Spring is on the way, and everyone’s attention is turning to one thing: landscaping. Whether you manage a smaller multifamily home or a large apartment complex, you’ll find that a carefully designed landscape comes with many benefits. First of all, tenants will be attracted to the beautiful space that you’ve created. Good landscaping will also raise the value of your rental units. A single-family home, for instance, is normally worth about 15 percent of the total cost of the home. You can also expect similar increases for rental units.

Read below for landscaping tips that can help you attract even more prospective tenants and retain existing tenants for years to come.

Landscape for Energy Efficiency

Between the shade and the moisture that they release, trees can cool the area around a building by up to 9 degrees Fahrenheit. However, that is only one way to save on energy costs. Any planting that shades windows and siding — particularly to the east and west of a building — will save when it comes to cooling. This includes not only trees, but large shrubs and even trellis-grown vines.

Another way to save on energy costs is to plant windbreaks. When the weather turns cold, a line of evergreens will help divert the chilling wind.

Landscape Vertically

Not all property managers have the luxury of space, but even if you do have plenty of room to landscape, still consider landscaping upward. On a flat roof, you should definitely think about planting a rooftop garden. Tenants can use this to grow their own vegetables or simply as a space to kick back and enjoy the outdoors. You could also grow vining plants on trellises or up the side of the building — but take care that these plants don’t damage your building’s siding.

Try Container Gardening

 If you want to impress potential tenants, then few things make an impression like urns full of flowers lining sidewalks or flanking entryways. Of course, there are more ways to put containers to use in your landscape — raised beds, hanging planters, window boxes and much more. As an added advantage, planters both large and small tend to be much easier to maintain than ground level gardens. The reason behind this is two-fold: Aggressive plants stay more readily confined, and few weed seeds blow into containers, which means they’ll stay relatively weed-free.

Stick to a Theme

 A landscape theme can go in any number of directions, from evergreens to tropical. Two popular themes right now include Mediterranean gardens and native gardening. Mediterranean gardens tend to save water because they make use of drought-resistant plants like lavender, juniper, rosemary and more. Native gardens vary from region to region, but they tend to be the hardiest landscapes because the plants are well-suited to your location.

Add Outdoor Structures

Pavilions, pergolas, gazebos and other outdoor shelters are one of the greatest ways to make your landscape more attractive and valuable. Well-designed outdoor structures are picturesque, and they serve as a focal point for the rest of your landscaping. In addition, this gives tenants a place to relax outside or even host barbecues and other events — a fact that won’t go unnoticed since so few rental units come with attractive outdoor living spaces.

There are many more ways to improve your landscaping, and the benefits are unmistakable. Get started today and your properties will be the ones that everyone is talking about this spring.