Dramatic Landscape "Quick Fixes" To Help Sell Your Home (or just make it more enjoyable)

Evaluating your existing yard may seem a daunting task but with this bucket full of tools you'll be on your way to taking your plot from "everyday" to "stand out" in no time. 

Many homeowners selling in today's market are not finding success, some due to the current economy, some due to nonchalance to details. Selling in today's market requires savvy attention to details to make your property a cut above.

I want to give you tools that will get you started and only require some thought, elbow grease and (maybe) a few dollars.

Tool #1 - Style - Determine the Style of your existing landscape so that anything you do will compliment the overall design. This may require searching the web or going to the library but it is essential as a first step. Here are a few examples in a broad brushstroke: Northwest, Asian, Mediterranean, Formal, Informal, Tropical, Desert, Tuscan, English. 

Northwest

Asian

Mediterranean

Formal

Tool #2 - Frame - Define your space. Any type of boarder separating your yard from the neighbors. This could mean a fence, a hedge, or masses of plantings surrounding the parameter of your property. This will give a sense of privacy and define public from private space. A mature landscape will be an advantage here, still you'll need to determine where you might want to fill in gaps. Those without a mature landscape should look for plants that grow quickly to maturity but keep in mind the overall mature height. Be kind to your neighbor's needs too. Whatever you plant will at some point give adjacent properties shade and may block views if too tall. Fences are not cheap but will add to the value of your home. Many times neighbors will split the cost of the fence bordering their property. No harm in asking.

The block and stucco walls in this desert backyard define the space and give privacy from neighbors and the street.

Tool #3 - Rooms - Become an illusionist. By breaking up your property into "rooms", like a house, it actually appears larger and creates interest. Even tiny spaces can have areas set aside for specific uses. A small patio furnished with a bistro set and a 22" Weber kettle suddenly becomes an intimate outdoor kitchen when surrounded by potted bamboo while a small grassy area beyond, viewed from behind the bamboo becomes an outdoor lounge when furnished with two orbital loungers and a small side table. If Tool #2 has been implemented you now have a private intimate space that has two rooms with specific purposes. On my third-of-an-acre, so far, there are five rooms just in the back yard. Don't forget those "oh so neglected" side yards as well. I have created some spectacular usable spaces in these forgotten wastelands.

This Seattle Craftsman side yard was dark, dry, and dank with overgrown old fashioned bushes. We trimmed up existing bushes and added shade loving perennials.  The centerpiece red Adirondack lounge beckons a book and a cup of coffee.

Tool #4 -  Access - Be intentional about directing traffic. The most important feature of your front yard should be access to the front door. Don't leave your guests guessing! The anxiety inflicted is almost intolerable when you approach a home and can't determine where or which door is the Front Door. The access walk should be 4 feet wide and the door should be clearly visible. If you have an enclosed courtyard just outside the front door consider installing a Speak Easy (introduced during prohibition) and keep the little door open so guest can identify through the opening the Front Door. Secondary access paths should be smaller at 2-3' wide determined by usage.

In many European countries you're welcomed with masses of flowers at the Front Door. At this French residence there is no question where visitors should knock.

Rule #5 - Site - Take full advantage of your site. If you have a mature landscape ask the question "what lies beyond those tall trees?" Get up on your roof and find out. Is there a hidden view, specimen tree, or sunlight you can let in without sacrificing privacy? Cutting "windows" in existing foliage can enhance your viewing pleasure. This may take some finesse but if you can capture a lost view of the mountains, the city, or water you've just increased your property's selling potential. All that will be required is removing a limb or two which usually won't detract from the tree's beauty if done correctly. Your neighbor may have a lovely specimen tree that would enhance your own landscape. Why not  "borrow" it? By removing an ordinary tree on your property you can enjoy the pleasure without the cost. After living in my home for two years I discovered I could have a view of the local golf course located high on a hill if I removed a few evergreens which were casting too much shade on my garden anyway. From the first day I moved in I've been working with neighbors to preserve  my view of Seattle, one of the reasons I bought the house. Most are more than happy to oblige if I pay the cost of removal because the proposals always benefit the neighbor by improving their property as well.

I have remove two trees from my property and two trees from a neighbors property in the past 10 years to preserve my view. A small price to pay for a priceless view!

By implementing these five tools you will set your property apart from the guy down the street and create a home that's inviting and exciting! 

Wine Country Gardens

 Whether large or small, you can bet that any winery will incorporate some kind of garden, usually with a theme tied to the wineries image, each one giving you an insight into the owner's creative design sensibilities.  I have always found design inspiration among these gardens even if the garden as a whole did not engage me. Its like a treasure hunt, looking for the best of a thing or a person, something that delights my soul.

Gates and Paths
A truly successful design incorporates engaging paths and a gate beckoning you to enter a new and different space.

This shady entry garden was a cool retreat from the mid-day sun at Chateau Montelena in Calistoga CA. The Baby Tears (Soleirolia soleirolii) between the entry's stone walk creates a medieval ambiance that fits tidily into the castle's provenance.

"Seems only yesterday I was eight,
swinging upon the garden gate. Now my Grandchild has taken my place, is running the races I used to race..."
Penniluck McGinnis

Rustic, wooden and spanning a ravine you may feel as if you are taking your life in your hands by opening the gate and stepping through. I'm not sure if this feels welcoming but it appealed to the explorer in me and I took the chance.

 

Half open, I had to squeeze through to enter an otherwise "closed" circle garden. I had to walk all the way around the circle to find the entry gate and felt as though I was entering a forbidden place that few had the patience to find. The reward...a serene, eclectic array of herbaceous perennials surrounding an overgrown water feature. The consistent use of cobble stone on the path and fountain gave a sense of order. Whether accidental or intended, I felt as though I had discovered the Secret Garden. 

The rose-scent wafted on the late afternoon breeze calling you closer. The gate, wide open spoke a "Welcome, come see my beauties." The steel path border and fortress-like fence brought order to the otherwise raucous antics happening beyond it. The juxtapoisiton of formal and informal has been used in garden design for centuries and heightens the interest of a garden space.


Objects, Statuary, Art
Operative words: Choose carefully!
Please, please, please...every object you place in your garden has a voice. What is it saying about you, your design style, and your space?

The incredible detailed work on this arbor screams "I care about details" even though the design itself is whimsical. Choosing a few well made pieces that make a statement speaks louder than many flimsy, cheaply made ones. Seen at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley, the statement is apropos.

Consider placement. The living rose adorns this garden lady's hair mimicking the stone flowers opposite and bringing life to a stone figure.

Silverado Vineyards installed a fountain mimicking a tropical bog with reeds and frogs. My take-away is how lovely the patina on the copper panels enhanced the sculpture. Without them the reeds would be lost among the similar colors of the stonework.

               

It's a small fountain with big appeal. Just look at the delight in this little cherub's face! Who can resist taking a closer look?

St. Francis has several pieces of wind art among their gardens. Located on the Napa Valley floor they are a natural choice and blend perfectly into the prairie style landscape. 

Repose and Reflection

Every garden needs places to sit and take in the surroundings. It might be tiny plants at the feet of a bench or a commanding view but every garden has something to ponder upon.

A simple terrace that provides shade, wildlife, and contrasting foliage creates a serene, restful ambiance.

The second story terrace at Opus One affords one a magnificent view in a modern minimalist setting. The trees, hedged at the top, obscure the building below and accent the view beyond.

At Benzinger in Sonoma Valley there were many settings for one to sit and view the garden and landscape views. If you have the luxury to provide more than one place to repose in your garden try to provide complete opposite experiences. Sunny vs shady, enclosed vs open, formal vs informal, etc.

With this view a seating area is a given. Located on a hill top, Schloss Johannisberg on the Rhine River in Germany, has magnificent views of the river valley and quaint villages. This seating area sits at the end of a long walk past the chapel and into the vineyards.

Wherever you are, inspiration for your garden can be found. All you have to do is go on a treasure hunt.

Garden Gleaned from a Neighborhood Project

Remember my post on the beautiful natural moss "gardens"? I took you through a property on Orcas Island that had wonderful padded swaths of various mosses. Well, I now have a carpet of moss in the corner of my backyard where I had previously laid a brick patio to support a Japanese Zen style garden. Let me tell you just how this "impromptu" garden came to life.

I live on a cul-de-sac that has a large center circle garden. It's been there for some 30 years. Our neighborhood decided that it needed restoration and updating. We contacted the city and got registered for their Neighborhood Match Program. The Neighborhood Match Program offers grants up to $5,000 for small neighborhood projects when matched by the community in cash, donated professional services, donated materials or volunteer labor. On Memorial Day weekend we took to the street and went to work.

Plants in our circle garden include Big Leaf Maple, Picea omorika, Junipers, and Abelia. With improper pruning, only seasonal rain water, and infertile soil, these plants were struggling. Moss, two inches thick, carpeted the north and east side around and under the tree branches. City ordinances restricted us from removing the "healthier" plants so basically we removed the Abelia and kept the rest. Once we began the work of removing the old bark on the shady side around the Picea, I noticed the moss was peeling off in large lushes green chunks...I just couldn't let it go to the yard waste! 

Reusing some of the old bark, I spread it in my shady garden under the drip line of a large Big Leaf Maple and around an existing reclaimed brick patio. Then I patchworked in the pieces of moss making sure each had good contact with the soil, and filled in any gaps with more reclaimed bark. Then watered well. I will keep it wet throughout the summer to insure that it gets a good start. 

www.mossacres.com gives detailed instructions on installing reclaimed moss.

Our center circle garden after all the work is done.

I procured deer resistant, drought resistant plants. 5 Arbutus unedo, 9 Lucothoe fontanesiana "Rainbow", and 3 Berberis thunbergii "Concorde". We pruned the lower and dead/broken branches from the conifers, removed the old bark, laid down new landscape fabric and laid new bark. We also received a $75 credit from the Neighborhood Match Program toward new locking mail boxes which were installed the following week. Visit your city website to find out if they offer such a program.