Keep Your Garden Looking Great All Year Round
A well-landscaped yard can add anywhere from $16,500 to $38,100 in value to a $300,000 house, according to Homes Guide. That’s quite a boost, and one you can access simply by keeping your garden in top shape. Of course, there’s a little more to curb appeal than a beautiful garden, but for 47% of survey respondents, tidy garden beds and borders were the most important exterior feature when assessing the value of a home. So a great-looking garden is a real asset no matter the season, and there’s a lot you can do to keep your garden in good shape all year round.
Getting Your Garden Through Fall and Preparing for Winter
Fall is a busy season for any gardener. Between harvesting the many fruits and vegetables that become ripe in the fall and preparing for the colder winter months, you’ll have your work cut out for you. It’s important to keep up with fall gardening tasks like preparing trees and shrubs for winter and cleaning out any weeds or seasonal plants before frost comes. You’ll also want to remove fallen leaves and other debris from your garden beds using a rake or, even better, a leaf blower. This debris can be turned into mulch if you want, but it’s important to get it cleaned up before the cold weather starts.
A Gardener’s Favorite Season: Spring!
There are many plants that can keep going through winter, and even give you produce — in fact, kales and collards become a bit sweeter in moderately cold weather — but once spring arrives, there’s a lot more you can do with your garden. To get a jump on spring produce, consider these early spring vegetables that look beautiful in your garden, and produce some great food too. Growing produce like tomatoes, eggplants, cauliflower, and more is not only a great way to eat well, it can give your yard a distinctly “homey” and inviting appeal.
Getting the Most Out of Summer Planting
Many summer fruits and vegetables keep producing more throughout the whole season, so it’s a good time to plant things you want to be looking at for a while. Sweet potatoes, okra, and some peppers will last throughout the hot summer months, and keep giving your garden a lively look. Some prefer, however, to give vegetables a rest during the summer. If you do, you’ll want to replace them with flowers and greenery to avoid a bare or patchy look. From begonias to periwinkles, to the “Florida sweetheart” flower, you’ve got a lot of options. Just be sure they can stand up to the heat so they don’t wither out.
No matter the season, you can use your garden to increase the curb appeal of your home. All it takes is a little bit of planning, making sure you know what to plant when, and looking out for potential issues in a given season. Many underestimate the value of a well-kept garden, but it really is a great way to give your property an edge and create the feeling of coziness that many look for in a home.
Written by Cassie Lionel