7 Landscaping Mistakes That Wreck Curb Appeal
Don’t
let badly designed or maintained landscaping wreck your home’s curb appeal.
Here are pitfalls to avoid.
Clumsy,
neglected, and hodgepodge landscaping not only hurts your home’s curb appeal,
it can cut the value of your property and make it harder to sell.
Real
estate appraisers say bad landscaping is a buyer turnoff that can increase the
number of days a property languishes on the market, which also hurts prices.
“I’ve
been with clients who won’t even go into a house because of the bad landscaping
outside,” says Mack Strickland, a Chester, Va., REALTOR® and appraiser.
Even
more important, bad landscaping is a downer that hurts the way you see and
enjoy your home.
Don’t
let bad landscaping happen to you. Here are the seven landscaping
mistakes that bust, rather than boost, your home’s curb appeal.
1.
Planting Without a Plan
Some
landscaping choices, such as a line of begonias, will last a season; others,
like trees, can last a lifetime. So, take time to plan and plot a yard that
gives you maximum enjoyment and curb appeal.
For
the design challenged, landscape architects are worth the investment ($300 to
$2,500 depending on yard size). They will render elevations of your future
yard, and provide plant lists so you can install landscaping yourself.
2.
Too Much Togetherness
Yes,
planting in clusters looks way better than installing single plants,
soldier-like, throughout your yard. But make sure your groups of perennials,
shrubs, and trees have plenty of room to spread, or they’ll look choked and
overgrown. Also, over-crowded landscaping competes with itself for food and
water, putting the clusters at risk, especially during drought.
Google
how high and wide the mature plant will be, and then combine that info with the
spacing suggestions on planting labels. At first, garden beds of young plants
will look too airy and prairie-like. But within three years, your beds will
fill in with room to grow.
Remember:
First year it sleeps, second it creeps, third it leaps.
3.
Zoning Out
Don’t
be seduced by catalog plants that look gorgeous on paper but aren’t suited to
your hardiness zone. You’ll wind up with plants that die prematurely, or
demand winter covers, daily watering, and other intensive efforts to keep them
alive and well.
Check
plant labels to see which hardiness zones are best for your plants.
4.
More of the Same
Resist
the design temptation to carpet-bomb your yard with your favorite plant or
shrub, which will create a boring, monochromatic landscape. Worse, your yard
will look great when your fave flowers bloom, then will look drab the rest of
the year.
Mix
things up and strive for four-season color. For example, combine
spring-blooming azaleas with summer-blooming roses and autumn-blazing shrubs --
such as burning bushes (Euonymus alatus).
For winter color, try the red osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera),
a hardy shrub that sports bright-red branches in winter.
5.
Refusing to Bury Your Dead
Nothing
wrecks curb appeal faster than rows of dead or dying shrubs
and perennials. So quickly remove your dearly departed landscaping from
your front and side yards.
Spent
plants that lived their natural lives are good candidates for a compost
pile -- if you grind them first, they’ll decompose faster. But if your
landscaping succumbed to disease or infestation, it’s best to inter them in
black plastic bags, then add to the trash.
6.
Weeds Gone Wild
Weeds
not only wreck the look of your landscaping, they compete with pricey
vegetation for water and food. Weeds also can shorten the life of
brick, stone, and pavers by growing in mortar cracks.
The
best way to stop weeds is to spread a pre-emergent about three weeks before
weed seeds typically germinate. If you can’t stop them from growing, at least get
rid of weeds before they flower and send a zillion weed seeds throughout
your yard.
7.
Contain Those Critters
Deer,
rabbits, and other backyard pests think your landscaping is an
all-you-can eat buffet, leaving you with denuded branches and topless
perennials.
If
you’ve got a critter problem:
·
Plant deer- or
rabbit-resistant varieties. Your local extension agent can provide a
list of green things critters won’t eat in your area.
·
Install an electric
fence around landscaping you want to protect.
·
Spray plants with critter
repellent. After a hard rain, spray again.
When you are wondering about a new location for your landscaping talents, just call, text or email
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