A lush garden full of exotic plants is definitely one way to catch a buyer’s eye in a real estate listing. Options like hibiscus, Bird of Paradise, or bougainvillea create an immediate wow factor. After all, it’s all about boosting your curb appeal and making your property stand out. However, once a potential buyer steps onto the property, that initial awe can quickly turn to off-putting dread. Why? Because while these gardens look like a perfect paradise, they can signal a massive time commitment that many modern homeowners just aren’t prepared for and don’t want to handle.
The main issue? Buyers seeing the garden as more of a burden than an enjoyable place to spend time. When a buyer sees a yard filled with fancy plants that aren’t native to the area, they don’t just see flowers; they see a specialized to-do list that, in most cases, they just don’t want to sign up for. Exotic plant species typically require specific soil and sun conditions, careful and regular pruning, pricey fertilizers, and more to stay healthy. The bottom line? Nobody wants to be the reason such beautiful plants die, but many homeowners also don’t want to take on all that work.
Some buyers might feel like they lack the green thumb necessary to keep that garden alive. That could lead to them seeing the entire home as a high-stakes responsibility rather than a good place to settle down. There are plenty of home upgrades that’ll appeal to buyers, but an exotic garden just isn’t one. In a market where many buyers prize turnkey convenience, a high-maintenance landscape can be a huge dealbreaker that sends buyers scurrying to look for a simpler yard they can take care of quickly on weekends.
Read more: 12 Old-School Gardening Habits It’s Time To Let Go Of
The hidden costs of maintaining exotic botanical beauties
Gardener wearing a straw hat and gloves looking overwhelmed by gardening with her hands on her head
Gardener wearing a straw hat and gloves looking overwhelmed by gardening with her hands on her head — Nicoleta Ionescu/Shutterstock
Beyond the mental stress of keeping beautiful exotic flowers alive, there’s also a significant financial and physical toll that’ll come from such extensive landscaping. Exotic gardens often come with hidden costs, like higher water bills and specialized care costs. Because these plants are usually not adapted to the local climate, they likely require constant irrigation or expensive winterizing treatments to survive the seasons. And if a buyer isn’t able to do this work themselves, they’ll likely have to hire professional landscapers who specialize in exotic plant care. These service fees add up quickly, making the home feel more expensive to own than a property with hardy, native shrubbery or ground cover.
Physical accessibility is another factor that can shrink your pool of potential buyers. Maintaining an intricate, non-native garden requires hours of labor, and they aren’t drought-tolerant, either. This can instantly alienate busy young professionals, frequent travelers, older buyers, and anyone who just simply isn’t physically capable of handling those kinds of gardening tasks. If your home is otherwise beautiful and move-in ready, an exotic garden could be the reason you don’t get any offers. It’s just not worth it to some prospective buyers.
It’s understandable to want to impress buyers by any means necessary. But by simplifying your garden with native, drought-tolerant plants before listing, you can still show off your home’s beauty without scaring off practical buyers. There are more important things to look for when buying a new home than an exotic garden. A yard with native plants does a better job of selling low-maintenance luxury and helps the home’s outdoor space stay a selling point rather than a source of stress.
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