The Horticulture Research Institute's Journal of Environmental Horticulture recently published a report showing that upgrading a home's landscape does increase property value. Findings were based on an analysis of sales within the Melonie Park neighborhood in Lubbock, Texas, from 2003 to 2005. Homes that improved landscaping from average-quality to good- or excellent-quality increased selling price by 5.7 and 10.8 percent, respectively. Approximately 30 percent of the increase in sale value was accounted for by added tree cover. The results show that each $1 invested in upgrading an average landscape to excellent quality returns $1.35 in added property value.

Studies also showed that curved or irregular borders add more value than straight beds.