Growing a backyard garden has been a popular pastime for homeowners for ages, but the global pandemic ushered in a new era of grassroot gardeners. According to the National Gardening Association’s National Gardening Survey, backyard gardening reached an all-time high in 2021 with the largest year-over-year increase in home gardens coming from millennials. Today, more than 185 million people are actively gardening.
While the pandemic sparked an interest in home gardening, economic realities have kept it going. The gardening survey‘s 2023 edition found that inflation was a major factor for over half of respondents when planning to increase or decrease their level of participation in lawn and gardening activities. More than one-third of households anticipate increasing their spending on lawn and gardening products in 2023 compared with 2022, particularly for food gardening. However, more households anticipate decreasing their spending on flower gardening and lawn care.
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Will Gardening Help or Hurt Your Home Value?
People are discovering the joys associated with growing food, like saving money on groceries, producing fresher and healthier foods and improving their physical and mental health. But one thing homeowners might not consider is the potential impact a backyard garden can have on a home’s resale value.
Not every prospective buyer will see an edible landscape as a selling feature. This is especially true if the garden is large or complex, as it can appear both time and cost intensive to some people.
If you want to start a backyard garden, but don’t want to negatively impact your home’s value over the long run, follow these four steps to grow a lush and appealing edible landscape.
1. Consider Your Growing Space Carefully
One of the most critical considerations for growing a successful and beautiful vegetable garden is planning your space. Take the time to carefully assess your yard before you start growing. The amount of land you have in your front or backyard is a big factor, but you should also consider things like sunlight exposure throughout the year and access to water. These factors will ultimately determine what layout will work best for your garden wish list.
If you’re new to gardening or are concerned about hurting your home’s value in the future, start small. Smaller gardens feel more maintainable to novice gardeners or those who may be unsure about having a garden space altogether. You can grow a lot of food in a small space if it’s planned well.
Elise Pickett, urban homesteader and the owner of The Urban Harvest, a Florida gardening education resource and seed club, says starting small makes the garden a point of enjoyment rather than a chore.
“Pick one bed or space to get started and just three to five types of plants,” she says. “It doesn’t sound like much in the beginning, but it will allow you to easily tend the garden and learn about the plants’ needs without any overwhelm.”
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2. Create an Attractive Garden Space
Curb appeal is a proven way to help a home sell faster and for more money. People like attractive, clean and tidy yards — vegetable gardens included. If you’re going to grow a front or backyard garden, make sure the garden space looks attractive and well tended.
Having beautiful raised beds, a well-maintained greenhouse or lush trellises can make the garden more visually appealing. You can add in other landscaping aspects like a water feature, outdoor shower, paved patio area or colorful native wildflowers to tie the garden space together. By doing this, the garden area will feel more like a calming retreat than a massive time commitment for the next homeowner.
Small swaps or thoughtful planning can make edible plants feel like a natural part of the landscape. For example, you can put an herb garden in window boxes typically used for ornamental flowers. This easy landscaping swap doesn’t compromise on beauty and still gets you growing.
3. Grow in Spaces That Can Be Disassembled Easily
Another way to ensure your garden space doesn’t push away potential buyers is to grow in vessels that can be deconstructed easily. While greenhouses and raised bed gardens feel like permanent pieces in a yard, they can be taken down if the new buyer doesn’t want to keep growing.
Just remember, less is more,so consider how many raised beds or structures you will have in your garden.
You can also use creative vessels like vertical growing towers or garden pots to grow your food. These growing vessels are transportable and give you a lot of production with little growing space. Pickett says vertical growing towers are one of her favorite items in her yard.
“Containers are typically a more affordable way to grow food and are self contained, making for easier management as you get the hang of things. Vertical soil-based planters are wonderful because you can grow over 40+ plants in as little as 3 square feet. They also allow you to move locations or adjust as needed, if the sun isn’t right or it’s getting eroded by the rain off your roof. Almost everything can be remedied in a container.”
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4. Choose Low Maintenance Edibles
Certain fruits and vegetables require more work than others. There are many plants that will also look more unkempt than others. If you’re concerned about future resale value, try to grow edibles that are low maintenance.
Squash, for example, requires a lot of space and can have issues with mold, cross pollination and pests, depending on where you are growing. On the other hand, lettuces and other leafy greens rarely have issues aside from minor pests. They also take up very little space, making for a low maintenance but high reward vegetable to grow.
Fruit trees are another great low maintenance edible. From apples to bananas, pears, limes and avocados, they require little work once planted and can bear fruit for years. They can also provide added benefits like shade if planted properly.
Just remember, the gardening basics still apply no matter what or how you are growing. Choose plant varieties that grow well in your growing zone. As Pickett says, “Even if apples are your favorite fruit, don’t be tempted to plant them if they aren’t well suited to your area. Check with your county’s garden extension office or find a local garden resource/educator to find out what truly thrives in your area. It will lead to more production and a prettier looking garden, as the plants will be happy and healthy.”
Create the Perfect Garden Space
No matter how or what you grow, you will need to follow gardening basics to be successful. Your plants will need adequate sunlight, frequent watering and good quality soil to be fruitful. And don’t forget regular maintenance to keep the weeds and pests at bay.
Growing food at home can be a rewarding experience that adds a productive and attractive space to your home. Today’s trend favoring home gardens means there’s a good chance your lush landscape will appeal to more homebuyers down the road. Following these four gardening tips should help you maintain your home’s value and increase your chances of selling your home faster.
Just remember, it is ultimately your home and space. Create a garden that best suits your needs while you’re in the home. Having a large garden space or even a full homestead doesn’t mean your home will lose its value — it just may take longer for the right buyer to come along.
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How to Start a Backyard Garden Without Hurting Your Home Value originally appeared on usnews.com
