Esthetic Planners Blogs
Lush green grass delights our toes and flowers treat our eyes to bold, lively colors and aromatic shrubs relish us with their sweet fragrances.
It’s simple to relish the scenes and smells afforded by lawns and landscapes, but do you know their real worth is much more important than pleasant aesthetics and fragrances? That’s true, well-managed landscapes give enormous advantages for people and for the environment.
Let’s explore some of the little understood, but vitally significant, benefits of landscapes in human life.
Natural Coolants
The grass is more cooler than pavement or cement. It acts as an “air conditioner” for the neighboring space. Actually, lawns can be 31 degrees cooler than asphalt and 20 degrees cooler than naked soil. Also, trees shading homes can lessen attic heat by as much as 40 degrees.
Environmental Cleaners
Grass plays an indispensable part in catching dust, haze shreds, and other pollutants while producing oxygen.
Water Protectors
Healthy lawns ingest toxic runoff that might contrarily filter into water bodies.
Air Cleaners
Grasses consume CO2 and break it down into oxygen and carbon. In fact, a lawn produces enough oxygen for a family.
Noise Minimizers
Plants headlong diminish noise pollution; they can lessen noise levels over hard surfaces like concrete and asphalt.
Turfgrass slows down and swallows runoff into water bodies.
Even in areas with water restrictions and are undergoing drought, it is vital that lawns and landscapes remain a viable element of healthy communities. Several sustainable practices will allow maintained lawns and landscapes to lessen water usage but still provide critical environmental advantages.
A growing body of research demonstrates how vital it is to consolidate tree awnings and parks into towns and societies. They render a wide range of lifestyle perks that enhance the quality of life for inhabitants.
Parks and tree canopies help lessen noise.
Studies show that just gazing at plants and trees, even through a windowpane, can reduce stress and lower blood pressure.
Walking in a natural environment with plants and trees, even when located in the middle of a city, has been shown to improve attention and memory, according to a study by Marc Berman of the University of Michigan.
Communities that consolidate neighborhood green spaces have lower rates of stress, have lower health care expenses, and have an enriched quality of life.
Businesses are more successful when they accommodate clients with landscaped areas with plants in and outside the buildings.
A study found seven percent higher rental rates for commercial offices having high-quality landscapes*.
Shoppers claim they will spend nine to 12 percent more for goods and services in central business districts that have high-quality tree canopies.*
Shoppers indicate they will travel a greater distance and a longer time to visit a district with a high-quality tree canopy and spend more time there once they arrive.*
Companies that provide their employees with interactions with nature also benefit. Research conducted by Rachael Kaplan, Ph.D., showed that workers who could view nature from their desks had a much better job and life satisfaction and better health.
*The University of Washington’s Urban Forestry/Urban Greening Research
The advantages of human interaction with plants, trees, and grass are also well studied and documented. Research has found that people find stress relief and healing when interacting with nature or even viewing it through a window. Children with ADHD seem to focus better after being outdoors (Harvard Health Publications). Employees are more productive when working in environments with plants, and their cognitive function also improved.
But, reasonably more significant than what science tells us, is what people intuitively feel about the plants and green spaces in their lives–that association makes their lives better, and they desire to make an effort to include it into their lives.
Research from the Husqvarna Global Garden Report 2012 showed that “63% of respondents reported being willing to pay more for an apartment or house if it was located in an area with good green spaces, compared with, for instance, 34% willing to pay more for an area with good shopping and 33% for good cultural venues.”
For any landscape requirements, contact a local professional and create your dream space perfect for your health and the environment.