The Benefits of Plants and LandscapingMarc S. Frank • According to the National Gardening Association, 85
million (79 percent of) U.S. households participated in some form of
gardening activity in the year 2002. American consumers spent a total of
$39.6 billion on their lawns and gardens in 2002. That was an increase of
$1.9 billion or 5% over 2001. Over the past 5 years, total lawn and garden
sales have increased at a compound annual growth rate of 8%. Economic Benefits• Landscaping can add as much as 14% to the resale value of
a building and speed its sale by as much as 6 weeks. .... more click here Health and Psycho-social Benefits• You can burn as many calories in 45 minutes of gardening
as in 30 minutes of aerobics. One hour of weeding burns 300 calories (the
same as walking or bicycling at a moderate pace), and manual push mowing of
the lawn burns 500 calories per hour (the same rate as playing tennis). .... more click here Environmental Benefits• Trees, shrubs, turf, and groundcovers trap and filter dust
and other pollutants out of rainwater. Plants benefit from the nutrients in
this particulate matter and prevent it from becoming a source of water
pollution. .... more click here click here to Download/Print PDF of "The Benefits of Plants and Landscaping" Copyright (c) Florida Gardening 2000 - -2007 All Rights Reserved. To subscribe or visit go to: http://www.floridagardening.org/ |