The Art And Science Of Landscaping

Land is one of the most important assets you can own today. As with all assets, improvements and enhancements add value to your investment. One way of enhancing your property is landscaping. A customised patio deck or well-manicured garden can be a crucial tipping point in a prospective buyer's decision. These days, the utility of landscaping goes far beyond aesthetics. There are financial, environmental, health and social reasons that make landscaping an important factor when planning a project.

Landscaping in the city

A little greenery in a concrete jungle goes a long way. Green spaces in a city aren’t just desirable, they’re also essential. Well-planned green areas raise the value of the area while serving as highly prized ‘green lungs’, enhancing the quality of the air we breathe. This is becoming more and more urgent today with burgeoning populations and high levels of pollution.

The best way to incorporate these much-needed green spaces is through landscaping. Landscape architects, designers and horticulturists are available to incorporate landscaping into the city environment as well. ‘Hardscaping’ is another creative method of landscaping in the city. Hard materials such as concrete and stones are already available in plenty; therefore incorporating trees, shrubs and grass in tiny pockets through the city is not very difficult.

Sustainable Landscaping

In Sustainable Landscaping one can design rooftop gardens as part of a building’s overall design. Alternatively, one can grow plants and create a pollution free environment without incurring heavy expenses. Maintenance of such landscapes is less expensive than one might expect. In fact, in cities, this form of landscaping works even better because of the limitations of space and limited funds. A little water (especially considering the current scarcity) and regular weeding is enough to keep these landscapes looking beautiful and well maintained. With changing times, landscaping options have grown very versatile and affordable, so keeping this in mind while investing in property is very important.   

           

Financial Benefits

Landscaping is an investment with high returns. It increases the value of one’s property because not only does the property become more beautiful, it also becomes environmentally friendly and promotes sustainable development. As a homeowner, one will realize the value of landscaping as part of community development and as a positive influence on residents. Landscaping also promotes a better standard of living and a healthier lifestyle. This in turn becomes a USP of the property, eventually adding to its financial value. Whether one is a seller or an investor, the financial benefits of landscaping cannot be dismissed.

The Future Of Landscaping

The first sign of a quality, well-planned development is the beauty of it’s landscaping. More and more developers are investing resources to enhance the aesthetic presentations of their projects. For buyers looking to purchase and invest in property, this added feature is now an important and relevant consideration. Looking forward, one can expect a significant uptick in well-landscaped, high quality developments across the country. 

A country will boom if its high streets bloom

Localities since time immemorial have been defined by the people that live in it or the type of landmarks that are around it. Sometimes localities are synonymous to the high streets that surround it. Highstreets define the culture, the flavour and to an extent the psychography of the cohort residing there. A place becomes special because of local food, the local chocolates or art. These creative entrepreneurs have their own niche and create distinct character of the city. They would never be found in malls because the big conglomerates tend to crowd out small players. Some of the examples that would provide testimony for the same would be Oxford Street (London), Hill road (Mumbai), Tsim Sha Tsui (Hong Kong), Ginza (Tokyo) & Champs-Élysées (Paris). A lot of retail therapy has shifted to malls. However many malls have had to even shut shop, but it’s the high streets that have stood the test of time and have been successful.

It’s the high streets that will contribute in a great way to the governments ‘Make in India’ initiative. Owing to the evident footfalls, retailers will be forced to setup their businesses here. Moreover, these lanes which display art, craft and other retail products hailing from the very grass roots of India will attract tourists from all corners of the globe. It will provide an enormous push towards the entrepreneurial culture that is being promoted in the country

Commercial activity of shopping, retail cafes allows small entrepreneurs to come up with innovative offers, pioneering ideas and also gives the life to the street to make the whole walk more interesting and more interactive. High streets are the finest examples of how the entire community lives together. From a tiny newspaper vendor to a big brand all survive in harmony on these streets. There are families that make memories on these streets, who share moments of joy and togetherness sitting and eating-out at the flourishing eateries, as against going astray in the mad rush of malls.

I would like to end this blog post by talking about Hiranandani, Powai. With Central Avenue we have created a pedestrian high street. In 1990 we actually went to a newspaper vendor and gave him a hole in the wall to help in distributing the newspaper and magazine. With the aim of encouraging local entrepreneurs we welcomed mom and pop shops as well.