"It's easy," I say. "Compost and mulch! Pops of color! Water! EnJOY!" As homeowners prep their homes for sale, they often ask what is the best way to stage it for optimum ROI when the offers start rolling in from prospective buyers. Buyers (especially the ones enjoying lower interest rates!) will more readily respond to homes they can imagine as their own. Plentiful research on the benefits of staging a home suggests that sellers who invest time and creative energy (or hire a professional stager) in staging their homes have increased number of showings and offers, less time on the market, higher final sales price, and and a whopping 8-10% ROI on the cost of staging itself. What's not to love? In this order - the living room, primary suite, kitchen, and dining are of the utmost importance to yield that positive ROI.* What is the next most important space? The YARD/OUTSIDE SPACE! That's right: OUTSIDE is our happy place!
I've already offered some suggestions for Earth-friendly curb appeal. What about some Autumn-specific ideas now that we are putting the summer colors to bed for another season? Here in St. Louis, Missouri, we love our lengthy summers. We linger outside in November with average high temps in the 50s, and sometimes we pop open the grill in December, and enjoy sunny days and mild temps often through the New Year and beyond. Because of that, we have a hardiness zone that is hospitable to certain plants that couldn't survive the winters further north. Missouri ranges from 5b-7b, and most of the state falls into Zones 6a (-10 to -5 F) and 6b (-5 to 0 F). The St. Louis metro area is mostly Zone 7a (0-5 F). This gives us some great latitude in choosing and caring for our arbor-elders and plant-kin to give us that gorgeous Autumn feeling, when crisp blue skies meet sunshine, luxurious colors, and that oh-so-seductive changing of the leaves.
Let's get started thinking about your Autumn show at home!
Before you go crazy at the nursery, make a design plan. No, really. This is a crucial step. Create a space by first extending your sensory perception in all directions. When your family, guests, or buyers come to your home, the welcoming sign of a healthy yard/garden will let them know it's not just safe and inviting to enter, they'll want to linger longer. And lingering often leads to making an offer!
Design by listening to the land, and to your own soul as it responds. Capture the best features of your home/yard by playing off the natural soul-scape that most speaks to you. If you love lingering in a certain spot, go there, breathe it in, get the perspective of the light, check on how much water it's getting (or needs), and what wildlife hang out there.
You want wildlife, by the way. Especially birds. Our avian-kin are the guardians of the forest/garden. They transport seeds, consume disease-bearing insects, and make sure water is plentiful for living plant-kin to thrive in your garden. Burrowing creature-kin aerate the soil. Manifold insect varieties provide plentiful food for birds, and we all know how important the pollinators are for every being in the eco-system. So, draw them to your garden. Give them the VIP treatment with pollinator plants, plentiful water, and you've got it - milkweed!
Now, how's the soil content? Give it a shot of whatever it needs. Usually, compost helps balance what's lacking, so you can start there. Check with your master gardener if you need help. Next, check for slope/runoff potential. Where's your water source? Can you capture rain? Put in a gentle water feature? Water is life for what's outside, so be sure you tap its miraculous powers wisely.
Now, put your keen eye/photograph to paper. Map it out. Use a rope/garden hose to mark the borders. Get your border in place, and till the soil. Put your weed barrier down, and don't skimp on the good stuff. Make sure you have great soil (and lots of compost!) ready for your new/transplanted beauties. Design it with an eye to simplicity and maintenance.
Curves mimic the shape of the globe, and our beautiful eyes. When we see curves in the landscape, our eyes and brains relax. Our shoulders and neck muscles relax. Just being around curves helps us chill. Imitate those curves in your garden. Layer the species, high growers in back, lower-growing shrubs to ground covers in front, and make sure they will get adequate sunlight, water, and nourishment. Borders make the plants happy, and also make yard care a breeze. Don't forget the compost and mulch! And don't suffocate your saplings and new plants with rock/mulch right up next to their trunks. Leave a little room.
First, with the help of an arborist, select (or highlight existing) trees:
Native species that bring the autumn color: For golds - river birches, hickories, and ginkgos. For oranges-reds: red and sugar maples. For yellow-orange/reds: serviceberries and black gums
Plant deep enough, but not too deep - follow the instructions! Water and mulch.
Second, with the help of a (master) gardener, pick (or highlight existing) shrubs, to delight and invite:
Native species that bring the color: Chokecherries, dogwoods, sumacs, spirea, weigela, viburnum, sweetspire, mums - Be sure to select a few shrubs with berries for year-round color and food for the wild-kin!
Plant deep enough, but not too deep - follow the instructions! Water and mulch.
And don't forget the evergreens to set off the vibrant colors: Arbor vitae, junipers, spruces, pines, and yews. They're calling "Yew-hoo!"
If you're planting, compost and mulch. Water. Repeat. Repeat. Living plants cannot breathe, eat, go deeper, and rest without the necessities. Until the first hard freeze, take good care of your arbor- and plant-babies!
One more thing. Fall is beautiful with the riot of golds, oranges, reds, and purples, yes! The delight is that life is so full right before dormancy, when Earth goes to sleep for those of us who experience winter chills and frozen tundra. But don't forget spring is right around the corner. Fall is a great time to plant your spring bulbs, so that when that tender Earth starts melting, tendrils unfurl, and the first daffodils, hyacinths and tulips will delight you to your toes! Buyers who have been waiting out the winter will be greeted by the riot of spring color and fragrance, and you will be happily party to the next family's tremendous growth and joy in their new home while you are off to your next adventure!
Happy planting!
*National Association of Realtors, "Profile of Home Staging" https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/profile-of-home-staging
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