The plant that can add £10,000 to your home’s value – and the other garden tweaks that pay back far more than they cost

The sun has finally arrived and the gardens are now in full spring bloom. This is why investing time and money in your outdoor space can add thousands of dollars to a home if you want to sell it.

Wisteria hysteria

Costs: €100 plus

Value added: £10,000

Watch Instagrammers gather to take photos for social media outside buildings dripping with wisteria’s distinctive lilac, pink or violet flowers, and you can see what an appeal the climbing perennial has.

If you sell a house with wisteria adorning the facade or in the garden, you’re more likely to get viewings, says Philip Mount, branch manager at Churchill Estates agency in South Woodford, east London. He says: ‘It has the timeless look of a traditional English cottage, where people have to knock on your door.’

Philip believes wisteria can make the difference between a brick-fronted house and a shingle-clad house, which he estimates can cost around £10,000.

Philip Mount, branch manager at Churchill Estates agency in South Woodford, east London, says: ‘Wisteria has the timeless appeal of a traditional English cottage, where people have to knock on your door.’

The hint of climbing color provides a luxurious exterior shine, but requires maintenance. Guy Barter, chief horticultural adviser at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), says: ‘Wisteria is easy to plant, but you need to train it carefully up and down walls. A ladder may be needed to keep it looking neat and tidy.”

Wisteria can grow up to three meters tall in a year, but Martyn Cox, garden columnist for The Mail on Sunday, says it can take up to 20 years for a seed to mature and flower.

For this reason, he advises against buying a small plant in a four-inch pot and instead buying a more mature specimen, which is already in bloom and will quickly establish itself along the wall. For a 6ft wisteria you will have to pay £100 or more.

A garden that pleases the eye

Cost: Free – up to £10,000

Value added: £50,000

Research from online estate agent Sold.co.uk shows that a well-maintained garden can add up to 20 per cent to a property’s value, and with the average house price of £285,000, you’d expect this to add around £50,000. .

Martyn Cox says: ‘If you look at a property with a well-designed, eye-catching garden with geometric shapes, borders and beds, you are more likely to buy it than one with a scruffy garden. that needs to be cleared and weeded.”

While you can spend thousands of pounds paying a professional landscaper to design – and maintain – the garden of your dreams – if you do a little homework and aren’t afraid of hard work, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) can give you inspiration and provide guidance in its implementation. website.

Cox adds: ‘Certain plants look expensive, such as the magnolia, which blooms in full bloom in the spring, and the camellia, which are a feast for the eyes.’

A well-maintained yard can add 20 percent to the value of your home

Nearly clipped evergreens add an air of formality to a home

For added luxury in urban gardens, he suggests espaliered trees (which look like hedges on stilts), plus pruned trees such as boxwood and laurel, if you want to create a formal, immaculate space.

Water features, such as a stream (small water channel), can also add value, as can outdoor lighting if it is placed subtly around the garden.

“When you view a property and see that it has all these expensive features, you don’t have to spend money and time on it, so you expect this to be reflected in the asking price,” Cox adds. According to Sold.co.uk, a professionally designed and landscaped garden can cost £10,000.

Olive tree and lavender

Cost: £200

Added value: Priceless

If you want to sell your house quickly, the immediate solution is curb appeal. This adds sophistication to the front of your property and makes it pleasing to the eyes – and the noses of potential viewers. Guy Barter of the RHS says: ‘The front of the house is the showpiece that creates that first impression. Potted trees, such as an olive, and conifers such as juniper add value because they are seen as ambitious statement pieces.’

Outside rooms

Cost: £500 – £15,000

Value added: £12,000

Outdoor rooms related to the garden have enormous appeal: from the simple garden shed to the greenhouse and even a greenhouse for growing apricots and peaches.

Estate agent Parkers says such outbuildings can add £12,000 to the value of a home. If you have the space, 8ft by 6ft is a good minimum size. Guy Barter says, “Aluminum is the material of choice for most greenhouses because it doesn’t rust and doesn’t require much maintenance.”

Martyn Cox says outdoor kitchens are popular additions, providing more space for entertaining.

Devoting a corner of your garden to a seating area with cleverly placed plantings to enclose the space would be a more affordable way to create an outdoor room

According to the website Checkatrade, the average cost is £20,000. The reason for this relatively high price is that work surfaces and oven spaces must be constructed in such a way that they can withstand temperature fluctuations and weather conditions.

They usually include not only a grill with oven, but also connections for a sink, plus kitchen units and shelves. Many have a refrigerator and a pizza oven. According to lender ABC Finance, such a construction can add 5 percent to the value of your home.

Kitchen garden

Cost: £200

Added value: €1,500

Home-grown herbs, vegetables and fruit in a vegetable garden are not just reserved for luxury hotels. According to the National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners, you can spend £200 a year growing fruit and vegetables, which would cost £1,500 in the shops. Show buyers that there is an established vegetable garden and you will increase the appeal of the property.

The value of your garden increases when you play to its strengths, says Martyn Cox.

For example, in a rural idyll you can create a wild flower meadow or add a natural swimming pond to increase the feeling of being one with nature.

The RHS offers advice on growing fruit and vegetables on its website. rhs.org.uk