Homeowners anxious to dispel the winter blues and change the whole look of their gardens are not alone, local landscape architects, designers and installers say.

Americans spent $3.1 billion on landscape design in 2002, according to the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) and $28.9 billion on landscaping-related services.

The days when a few azaleas and a Bradford pear were considered sufficient to give a home's exterior a gracious look are gone. Today's residential landscaping is much more sophisticated, professionals say, aimed both at creating a soothing retreat and an environment where families and friends can gather to socialize and unwind.

And, if and when a house goes on the market, landscaping adds significantly to the house's curb appeal.

"What we're finding," said Bill Akehurst, vice president and director of landscaping at Akehurst Landscape Service in Joppa, which has been in business since 1876, "is that since 9/11 people have not been doing a lot of traveling, so they want to make their homes a place to relax. They're putting in patios, waterfalls and retaining walls just to make an enjoyable exterior area to give them some relaxation."

But while Americans have always loved grilling and relaxing in their back yards, until fairly recently elaborate landscapes were the purview mostly of the very rich. Not anymore. Whereas fancy gardens were once synonymous with Europe, that sensibility is increasingly found across the United States.

The average amount spent on landscaping in the United States is more than $3,500, nearly double the amount spent in 1997, said the nursery and landscape association. And while the rule of thumb for landscaping has been to spend 5 percent to 10 percent of the value of the house, Akehurst and others say many clients are spending tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars to sculpt their outdoor space.

"There's no question that the trend is to invest more in landscaping," said David Thompson, president of Foxborough Nursery in Street, which offers a full complement of landscaping and maintenance services. "What we're seeing is that a lot of our clients are creating terraced gardens and pergola gardens, and they're treating their outdoors like rooms. They're putting as much detail and attention into their outdoor space as they would a kitchen or living room."

Barbara Stafford, a landscape architect with Chapel Valley Landscape Co. in Woodbine, sees a similar trend.

"There seems to be more interest in building nice garden structures, screened rooms, arbor structures and teahouses," she said, adding that her clients increasingly choose stone and other natural materials over less expensive alternatives such as molded concrete.

And as the projects become more elaborate, the price tag grows. "You wouldn't want to spend less than $20,000 for a custom teahouse," she said.

"We are trying to limit our low side on small design-build projects to $50,000," Stafford said. "The high end is a million- plus for things we've designed and built."

Landscape professionals are divided on the reasons that clients are spending so much to improve their surroundings. Thompson and Akehurst attribute it to soaring real estate prices, which have made people cautious about selling and leaving their current homes. Instead of moving into a bigger house, they say, clients are opting to improve where they live now.

"People are investing an incredible amount to make their home and garden the ultimate dream," Thompson said.

Others such as Carol Macht, a landscape architect and principal at Ford, Caplan and Macht in Baltimore, say clients are beginning to see their homes and gardens more holistically.

"Our lives are so complicated that a garden is a way of catching your breath," said Macht. "Gardens are very restorative, no matter what the scale. They make you feel like you've got a little vacation spot in your back yard."

Although many homeowners say that enjoyment, not resale, is their primary reason for landscaping, real estate brokers say that a well- landscaped home can be easier to sell.

"I would say that people get their money back dollar for dollar on landscaping," said Kay Deitz, a real estate broker in Bel Air. "People judge a house on the outside, because they think that's what they can expect on the inside. Many people will pull up and if the curb appeal is not there, they say they won't even go inside."

Deitz strongly advocates hiring a professional landscaper before putting a house on the market, not to undertake a wholesale redesign but to make it more attractive for potential buyers.

"As an agent," she said, "I can always tell when the home is professionally landscaped."

It isn't just that people are spending more, experts say, they've also more knowledgeable about what's available and what they hope to achieve. The plethora of garden books and garden shows, as well as the fact that people are more widely traveled than they were 30 years ago, all contribute to raising homeowners' expectations of what they want out of landscaping.

"The clients that are spending more money are putting it toward creating a place that they can use three seasons of the year, rather than one week," Akehurst notes.

Today's landscaping utilizes more creative, site-appropriate designs and installation, landscape architects say, relying less on traditional staples like foundation plantings and spring-only blooms, and use a wider variety of plant material.

Those include trees and blooming shrubs such as witch hazel, hydrangeas and knockout roses, as well as grasses and hybridized perennials.

Macht uses perennials extensively in her designs, frequently employing lavender, Russian sage, Shasta daisies and coneflowers, all long-blooming flowers. Clients, she said, also are looking for elements that provide natural textures and offer structure in their gardens, such as stone walls, patios and walks.

Another popular feature that adds beauty and value to a landscape is a waterfall or pond.

"Water adds life to the garden; the sound of water is relaxing," Akehurst says. "With normal plantings it's just visual; now you're adding hearing and motion to the landscape."

Yolanda and Frank Bruno of Columbia, who worked with Chapel Valley to redesign their existing landscape, wanted "more of a Zen- like feeling" in their garden, and water was an important element in achieving that.

"We wanted a waterfall, nothing elaborate, just something soothing. We wanted something to slide down a sheer rock, but we didn't want something gushing," she says.

The Brunos, like most clients today, also wanted minimal maintenance. In an age where both partners usually work and with the baby boomers getting older, designing a landscape that requires minimal care tops most clients' lists.

"I would say there is a huge trend toward low maintenance," Stafford notes. "If it's not the first thing they bring up, it's the second. They're going with plants that require low maintenance, and part of that is clients want less lawn."

Retirees Jerry and Micki Sellman of Lutherville downsized from a large home on 5 acres to a cluster home with a small yard. They're typical of a new breed of clients who want help in designing and maintaining a garden for the later years of their lives.

"We wanted something that was maintenance free, where we had little or nothing to do," explains Jerry Sellman. The couple wanted lush shrubbery, lots of color in the summer, as well as a waterfall and a pond for their grandchildren to enjoy, but they didn't want to have to keep it up themselves.

Akehurst Landscape Service, which designed and installed their garden, also maintains it for the Sellmans, an arrangement that suits Jerry Sellman perfectly. "We have all the enjoyment [of a garden] with none of the trouble," he said.

With Americans spending generously to landscape their properties, consumers can look forward to more choices to help beautify them, Akehurst and others say, from lawns that grow no higher than six inches to roses that need minimal pruning, to a dazzling array of statuary and ornamental structures.

And you don't have to spend a fortune to achieve a pleasing look or enhance a home's curbside appeal, says Macht, the landscape architect:

"You can start small and feel the pleasure of it, something as simple as a climbing rose in a tight spot. That and a little water and a bit of brick, and you've got it made."

Landscape stars

Plants that are hot in 2005:

Knockout roses: Low-maintenance, disease-resistant, ever- blooming roses. There is a double knockout coming out this spring.

Day lilies: Available in a dazzling array of colors; continuous, sometimes fragrant blooms for weeks on end.

Coneflowers: These perennial favorites are available in shades of yellow, orange and mango.

Hellebores: There are many new varieties of these early bloomers; they're wonderful for the shade garden.

River birches: The peeling bark of these graceful trees provides year-round interest in any landscape.

Hydrangeas: New, long-lasting, giant-bloomed varieties perk up the summer garden.

Grasses: Miscanthus, Pennisetum and Calamagrostis are all versatile and provide complementary accent points to perennials.

Succulents: Mixing in hardy and annual succulents such as Kalanchoe provides visual contrast in the garden

Evergreens: Cedars, cypress, pines and firs add structure, greenery and texture.

Shrubs: Ornamental and fruiting shrubs such as serviceberry, winterberry and holly provide interest to fall and winter gardens.

Sources: www.itsaulplants.com, www.foxboroughnursery.com and www.whiteflowerfarm.com.

Gardens at a price

Here's a rundown of the cost of various levels of landscaping projects

$25,000-$30,000: A design plan and full planting of one area, front or back, but not the whole garden.

$50,000: Design, plants and installation for a quarter-acre garden. That might include a patio or a fountain or some water feature. Or it could be just a pool and lawn, no patio.

$100,000: Swimming pool and patio and plantings, maybe an arbor and a tea house. Or a new entry driveway, but no arbor or teahouse.

$1 million: New driveway layout, approach and plantings, mature trees, ponds, streams, patios, arbors, etc.

Source: Barbara Stafford, Chapel Valley Landscape Co.

Credit: SPECIAL TO THE SUN

"What we're finding," said Bill Akehurst, vice president and director of landscaping at Akehurst Landscape Service in Joppa, which has been in business since 1876, "is that since 9/11 people have not been doing a lot of traveling, so they want to make their homes a place to relax. They're putting in patios, waterfalls and retaining walls just to make an enjoyable exterior area to give them some relaxation."

The average amount spent on landscaping in the United States is more than $3,500, nearly double the amount spent in 1997, said the nursery and landscape association. And while the rule of thumb for landscaping has been to spend 5 percent to 10 percent of the value of the house, Akehurst and others say many clients are spending tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars to sculpt their outdoor space.

"There's no question that the trend is to invest more in landscaping," said David Thompson, president of Foxborough Nursery in Street, which offers a full complement of landscaping and maintenance services. "What we're seeing is that a lot of our clients are creating terraced gardens and pergola gardens, and they're treating their outdoors like rooms. They're putting as much detail and attention into their outdoor space as they would a kitchen or living room."