Landscaping to Sell Your House

According to HGTV - potential home buyers form their first impression of a home from the minute they pull up to it (hence curb appeal). Yet often a home's outdoor landscaping is overlooked in the preparation for the sales process. An attractive and well-maintained landscape can add as much as 10 percent to the value of your home.

Spruce up with Outdoor Containers - container plants add beauty and color wherever you place them.  Add them to the front walk and front porch, maybe near the garage, the back porch, at the base of the mailbox.  Well, you get the idea.  And it's much easier than planting a new garden!

Photo by RealTogs

Add new Mulch - even if the flowers are past bloom, fresh mulch adds color to the flower beds, and shows that the gardens are well cared for.

Photo by Real Togs

Plant some Instant Color - add some annuals or perennials to the flower beds to bring color to the gardens, especially if most of your blooms are past already.

Pull Weeds - clean up leaves, dead-head flowers past bloom, take out anything dead or dying in the gardens.

Clean up Water Features - if you have a pool, pond, or waterfall or any such water feature, clean off any algae, clean leaves out of the water and any other debris, clean filters so the water comes out sparkling.

Power Wash - any dirty surfaces.  And, while you're at that, water all your plants about an hour before a showing.  Not with the power washer - that might not work well.

And one last Wild Idea - consider labeling your plants.  That way the buyer will at least know the name of each plant and can then look up their growing needs. Perhaps even create a complete plant inventory in scrapbook form to leave out on a table for prospective buyers to browse through as they tour your home. This relatively simple step can have a powerful effect on buyers, whether they're gardeners or not.  And what a gorgeous keepsake for the new owners, or a beautiful scrapbook to keep for yourself after the house sells.

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