Increasing value of a house by improving the garden

homeless9

OP signing in.....

I have read through all your posts, thank you! Was an interesting read.

I am surprised to hear that most people think a nice garden would add practically zero value to a house. My garden has no proper hedging/fencing, ie, you can look straight into my garden from the next door neighbours house, and the street. On one side there is an industrial fence stretching 14m. And of course then there is a large 7 foot deep ditch which is just soil.

I would have thought that putting in proper fencing/hedging and screening off that 14m industrial fence + making the ditch into something more photogenic / something usable (as it's currently basically a void), and adding a patio would add value.

The garden also looks out onto woodland which is priceless as you watch the birds and squirrels while chilling with a beer. The garden is also not overlooked from inside next door neighbours homes and won't be overlooked at all once fenced off. Typically properties have at least 1 neighbour who can look out of their bedroom window and watch you sunbathing in your speedos. I'd have nobody peaking out, so I can go full nude whilst watching the wildlife.


Currently I am thinking of just reshaping the ditch, so instead of being one steep slope it will 'step out' or form an 's' shape, the 'step' will be a flat ledge. Then the plan is to turf it. Someone said that a slope that is difficult to mow will be off-putting to buyers. Does anyone think this is an annoyance that is going to put a lot of people off?

My aim is to have turf laid on a 1 metre steep slope that drops down to the 1m wide ledge which will be fairly flat and mowable and then from the ledge to the bottom of the ditch will be wild grasses/flowers. So it's just going to be a 14m x 1m steep slope that would need to be cut using a grass trimmer.

Ditch image...

olgadapolga

homeless9 said:

The garden also looks out onto woodland which is priceless as you watch the birds and squirrels while chilling with a beer. 

I totally misread this sentence as "watch the birds and squirrels chilling with a beer".

The stupid thing was, it made perfect sense to me as I've seen squirrels licking out a Costa Coffee cup . . . blame a head injury (I often have to read something several times to fully understand it, which can be amusing at times).

Not much to offer on what you can do with your garden, other than to say that the bank is crying out for wild flowers.

homeless9

olgadapolga said:

homeless9 said:

The garden also looks out onto woodland which is priceless as you watch the birds and squirrels while chilling with a beer. 

Not much to offer on what you can do with your garden, other than to say that the bank is crying out for wild flowers.

I have bought a pack of wild grasses/flowers seeds. I have sown some of those in a small patch to see what they are like and test they grow and survive. If I end up liking them then maybe I'd just sow the whole bank, especially if I can't sculpt the bank how I want it.

My only concern is that wild flowers/grasses can end up looking like the garden is over grown and uncared for.

olgadapolga

homeless9 said:

olgadapolga said:

homeless9 said:

The garden also looks out onto woodland which is priceless as you watch the birds and squirrels while chilling with a beer. 

Not much to offer on what you can do with your garden, other than to say that the bank is crying out for wild flowers.

My only concern is that wild flowers/grasses can end up looking like the garden is over grown and uncared for.

I don't think it would, especially if the rest of the garden is well tended and maintained. That bank us just one edge of your garden, I think it would look okay and it would be a haven for insects, etc. 

Farway

homeless9 said:

OP signing in.....

I have read through all your posts, thank you! Was an interesting read.

I am surprised to hear that most people think a nice garden would add practically zero value to a house. My garden has no proper hedging/fencing, ie, you can look straight into my garden from the next door neighbours house, and the street. On one side there is an industrial fence stretching 14m. And of course then there is a large 7 foot deep ditch which is just soil.

I would have thought that putting in proper fencing/hedging and screening off that 14m industrial fence + making the ditch into something more photogenic / something usable (as it's currently basically a void), and adding a patio would add value.

You only told us half a tale, so answered it as it was written. Had your OP been as full & descriptive as your response our responses may have differed.

Davesnave

homeless9 said:

OP signing in.....

I have read through all your posts, thank you! Was an interesting read.

I am surprised to hear that most people think a nice garden would add practically zero value to a house.

With other people's waste materials a little top soil and some evergreen shrubs on and at at the bottom of the slope, that garden could be altered to look acceptable on a  fairly small budget, but even if you built walls, steps and beds within the slope costing many ££££, they would still be facing the woodland rather than your property and I'd not consider the extra effort / expenditure worthwhile on a monetary returns basis .

Most purchasers will only ever 'see' the level areas of your garden as relevant when assessing it. Also, consider the most important people who actually value houses: the building society valuer, the EA and the purchaser's surveyor. Will they care? Sadly, from a gardener's perspective, the answer is "No."

homeless9

olgadapolga said:

homeless9 said:

olgadapolga said:

homeless9 said:

The garden also looks out onto woodland which is priceless as you watch the birds and squirrels while chilling with a beer. 

Not much to offer on what you can do with your garden, other than to say that the bank is crying out for wild flowers.

My only concern is that wild flowers/grasses can end up looking like the garden is over grown and uncared for.

I don't think it would, especially if the rest of the garden is well tended and maintained. That bank us just one edge of your garden, I think it would look okay and it would be a haven for insects, etc. 

Yes, it would be crazy with insects etc...

With the woodland over the fence there is so much wildlife. I have seen stag beetles, black spiky caterpillars (one which fell out of an oak tree onto my face), may bugs, bright purple butterflies, peacock butterflies, then all the birds, squirrels.

If I put a meadow down then god knows what will happen. I'd expect a constant flow of butterflies in and out my garden.

homeless9

Davesnave said:

homeless9 said:

OP signing in.....

I have read through all your posts, thank you! Was an interesting read.

I am surprised to hear that most people think a nice garden would add practically zero value to a house.

With other people's waste materials a little top soil and some evergreen shrubs on and at at the bottom of the slope, that garden could be altered to look acceptable on a  fairly small budget, but even if you built walls, steps and beds within the slope costing many ££££, they would still be facing the woodland rather than your property and I'd not consider the extra effort / expenditure worthwhile on a monetary returns basis .

Most purchasers will only ever 'see' the level areas of your garden as relevant when assessing it. Also, consider the most important people who actually value houses: the building society valuer, the EA and the purchaser's surveyor. Will they care? Sadly, from a gardener's perspective, the answer is "No."

Cheers Dave,

There are 4 houses that were for sale on this development, all practically the same sized and same styled houses with garden space. My house was the last to be reserved. I keep saying to myself..... how was this the last house to be reserved. Although I never got to look at the other houses I know they are practically identical houses and it's mainly the size and shape of the gardens that vary as well as whether you wanted to be on the side of the development that is next to a railway line, or the side of the development that is next to a road.

I don't have a road to look out onto or have pedestrians regularly walking past my house. I likely have a slightly louder train noise, but doubt it makes that much difference being the other side. They of course have louder road noise.

Although the photos I have uploaded may not show the woodland in good light there is a more open area to one side of my garden which is beautiful on a sunny day, it kind of looks tropical, then you get the birds tweeting and flying about. It's priceless. I think that because these homes would have been viewed in winter when the trees were bare and ugly it may have put people off, the ugly ditch, metal railing, then gnarly bare woodland and then the trains going past was possibly off putting to some.

I didn't even imagine the woodland to become so alive and tropical looking when I viewed the house in winter.

One thing that is important to me is that I need to make it look less dreary in winter by adding some evergreen trees/bushes, and turfing the ditch.

Davesnave

I agree that the garden is OK for a recent build, and with the advantages you mention I'd rather have it than the basic overlooked square with fence panel views that's typical. I'd also rather have a railway than a road and the associated trees to look at.

Regardless of what slope you achieve, grass will keep it in place and I'm still sure that the evergreens I mentioned elsewhere would hide the fence at the bottom even with ditch conditions at times. Or you could plant a hornbeam hedge, but it will grow tall and go through the fence, as it's done on my patch where a commercial neighbour doesn't look after their side. Made them disappear in 3 years though! You buy small hornbeam bare rooted, online in winter at about £1.50 each. They keep their dead leaves all winter so still act as a screen. Top them out where you like. Mine are 10'.

As for the bank, forget wild flower seeds. They won't do much. Wild flowers are difficult. However as you will probably be strimming the bank, something like ground cover geraniums will stand that a couple of times a year, especially G phaeum and G macrorrhizum, but there are other toughies out there. You start with a few then divide them up and replant. Eventually, you end up with a sheet of them. Other plants that you could try like that would be Iberian comfrey, alchemilla mollis and soapwort.....anything that won't mind being strimmed within an inch of its life now and again! You can always dot a few small shrubs on there too, if you are strimming rather than mowing. I find it hard to kill Viburnum tinus, Berberis darwinii and Hypericum. These are all the sort of things I'll be growing on the bank I'm doing, along with a few buddleia for the butterflies.

Good luck.

Farway

Another contender to add to Dave's list? Ox eye daisies?

I see them on road side verges here, presumably sown by council and left to get on with it except for annual haircut