No kudzu here

As $30,000 koi ponds proliferate, businesses find ways to cash in

In this land of pines and azaleas, something exotic has taken root in the red clay: million-dollar landscapes, give or take a few hundred thou. Just ask Scott Myatt, owner of Myatt Landscaping Concepts in Fuquay-Varina. He can tell you about the eight homeowners who spent $250,000 each to get the right look and of the $1 million job to landscape a seven-acre lot.

"People spend a lot of money on landscaping, a lot more than I thought they would," said Myatt, a master of understatement.

The phenomenon is an offshoot of the multitude of multimillion-dollar homes that now dot the Triangle. After all, when your house has a movie theater and wine room, you want more than the builder's special -- seeds, straw and boxwoods -- in your yard.

You want a koi pond (about $30,000), 20-foot oaks ($1,200 each), stone patios ($8,000 for 400 square feet), an outdoor natural-stone fireplace ($10,000) and irrigation system ($10,000 for a half-acre) -- at the very least.

"Fifteen years ago nobody thought about an outdoor dining space with an outdoor kitchen beside their swimming pool with an ambient lighting system," said Kurt Bland, general manager of Bland Landscaping in Raleigh. "Now it's no longer a surprise when they're turning their home into their private resort."

But this isn't just the lifestyles of the rich and famous. The desire to have it all has trickled down to the hoi polloi -- in smaller doses. Think tricked-out backyard grills, DIY gazebos and water features.

When it comes to selling that home or getting insurance coverage, though, investing money in your landscaping isn't quite the same as sinking it into your home. Most insurers offer only minimal coverage for trees or shrubs, regardless of what it will cost to replace them. And when it's time to sell, you might not be able to recoup your money.

Note the word "might."

With so much money being put into the ground, some people say it's just a matter of time before insurance companies and appraisers treat landscape valuations just like homes. Some already do.

"Horticultural assets are the last large consumer segment that doesn't already have effective financial products -- financing, insurance, warranties and bonds," said Doug Cowles, president and chief executive of Horticultural Asset Management Inc., known as HMI. The Cary startup, like others in landscaping and some insurers, is positioning itself to cash in on the trend.

HMI developed a patented software program that can determine replacement values for trees and shrubs anywhere in the United States. Last year, the company began offering its landscape assessments, which are done by subcontractors including Bartlett Tree Experts and Davy Tree Expert, to homeowners across the country.

"We can offer the real estate industry the ability to quantify curb appeal for the first time," Cowles said.

Two weeks ago, Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Walston, one of the Triangle's largest residential brokerages, contracted with HMI for assessments in the Triangle. Eb Moore, the brokerage's chief executive, said it will help sell the agency's more expensive homes. "It may help the seller get a buyer who may have gone to another house or [get] a higher price," Moore said.

AIG, the world's largest insurer, offers coverage up to $100,000 per tree for its wealthiest clients. AIG is using the HMI software to determine replacement costs.

"We're finding these homes have such valuable assets in the landscaping [that] the homeowners wanted coverage on the trees and landscaping as well," said spokesman Peter Tulupman.