Armchair Gardening (Discussion 3) Contemplating Moving This year?

If this thought is on the back burner of your heart, gardening is a very important aspect of a fast sale at your price.

Just like they make a room deodorizer that smells like freshly baked bread and a car deodorizer that smells like new leather, curb appeal is important for the fastest house sale at your asking price. People will be looking at your house from real estate photos, virtual online tours, and drive bys. Be ready by creating the most inviting yard you can.

Consider adding plant material in places where you may never have thought was necessary, such as between shrubs and hostas. Placing some other colours amongst the green foliage will draw the eye to the warmth these colours bring.

Use more plant material than usual. You don't want to wait for plants to "fill in" but have an instant beauty just in case that buyer is on their way.

Add a planter on the front step and a hanging basket near the door - accessorize! If there is a back deck, it is critical that there be flower tubs on display. An especially inviting planter at the back door might hold a tomato with herbs spilling out of it.

What you want to create is an abundance of colour that softens sidewalks and fencing. You also want plants that are least maintenance and give the best beauty guarantee rain or shine, wind or calm.

Some suggestions are:

• geraniums
• petunias
• dusty miller
• fibrous begonias
• vines
• salvia - the common red and the exquisite blue victoria

No matter when a potential buyer comes -- morning, noon or night -- these plants will give their best show. In fact, after adding all this warmth, softness, inviting colour, you may decide to remove the sign and stay put! We've seen it happen.

If you're not sure and want some help with this, take some photos and come down and see us. We'll be glad to help you out as time permits.

Next post will address having an addition to your home: new baby, grandma moving in, foster children, exchange student

Armchair Gardening - Discussion 2

Hosting a special event this summer?


Every season brings something new to our lives. This year, if you are hosting an event in your yard room, you need to consider some things that might not usually be an issue for you.



For instance, if someone close to you is getting married, you might be asked to host a pre or post wedding event....and don't think it won't happen.....the list is growing longer of people who have frantically contacted us seeking instant beautification for some event they hadn't planned for ahead of time. We can usually help but you've lost all the enjoyment of planning a yard that expresses the feelings you want to convey for that event.

Planting in containers is the best advice especially when an event is being planned for your yard.

Why? Because they're like furniture and you can move 'em! Why would you want to move them?


Well, you can set them up in groupings for photos, you can line them up along walkways, you can place them strategically for a certain look for your guests.


You can move them into protection of garage, carport, or nearer the house when weather doesn't cooperate. Flowers planted in the ground are at the whim of wind, drowning rainstorms, extreme heatwaves, hail, and soccer balls and may not revive in time for your event.


You can even make some of them gifts to your guests! And....if you have to go out of town, you can take them with you or take them to someone else's home to look after for you. That's always easier than depending on someone to come to your home and water your plants.


We open for business on May 2nd this year. You can drop off your planters (emptied) and we will custom plant them for you if you are too busy with other responsibilities. You pay for them and we'll hold them till fear of frost is gone. We use mature plants and your colour schemes.


You can pick them up or we can deliver before June 15th, fully fertilized and ready to display.


We also have some fabulous decorator pots that you can just rent for the season, inserting your old pot inside the new one for an amazing new look.


And if your planters are concrete or some other "too heavy to move" container, take the measurements and we can probably plant an insert that you can just sit inside.


Any questions? Feel free to contact us.

Next blog we'll talk about enhancing your home if you think you might want to sell it.