8 Ways To Improve Your Property’s Outdoor Appearance

~ Your outdoor space is something that everyone sees before they step inside your home. Whether you consider yourself a gardener or not, boosting your property’s outdoor appearance can have a number of benefits for your household, including the increase of value it brings to your property. So here are tried and true ways to improve the outdoor appearance of your property.

Hanging Baskets

Flowers and plants can help transform your garden and outdoor space into a more eye-catching and interesting area. Without so many different species of plants and flowers out there, you can really go wild with color to suit your preference or the color scheme of your home’s exterior. A typical feature to help decorate outside of your home are the bright hanging baskets. The Hanging baskets can go around the fencing of your garden space, off the walls or in a container box underneath your windows. They are a style statement for the home, an extension of your heart and can add a bit of color, happiness, and character to an otherwise bland-looking brick wall.

If hanging baskets in front of the window are chosen, green ivy or cascading plants, such creeping Jenny (one of my favorite options), creates a beautiful and delicate fountain-like effect.  As the plant branches spill out over the edge of the container, the wind motion mesmerizes the eye while the plants wave to the observer. One little tidbit of help is this:  when making a hanging basket, be sure not to fill it up too much with compost or planting dirt. Once you add water, the basket gets heavier and you do not want it snapping off and damaging any fencing or brickwork on the home.  Drainage holes in the bottom to let the water drip out are highly recommended. Worse yet, when the dirt is so overfilled that it spills out on the edge of the containers and lives dirty trails of spilled grey streams of water. Not my favorite site. 

Be Wise With Your Plant Selection

Depending on how much time you spend tending to your garden, you want to be careful with your plant selection. Some plants will do well with little attention, but some will need a lot more,  depends on the location of your living arrangement.  Think about your outdoor space and how well shaded it is or how much sunshine it gets during the day. This will help when it comes to positioning your plants in the right area. You may want to also test the soil to make sure it’s suitable for the type of flowers you want in your garden. Of course, the flower selection has to be suitable for your geographical region. Don’t get the tropical plants that your store is trying to entice you to buy way up North. There is a reason why zone areas are so important for various plant selection. If ever in doubt, call your local Master Gardener tall free hotline and they will be super happy to advise you if the plants you are interested in are suitable for your area or not so much.

Look carefully at plants and flowers before you buy them. You want to make sure that they are healthy and ready to be transported. Number one tip that I always advise is to lift the leaves of the plants and see what is harboring underneath. Rust, bug bites, viruses, and insect eggs would be a rude awakening to your whole garden if such a plant is introduced to your household. That did happen to me prior to my Master Gardening education and now, I would not dare, ever, purchasing a plant in the blind. Turning over the leaves and petals are the very first practice I do once the chosen plant gets into my hand 🙂 Recently I was purchasing a batch of tomato seedlings not too far away from my home. The nursery was local and I was quite happy that such selection of tomato seedlings was available near me. Turning over the leaves I noted a large number of beetle eggs. Oh my, that was quite disappointing. I did alert the nursery owner and to my surprise, he asked me to purchase them anyway and see what happens in my own garden. Now, I want to hear from you, my friends, how would you respond to such a request?!!! To make this story short, I did walk away emptyhanded and quietly protecting my property from foreign invaders. There are all sorts of humans, caring and opportunistic, thus, my point here is to make sure you see what happens behind scenes, under the leaves.

Incorporate A Herb Or Vegetable Patch

Your choice in plants does not have to just begin and end with flowers. With a lot of us wanting to become more self-sustainable, many gardeners are creating a herb or vegetable patch within their outdoor space to grow food for the household. Herbs can be very fragrant and therefore add a lovely scent to your garden if placed by an area where you’ll sit and relax or socialize. You can grow all manner of vegetables, which can save lots of money on your weekly food bills, not to mention the complete health benefits that only can be harvested with your own efforts. How about a very satisfying moment when you see the first sprouting of a herb or vegetable seedling? That scenery always made me humble in the presence of a miracle. Again, it is good planning practice to think about what herbs and vegetables to plant since they too will require different climates and various amounts of watering per day. Obviously, planting food choices will create different textures in your arrangement and provide grounding odors that will increase the sense of your wellbeing.

Add In A Water Feature

Water features are one of my favorite feng shui practices that I absolutely love in the landscape setting. Birds and wildlife appreciate the abundance of water also and you might see an exotic hummingbird or two enjoying the water sources. While I was writing this, my new visitor, the little tiny hummingbird paid a visit to my window. No, I don’t have the fountain near my computer, but colorful flower bushes that attract them. It has been a while since one visited me. Perhaps she knew I was writing about nature and had to be included in this story. So it is. I tried to make a video, but the elusive creatures flew away. 

Back to the water source: It might be in the form of a birdbath or water fountain, which is great for attracting wildlife. Perhaps installing a pond is possible and this again will attract wildlife but is also a great home for some fish. Building a pond is fairly easy, but think of where you want to place it first before doing any digging. You want to ensure you have lined the bottom of the pond securely to prevent any flooding. Our neighbors created a gorgeous koi pond oasis last week and I just had to include this option in here.  

Invest In Decking And Roofing

To give your property a bigger feel, installing decking, or having a patio roof may be just what you need to add some value to your property. Decking can come in all shapes and sizes and is versatile and durable for many a person to walk or jump on it. Using timber is eco-friendly and does well in all weather conditions with very little attention needed on it sounds like a no brainer to me. How about a patio roofing as an alternative style of awning that’s a little more stylish and modern. Such addition provides luxurious features to your home and operates as a motorized roof which you can adjust according to the weather. Keep yourself shaded from the sun or sheltered from the rain with this roofing. Both will add another dynamic element to your space so that you can enjoy your garden throughout the year, no matter what weather elements are thrown at you.

Get Functional Outdoor Furniture

Outdoor furniture is needed for your space to make your guests and your household feel comfortable. Sitting on the ground is fine, but it is not ideal, especially if the grass has been soaked the night before by wet weather. Sofas and sofa swings are very popular at the moment, and a sun lounger or two around a pool or on a decking area can be perfect for when the sun is shining. Bottom line is this: when you have a chance to rest outside, where are you planning to sit or lie down? Is there a safe and comfortable chair, at least for you to soak the outside air? If not, then, perhaps its time to treat yourself to something reasonable and put a flower pot near it with the plants of choice. Just thinking of that combination, makes me want to stroll my own whereabouts and see what I can create in different areas of my own patio.

Make It Private

No one likes a neighbor or passerby snooping into your home or garden. So a way to stop the unannounced visitors is by making your property more private. Large, luscious shrubs and bushes are great for outlining your property lines. Also, they are can be tall enough to stop anyone looking in when walking by. Another option is to have a sturdy fence around your home. Perhaps, it is a better security measure to turn strangers away than shrubbery. Fencing does not take too much attention, and maintenance but every so often, it’s good to give it a power wash and a fresh coat of paint. Give them a once over every so often to check for rotting wood or where the wood has split or broken off.

Light Up Your Space

Finally, during late evenings, the outdoors can look very dark and uninviting. Lighting up your space with some carefully placed lighting can highlight your home and gardens beautifully. If you have decking, it can sit nicely on top of it. You can position it along a footpath to outline where your guests need to walk. You can also create a dynamic look by putting them under or around trees, and plants to highlight certain areas.

Improving your property’s outdoor appearance is something you can easily do and maintain throughout the year. 

Make it a very green day, my friends.

Luda@PlantsandBeyond🌿

All photographs belong to Luda @PlantsandBeyond.com

©PlantsandBeyond.com