The weather in the Carolina's is starting to warm up! For most, that means strolling the streets of downtown Greenville, hitting the Swamp Rabbit Trail, or enjoying some the beautiful lakes that the Upstate has to offer. But don't forget to spend time in your yard, especially if you're getting ready to sell your home! A survey conducted by The Herald Tribune in Greenville, S.C. indicated "houses with "excellent " landscaping could expect to sell for 4 percent to 5 percent more than homes with just "good" landscaping. But those with only"fair" landscaping would sell for 8 percent to 10 percent below "good" houses. And according to a Clemson University Study, "Event taking your landscaping to the next level, upgrading from "good" to "excellent", in terms of design, condition, and placement, can add 6% to 7% to your home". So roll up your sleeves, get the sweet tea on ice, and follow these landscaping tips for your yard!
Budget and Plan
This is the time to decide if you will be tackling the project yourself or getting some (or all) assistance from a professional and that decision can usually be helped along by how much you want to spend. If you're thinking on the smaller scale like planting a few flowers or just getting the grass green, you may prefer to do it yourself. There are lots of sites that can offer you the right tools and info to get things going. But if you're going for an all out ---------, then you may want to contact a professional. They will be able to put everything into perspective and within budget, without lifting a finger. Either route you choose, you should really plan out where everything is going to go.The last thing you want is for your wallet to be as empty as the holes in your yard and for the whole thing to look worse than it did before you started.
Inspecting and Pruning
So you have the plan together and you're not going to be doing major overhauling. Simply cutting back, trimming, and cleaning up branches and debris will make a nice difference. Make sure you don't wait to long and start in the warmer months. Refer to the professionals or do your research on which plants to prune when and how. Pruning, when done properly, encourages healthy growth. If done improperly or at the wrong time, can harm the health of your trees, shrubs and plants.
Planting
This is where the planning comes in place. Did you have visions of botanical gardens in your head or were you just trying to add a little pizzazz? Either way we hope that native plants made the list. Planting native plants will be overall less maintenance and less costly. Some native upstate plants to consider would be azaleas and swamp milkweed. In addition to the cost and time benefits, Upstate Forever.org states additional benefits from planting native plants are runoff quality and quantity control, reduced irrigation, air quality control, non-invasive, and aesthetics, just to name a few.
Mulching
What better way to add that finishing touch to a yard than mulching. Mulch can come in a variety of different colors and materials. But besides looking nice, mulch has other benefits that are great for the yard! Moisture retention, regulating soil temperatures, and suppressing weed growth are just a few but major benefits of mulching. Make sure you research or ask a professional about what time of year is the best to do so.
So these were just a few of many things you can do to your yard to give it that little oomph it needs to stand out in the buyers mind or just to stand out on your street. Do you have some landscaping tips or pictures you would like to share? We would love to hear from you!