This is the time of year when we start reviewing the achievements of the past year and our intentions for the new year. One of your goals may be to create an outdoor space that makes your home more enjoyable now and increases its value in the future. If so, you might consider adding these three resolutions to your current list for 2024 and planting evergreens to fulfill them.

Resolution 1: Make outdoor living more comfortable for family and friends

Wherever you plant evergreens, whatever type they are, you’ll find that they offer two important advantages over other trees and shrubs. First, evergreens require minimal maintenance compared to deciduous trees since there are never any leaves to rake in the fall.  Second, their thick foliage absorbs sound. So they serve as a natural buffer to road noise and loud neighbors.


In addition to reducing noise, they serve as windbreakers, protecting you and the more delicate plants in your garden from harsh winds. The same thick foliage that slows wind speeds also screens your property from the view of others. In the photo below, the evergreens we planted for our client around their pool area not only offered protection from the wind, but ensured privacy when the family used their pool.

Resolution 2: Make a positive contribution to our environment

The health of our environment has become a major concern for many of us given the rapid acceleration of climate change. If reusing, recycling and repurposing is one of your family’s goals, you’ll be glad to know that planting evergreens can make a major contribution to the health of our planet. Evergreen roots help bind the soil they’re planted in, reducing erosion. This is especially beneficial if the trees grow on sloping terrain where erosion can be a major challenge.


Evergreens, like all growing plants, contribute to a planet-wide exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen through photosynthesis. This is the process by which plants use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar to sustain growth. Evergreens store carbon in their biomass and, by doing so mitigate the negative effects of climate change.


Another way evergreens benefit the general habitat is to offer homes and food for wildlife. With their intense, sheltering foliage, evergreens shelter birds, squirrels and chipmucks  while producing needles, twigs, bark and seeds that serve as nourishment for birds and mammals big and small. This is especially important during the barren months of winter.

Resolution 3: Increase the value of your home

Because evergreens are so hardy and adapt well to various types of soil, terrain and environments, you can use them in many locations. Since they come in a wide range of colors, sizes and shapes that can complement, or contrast with, other trees, shrubs and flowering plants, they’re a convenient and affordable way to enhance your home’s visual appeal.


As their name implies, evergreens add color and beauty to the landscape whatever the season and can help your home look beautiful all year long. They are ideal for adding curb appeal to the front of your home and focal points to your back and side gardens. This addition of low maintenance, aesthetically pleasing greenery will offer you years of enjoyment in your home and a higher return when you decide to sell.


Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday!
Yours,
Curt