And the key feature of any sanctuary is water: fountains or small ponds that bring motion to an otherwise static environment. "Water gardens are hot right now, and the trend is only growing," says Nancy Jacks Montgomery, spokeswoman for the American Nursery & Landscape Association.

For $500 to $1,500 you can buy a simple fountain, says Gilmer (to have a contractor install it, it could cost $1,000 more). Stick with classical forms, nothing overly elaborate or tacky, and try calming colors such as a subtle bronze or a moss green. For an even more budget-conscious option, take a large terra-cotta pot, add a small recirculating pump from a hardware store, and you can have "a small water feature for under $50," says Linda Engstrom. Or just have those pots collect rainwater, creating a mirrored effect around the garden.

A more elaborate project is a small pond. Confident do-it-yourselfers can tackle this for a few hundred dollars, with preformed plastic liners from Home Depot or Lowe's. You'll need a pump to keep the water moving (you might need to call in an electrician to install an outdoor electrical circuit) and the right chemical balance to prevent algae buildup. Jazz up the effect with miniwaterfalls, smooth river stones or colorful fish such as koi (although be warned, that may attract some unwanted wildlife into your yard). To have it professionally done might cost around $2,000 for a basic pond and upward of $8,000 for an elaborate setup, according to contractor Bob Novelli.

To have the water effect without the actual water, try a dry riverbed, as Anneke Moore did. It not only looks terrific, as a curving trench with artfully placed rocks, but also has improved a drainage problem she'd had for 20-odd years that had left her with a soggy basement. With the right design, it almost becomes like a Japanese rock garden. "We're seven minutes from downtown, and it's a real haven when we come home," she says.

The crucial part of any sanctuary, however, is a seating area where you can drink it all in and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Get some additional privacy with tasteful wooden screens, install a couple of wrought-iron benches, and make sure you're not blocking your sight lines to the foliage or water features.

One kind of water feature that may not be the smart way to go is a monster backyard pool. If you're in a warm clime and it's the norm for your neighborhood, then fine. But if you're looking to make big money on the project, forget it. "People tell me, 'I've got $75,000 in this pool — retaining walls, cabanas, dressing rooms,'" says real estate agent Gill Woods. "But are you going to find someone willing to pay extra for those improvements? The answer, normally, is no."

The reasons: One, it's a relatively high-maintenance project; two, it might turn off safety-conscious buyers. "If I have a small child, that's a danger for me," says Mayita Dinos, noting that big ponds can give people pause as well. "In this economy you don't want to be eliminating people like that."

But get your sanctuary right and buyers like Robin Whitesides might come knocking. When she was hunting around Newport Beach, Calif., for a new home, the choice was clear. She could opt for a property with awful landscaping and then invest another $50,000 or so to get it up to par, or she could buy a place with everything already in place. Guess which one she chose?

It wasn't just the basics, either. Her backyard retreat features year-round color shifting among the azaleas, gardenias, camellias, lilacs and hibiscus ("something's always blooming," she says), mature trees that screen out the neighbors' yards and a wall fountain that's lit up at night. She and her husband, Glen Esnard, have added their own touches in the past year, such as flowing vines (passionflower and scarlet trumpet creeper) and banana plants and dwarf lemon trees, in keeping with the "tropical" theme. The happy ending: They bought at over $800,000 and had their home reappraised at about 15% higher in less than a year.

Next: Project 4: Bring the Inside Out

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