Weed & Insect Summit 2004: The Economic Value of Landscapes

If you ever feel like your customers’ interest in their landscapes is fading, just drive down a residential street on a clear Saturday morning to put your mind at ease. Whether they spend their time pushing mowers, spraying weeds or trimming shrubs, many homeowners take a great pride in their lawns and landscapes.

“The well-mowed lawn is ingrained in our psychology now,” says Parwinder Grewal, associate professor in the urban ecology program at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. “This is personally eye-opening for me because I was born in India and I know that many countries in that area of the world do not have the neighborhood style of landscaping with turfgrass and continuous planting of trees along roads. Visitors to the United States and Canada see these and say America is beautiful. Not only does it look good, it gives an increased sense of neighborhood and also improves communication among neighbors. People are meeting their neighbors and talking to each other when they’re taking care of their lawns, will mow neighbors lawns while they’re away.”

As part of his presentation “The Economic Value of Landscapes” at the Lawn & Landscape Weed & Insect Management Summit held in Chicago August 18 to 20, Grewal highlighted the psychological benefits that landscapes have on homeowners and the general public, but also brought out some of the more hidden benefits of landscapes that can drive interest in lawn care and landscaping services.

INCREASED PROPERTY VALUE. In terms of the economy, turfgrass has become a major component of American landscapes, Grewal notes, adding that the country has roughly 30 million acres of turf comprised of 50 million lawns, 14,500 golf courses and countless parks, athletic fields, cemeteries, sod farms, etc.

“In 2000, 26.4 million households spent $17.4 billion dollars on professional lawn care and landscape services,” Grewal says. “Also, the top 100 lawn care companies had a combined revenue of $5.05 billion dollars with 55,768 full time employees. These are not small numbers and it shows how much this industry contributes to the economy and it also shows that there’s a demand for these services and a tremendous amount of expansion possibility.”

For contractors working to increase their marketshare, this high level of demand is promising. Even more helpful is the fact that research has shown that professional landscaping increases property values – an intriguing selling point for potential clients.

“This is something we really need economists to look at more, but studies have shown that landscaping can raise the value of a home by 7.5 percent and can decrease the time on market by five to six weeks,” Grewal says. “The Wall Street Journal reported that, in many cases, landscaping costs are fully recovered in the sale of a home and sometimes are even doubled. Moreover, landscape values increase over time as the landscapes fill in and mature.”

Also to homeowners’ benefit is the fact that landscaping can reduce air conditioning costs, Grewal notes. “The urban heat island effect shows that the air can be 2 to 10 degrees warmer in urban areas than in the surrounding suburbs. This increases air conditioning costs and also results in problems like smog,” he explains. “Turfgrass plants, as well as trees that provide visible shade can reduce this energy demand, which translates into the reduced production of climate-altering emissions such as bad ozone, in addition to air conditions costs. You’re using less energy and giving off fewer emissions in terms of global warming.”

Grewal cited a study from the University of Texas showing that a green turfgrass lawn can reduce the temperature by 11 or 12 degrees Celsius, compared to a brown lawn. Additionally, he noted Ohio data indicating that a lawn’s height of cut can influence the ambient temperature through evapotranspiration. A lawn cut at 3.5 inches, Grewal says, is cooler than a lawn cut at 2 inches.

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY PROS. Beyond benefits to homeowners, contractors who work with commercial properties also can tout the hidden value of landscaping to property managers and business owners.

“Landscaping improves worker productivity and attracts customers to business districts,” Grewal says. “There has been a study that indicated that well maintained landscapes in business areas can convey a “we care” message, lower perceived job stress and improve worker productivity. The same study indicated that more customers will return to areas that are well landscaped, which can benefit area businesses.”

But shopping centers and business parks aren’t the only commercial sites that can realize the benefits of green space. Contractors whose accounts include health care facilities can draw on data showing that landscaping enhances recreation and improves physical health.

“Landscapes are therapeutic and the medical community has started using them to cure patients with long-term diseases,” Grewal says, noting famed scientist E.O. Wilson’s “biophilia hypothesis” that says humans are innately attracted to other living organisms, which suggests that there should be a health benefit in landscapes. “Taking this theory, the medical community has done research and confirmed that this is the case. In addition to health benefits of engaging in landscaping – getting some exercise behind a mower or weeding a garden – but also just looking at well managed landscapes improves mental health.”

Grewal says hospital research shows that patients with rooms overlooking vegetation required less pain medication and recovered faster than those without a view of nature. Moreover, he notes a study in Peoria, Ill. by the Illinois School of Medicine in which participants were paid to NOT mow their lawns. The results were intriguing, to say the least.

“For the Illinois study, the doctors were trying to learn about the impact of lawn care on homeowners – how would people take it? How would neighbors respond?” Grewal explains. “Many participants actually quit the study as the unmowed lawns were having a psychological impact, and in many cases the homeowners’ neighbors ended up mowing the lawns themselves or called the police to complain. The doctors conducting the study found that homeowners suffered psychological abnormalities such as depression, suicidal tendencies, child abuse, anorexia, bulimia, societal withdrawal, poor sexual function, increased ulcer formation, high blood pressure, and increased susceptibility to cancer.”

With these severe physical and psychological impacts, to say that a well mowed lawn is ingrained in our cultural may be an understatement. But contractors don’t have to go to extremes to educate their clients about the economic values of landscapes. In addition to increased property values, lower energy bills and therapeutic properties, Grewal adds that landscapes have been found to reduce crimes by deterring graffiti, as well as by involving members of the community in landscaping projects and keeping teens and at-risk youth out of trouble.

“We know that landscaping can reduce soil erosion and help in areas like dust prevention, noise abatement, glare reduction, air pollution control and nuisance animal control, but it is the hidden values of landscaping that can boost the industry,” Grewal says. “There’s money to be made here and a lot of interest in landscaping and lawn care can be generated by sharing the benefits that aren’t as obvious to homeowners and property mangers.”