Considering home improvements? Think green. Landscaping can dramatically increase your home’s resale value.
According to an industry survey released in June, landscaping has a 100 to 200 percent recovery value. In comparison, remodeling the kitchen yields 75 to 125 percent of your investment, and adding a swimming pool, only 20 to 50 percent.
And unlike some home improvements, landscaping appreciates over time, said Tim Thoelecke, president of Garden Concepts, a Glenview landscape design firm.
In addition to adding curb appeal, “trees also add economic value to homes by helping reduce heating and cooling bills,” the survey said.
“They work as nature’s air conditioner and heat pump, providing shade in the summer (they can reduce temperatures as much as 9 degrees Fahrenheit) and sheltering your home from frigid winds in the winter.”
The Plants for Clean Air Council claims that energy-efficient landscaping can reduce heating and cooling bills by 20 percent.
Considering the stakes, it may be worth hiring a professional to design your dream landscape. But how do you choose among all those green thumbs-landscape architects, landscape designers and landscape contractors?
“Sometimes it’s tough to tell the difference between all those professionals out there,” said Tim Johnson, grounds manager for the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. “Basically, a landscape designer is anyone who says, `I’m a landscape designer.’ Unlike landscape architects, who have four-year degrees in the field and are registered with the state, a landscape designer doesn’t require any certification.”
Harry Schuster, board member of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD), said: “In the broadest sense, that could be true. You don’t have to be registered anywhere or have any particular training. There is no law regulating that title.”
However, some landscape designers may be certified with a professional organization such as the APLD, he said. “That is the best way for homeowners to assure themselves that the person they are talking to is qualified.”
A landscape designer “can be someone who enjoys gardening and putting things together well, who may have taken a design class at a botanic garden, or who may have worked in a nursery,” added Megan McCarthy-Bilow, a plant information specialist at the Chicago Botanic Garden. “That’s why it’s very important to ask about their experience.”
Landscape architects and designers work with your ideas to create a blueprint of an ideal garden design. If you want to incorporate hardscape-decks, irrigation, gazebos, fences, a terrace, a pond-anything that requires a background in construction and engineering, consult a landscape architect, who normally charges between $45 and $90 per hour, suggests Jack DiClementi, director of land planning at Rolf Campbell & Associates, a landscape architecture firm in Lake Bluff.
If all you want is softscape-a perennial garden, lots of color, vegetation-a landscape designer, who might charge between $30 and $75, will fit your bill, said Johnson.
“Landscape architects are geared more toward the engineering end of landscaping,” Schuster noted, “and designers are definitely more horticulturally attuned.”
“Usually landscape designers and landscape architects are not competing for the same work,” said Susan Jacobson, a landscape architect with Bartells/Jacobson Design in Glen Ellyn.
If you don’t care about having a formal plan, or if you already know exactly what you want, bypass both designer and architect. Head straight to a nursery or garden center to buy your plants, McCarthy-Bilow suggests. Some nurseries offer free design assistance when you purchase plants. Most also offer insurance on the plants.
“If you install the plant and it dies within a year, they’ll replace 50 percent of its value,” Johnson said. “If you pay them to install the plant, they’ll generally replace 100 percent of its value, because they know it was planted properly.”
A landscape contractor is paid to install and maintain your softscape and hardscape. Some landscape architect and design businesses have their own contractors; these are called design/build firms.
Conducting your search
Once you have decided what kind of professional you need, interview at least three, suggests the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Check on references. Don’t just drive by homes that someone says he has landscaped. Call to make sure he lived up to his guarantees and provided proper follow-up.
When interviewing prospective landscapers, pay careful attention to the questions that they ask you, McCarthy-Bilow advises. “They should inquire about your needs: What colors do you like? Do you want shade? Do you have kids and pets who like to run around? Are you a big-time gardener or do you want something low maintenance?”
“A good landscape design is a joint effort between the client and the landscaper,” she explained.
It doesn’t matter how beautiful and sophisticated the design is if it doesn’t match your specific goal, whether it’s to prevent passersby from seeing your pool, to provide summer vegetables, to attract birds or simply provide shade over the patio.
Clearly state in your contract who is responsible for future maintenance, particularly if you’re not among the 82 percent of homeowners who garden. Before you sign, be sure the landscaper has insurance for the installation as well as any physical injuries that may occur on your property.
If you do wish to invest in landscaping, consider doing it in stages.
One way to lower your costs: Instead of paying a professional to explain elementary plants and garden designs to you, educate yourself. Take a field trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe or the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. In addition to their display gardens, both offer inexpensive ($15 and up) introductory classes in landscaping.
The Chicago Botanic Garden’s free Plant Information Line will answer specific questions about particular plants. Call 708-835-0972.
For a free brochure on hiring a landscape architect, contact the ASLA at 202-686-2752. Contact the Association of Professional Landscape Designers at 301-216-2620 or call Schuster, its Illinois representative, at 708-564-8174. Information on hiring a landscape contractor is available from the Associated Landscape Contractors of America at 703-620-6363.
