Creating Curb Appeal

This week, I’m discussing how to improve your home’s curb appeal! From individualized design plans to sprucing up on a budget, creating curb appeal is easier than you think.

Tip of the Week: How to Create Curb Appeal with Landscaping

We all know when we pass a home that has curb appeal. It stands out among the other houses and shouts “I’m special.” No matter the size, houses that have curb appeal have one thing in common, landscaping. From the very simple to the extraordinary, homes with curb appeal accentuate the positives and turn looking at them into an experience for the eyes.

Homes that have curb appeal are specialists in “layering.”  These homes have foundational plantings, and their owners have continued to create layers of plantings over time. Some of these plantings are more mature than others, adding to a variety of textures and heights.  

Next, homes with great curb appeal have a lot of color incorporated into their landscapes. Color can come in traditional ways through flowering plants or incorporating plantings with a variety of leaf and tree bark colors. When choosing flowering plants, personally, I prefer to work in color combinations of three. So, pick your favorite color combinations, some great ones are red, white, blue; pink, purple, white; or yellow, blue, and white. You can add these combinations through a variety of perennial (blooms yearly) or annual (replaced yearly) plantings.

Finally, homes with great curb appeal have waves of color and blooms throughout the seasons – and yes, you can even have flowers and color in the winter (some great examples are Lenten Rose and Winter Berry).  Generally, to add waves of color, buy just a few flowering plants and shrubs each season, do not buy all of your landscaping in one season unless you have a plan and know the bloom time for each plant. Garden supplies feature flowering plants and shrubs more prominently based on their bloom times or peak leaf color. So, if you make a habit of going back to the garden supply each season, you will likely get what is in bloom for that particular season.

The single best way to get the layering I’ve described is by working from plan. A landscaper designer can create a plan specific to your home, or you may find more general plans or guidelines online.  Either way, a plan will pay you back in dividends, especially when you go to sell your home, and can save you from the frustrations of trial and error. A plan gives you a list and map to refer to, and you can buy and implement as you are ready.

Question of the Week: How can I create curb appeal on a budget?

It’s easier than you think to improve your home’s curb appeal, even on a budget. 

• Assess your home: Stand back from your home on the sidewalk or street to gain your home’s first impression. Take note of trees and shrubs that need to be trimmed. Trim back tree branches and shrubs that are blocking the view of windows, entrances and doors, or have low lying limbs that touch the ground. 

• Enter as a guest: Walk to the front door as if you were a guest. Assess the path or walk way. Remove debris and take note to replace broken slate, brick, or old gravel.  

• Clean up: Clear debris from around your home’s foundation, replace light bulbs; and wash windows, light fixtures, walk ways, and the front door.

• Spruce up: Mulch around beds and trees, buy a can of paint to freshen up your front door, add a good sized potted plant on one or both sides of your door, add accessories like a new mailbox, kick plate, or house numbers.

There’s no time like the present to get started on creating curb appeal for your home. Have fun with it, and remember that you don’t have to do it all in one day, weekend, or year – start with a plan and add over time. And if you get stuck, feel free to reach out!

Send your curb appeal or other landscape questions to: PatchQuestions@GreenerSideLLC.com.

Aaron Gorski

Owner, The Greener Side Lawn & Landscaping LLC