Eight easy ways to improve your garden

Home buyers are usually attracted to gardens that look good and offer easy days relaxing outside. So how much time, effort and money should you put into landscaping your home if you’re thinking of selling?

Like any pre-sale improvements, the secret lies in spending as little as possible to get great results. If you spend too much on elaborate landscaping, you might not recoup it at sale time.

With this in mind, here are a few simple tips to help improve your landscaping and outdoor area and hopefully make them more attractive to potential buyers.

1. The first thing to do is remove any children’s toys or bikes that are laying around and remove any play equipment that could be making your backyard look smaller than it is.
2. Next, walk down garden pathways and remove any dead, overhanging or dangerous branches. Clean paths if they are mouldy or dirty and replace any broken bricks, pavers or cracks.
3. Look at the fencing. Is it in a good state of repair? If not, make any necessary repairs – replace broken palings, reinforce rickety fencing and repaint as required.
4. If your garden beds and lawn are covered in weeds, clear them out.
5. Remove any unsightly, dead or scrawny trees and shrubs and replace with healthy specimens.
6. Add an attractive mulch such as pine chips, pebbles or sugarcane mulch to your garden beds. This will not only help to retain water and discourage weeds but will also make the garden look neat and well cared for.
7. Remove garden equipment. Put away all garden tools such as the lawn mower, edger and hoses away when not in use. Also, if your budget allows remove that old umbrella-style hills hoist clothes line and replace with a retractable line in an area that’s not visible from the back of the house.
8. Finally, make sure the garden includes an outdoor deck or patio area suitable for outdoor eating. A simple and cost effective way to achieve this is to lay a section of paving stones flush up against the house, preferably outside the back entrance. Recycled bricks make perfect pavers and can usually be purchased from your local recycling or garden centre for very little cost.

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