufficient for your plans and succeed in delivery of a design that is within your budget. When you consider how many thousands of dollars in value added to your home and the years of enjoyment landscaping can bring, you’ll reap the benefits of hiring a professional landscape designer long after the project is finished.