Whether you are getting ready to sell or just want to improve the outside of your home, here are some tips for the exterior appearance of your home. 

Accentuate With Flower Boxes—filled with flowers along the bottom ledge of your outside windows can enhance your home’s architecture and colors. “Flower boxes have this cozy and charming feel,” says Jackie Mosher, co-founder of Dzinly, a company in Royal Oak, MI. “They can add interest, dimension, and some personality. The size, proportion, and positioning of flower boxes are important; don’t overdo it,” she adds. Not every window needs one. Maybe it’s just the large picture window or the windows on the second story. 

Change Lighting Fixtures—Bring in a statement light above the front door for a functional and dramatic home upgrade. A hanging pendant or chandelier on the front porch isn’t just for extra illumination. It can enhance curb appeal, The lights on the exterior should be your jewelry — your “Wow.” 

Oversize the House Numbers—The home’s address numbers may seem insignificant for the outside design, but they are favorite inexpensive home upgrades. Large format, sleek black address numbers can add a modern vibe to a home. Mosher says, “House numbers are like adding a statement watch to your outfit. It pulls it all together.”  And don’t forget the new front door. 

The house. The yard. It’s all a part of the American dream, right? But after a few seasons with raking, mowing, fertilizing, watering, weeding, pruning, and more, having a yard can feel more like an endless fever dream.

Having a yard doesn’t have to suck up every moment of your life. The trick is picking plants and landscaping materials that look good without tons of help from you. Here’s what to plant so you can reclaim some time.

Bushes—Pick bushes you don’t need to prune constantly. The time you spend trimming boxwoods into tidy little balls is part of your life you’ll never get back. Try Azaleas, Emerald Green Arborvitae, Hydrangeas, or Cryptomeria.

Flowers—Perennials are the lazy gardener’s friend. Plant them once, and they’ll come back year after year. Options are Coneflowers, Black-Eyed Susans, and Russian Sage.

Trees—First, buy the largest young tree you can afford, because a tiny switch of sapling might not become a big tree until you’re eligible for AARP. Second, don’t plant Bradford pears. Ever. They crack and fall too easily. Instead, plant these: Oaks, Crape Myrtles, Tulip Poplar, Cherry, and Easter Redbud.

Groundcover—Plant some groundcover instead of grass in places where there’s not much foot traffic. They’ll smother weeds, and they grow just fine with no help from you. Use Ornamental Grass, Golden Moneywort, and Ajuga Mulch

Mulch is your friend. Put it around your plants, and it will put the smackdown on weeds, you won’t have to water as often, and it’ll enrich the soil when it decays into the earth. Enriched soil means healthy plants. Healthy plants don’t get sick and die. Use Hardwood or Pine Bark

Mindset—”The reason we have a yard is so we can get joy in reconnecting with nature and lose the stress of our everyday lives,” says Patrick Beasley, a landscape architect. “Plant things that make you happy, and taking care of them will be a part of your life you enjoy.”

I sit on my deck and enjoy all the trees, flowers, and bushes not to mention the hummingbirds and other wildlife God is sharing with me. Try it sometime…

Until next time...Jeannie