The real cost of a green thumb

When redesigning a garden, it's much more expensive to buy fully-grown plants. A three-year-old hedge costs up to $300 per plant, and you'll require up to eight plants to fill the length of a 10m-long courtyard. Baby hedges might cost $60 per hedge, but take three years to grow to fence level.

By the time you've laid fresh lawns, installed a sprinkler system, purchased an outdoor furniture setting and paid your water bills, not to mention the time spent on physical labour, your garden could cost more than it will ever give back.

Ken Rayner, director of Rayne & Horne Valuations, says gardens don't necessarily add value to real estate — although not having one can be a disadvantage.

"If it's a run-of-the-mill garden in any suburb, a garden may only add $5000 to $10,000 to the house value, which is not really much money," Rayner says. "But a garden does make the property more attractive and marketable. If you had the choice between a house with a tiny, rundown garden and a house with a pleasant yard for the same price, which one would you pick?"

Beautifully designed gardens in prestigious suburbs can add considerably to property value, but Rayner says it's difficult to quantify how much. A small courtyard in inner-city Sydney might add $50,000 to the resale value; a large backyard with a pool and spa could add the same amount to a house on Sydney's North Shore; but there are many areas where pools and gardens add little added value to the total property price.

Nonetheless, many buyers are willing to pay more for houses with gardens and balconies because of the impact they make to their lifestyle.

Jennifer Cronin recently purchased a house in Rose Bay with her husband Tom. After several months of researching house prices, she is adamant gardens add tens of thousands of dollars to property prices in many inner-city areas. The first thing she did after moving her family into their Rose Bay home was level the back garden and add a sandstone feature wall.

"Gardens definitely add value to property prices, a lot of houses look right out onto the garden so the garden is essentially another room of the house," Cronin says. "People won't hesitate to spend $35,000 renovating the kitchen, but I think the same investment in a garden renovation can add more value than a new kitchen."

In the eastern suburbs, agents believe lap pools and swimming pools can add more than $200,000 to house values, as they're considered a status symbol. But in suburbs outside the city where pools are more common and space is less coveted, you might be lucky to recoup the cost of installing a pool, which can range from $30,000 to $100,000 depending on size and quality.

Of course, the true value of a garden, balcony, outdoor pool or tennis court lies in the eye of the beholder. Most people enjoy having a place to escape for fresh air, but if you're a time-poor professional working long hours, a large lawn and swimming pool might seem more of a nuisance than an advantage.

For Nicholas at Genius Loci, a stylishly designed garden is worth every penny: "A garden is like an outdoor room of the house — it's a place to relax and unwind, an area for the family to utilise, and a place to entertain and eat."

He says there are tricks to keep costs down, like choosing plants that are specifically suited to the local climate so you're not pruning rose bushes in winter or wasting money on watering.

For Cronin, the cost of maintaining a stylish garden is a no-brainer. "If a garden doesn't have much potential, I'm not interested in buying the house," she says. "It's got to have space to work with and at least some sunlight, and it can't be overrun by ugly trees. At the end of the day, a $30,000 investment in a landscaped garden really isn't that much money when you consider the difference it makes to your quality of life."

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