You may think of your lawn as simply the front yard and the back yard, but when it comes to the value of your home, you should think of it as a landscape and know that it matters.

The term “landscape” refers to perennials, trees, shrubs, lawns, pathways, sidewalks, and driveways. A well-maintained landscape can increase the value of a home by up to 15 percent. For example, if your home is valued at $300,000, a quality landscape could add $45,000 to its value. However, the value of your home could also decrease at the same amount if the landscape is poorly maintained.

Add value to your property with the following six landscaping trends.

High-Value Lawn

A thick, well-trimmed lawn is the envy of many neighborhoods and a strong draw for homebuyers. It signifies a well-tended property and instills the notion that the home is well-tended, too. Mowing frequency depends on the type of grass you have and how much rain it gets.

To achieve a visually appealing lawn, sow seed or lay sod on bare areas. Ideally, weed-free is best, but it is more important that the lawn looks neat and tidy. If you plan to sell your house in a year or two, invest a few hundred dollars in a lawn care service to upkeep your lawn.

Low Maintenance Landscape

When it comes to low-maintenance plants, opt for shrubs. These plants are less work than most perennials and come in various shapes and sizes. Some types of shrubs may never need pruning except for an occasional errant or dead branch.

Tip: Talk to garden center staff about native perennials, trees, and shrubs that do well in your area. Check out your state’s native plant societies for more suggestions.

Trees Trending Up

You can hardly go wrong with planting a tree. One healthy mature tree adds $1,000 to $10,000 to the value of your property, according to the Council of Landscape Appraisers. Even if you have no plans to sell your home, trees are a valuable, low-cost part of your heating and cooling system. Conservation International estimates the cooling effect of a young tree is equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.

No Shabby Shrubs

If the shrubs around your house have several dead or bare branches or are planted too close to the house, replace them with healthy specimens. When replacing, measure the space you want to fill to make sure the plant will fit at its mature size. For the most impact, select sizable shrubs. Larger shrubs will provide a better scale to the size of the home and give the landscape a more finished look.

If replacing the shrubs is not an option, remove them anyway. Smooth out the area, add mulch, and consider placing large containers of flowers, shrubs, or evergreens as a short-term solution. Remove dead or damaged shrubs in the landscape, too. You may not have to replace these, but rather sow grass seed or lay sod to replace the shrub’s location with grass.

Pollinator Gardens

Another landscaping trend is reducing the amount of grass in your yard and creating a pollinator garden instead. Most of the time, pollinator gardens have native perennials and annuals, along with other plants that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. These gardens are typically planted in the backyard, but some homeowners opt for their front yards instead.

Sprinkler System

An in-ground sprinkler system increases a home’s value when installed for proper irrigation. The lawn and lower maintenance plants receive the right amount of water they need. These systems are easy to adjust to the necessary watering levels for the lawn, flowerbeds, or shrubs.

Whether your home is an investment property or your main residence, these low-cost upgrades can immediately improve the value of your home and give you a solid ROI. Spending a little now can pay off both in the short- and long-term.

This blog was written by Jacob Palmer, a gardening and landscape design writer at Lawn Starter. When mowing lawns on his street as a child, he discovered what has become a lifelong passion for landscape design. He now has three children who can all be found helping him most weekends with his next big gardening project.