Improving your garden adds value and enjoyment to your home

Some people don't like their existing home and yearn to change it, or even move to another house. They sometimes don't even understand what's causing their dislike of their current home. Understanding what's causing the problems with your current home often means that the issue can be fixed, and sometimes without lots of money or effort. 

In our previous articles we looked at some Simple home improvement tips  and we discussed How to make your home feel bigger and Simple Ways to Improve Your House Part 1 - Creating More Space and ​Creating more space in your home with extra storage

In this article we look at improving the outside of your home and easy ways to improve your garden.
​#homeimprovement #homeimprovementtips #homereno

"Does your garden need help? Small changes can make a big difference."

Improve the garden – creating a new outlook

​Improving gardens can make a difference to your property. This could range from a tidy-up and minimal cost, to a full-on landscape done by experts. Initial easy steps could be:

• Cutting back overgrown vegetation, even removing large trees that are excessively shading your house and garden.
• Removing old and tired looking plants, or ones that’ve become excessively woody.
• Tidying up mess.
• Installing a shed for garden tools (or even racks in the garage).
• Removing weeds.
• Adding mulch to garden beds. It’s amazing how covering garden beds with wood chips or bark can refresh the garden, and it helps retain soil moisture and reduces weed growth.

"It’s amazing how covering garden beds with wood chips or bark can refresh the garden."

• Fixing damaged, sinking, cracked and uneven paving. Even install new paving.
• Planting new flowering plants to brighten up the garden.
• Installing an automatic sprinkler system.

"Make your garden easy care. Most people do not want to be cutting lawn every weekend!"

• Making the garden easy care, which could include removing plants that require lots of water, taking out areas of lawn which are difficult to cut, and putting in plants that don’t require regular cutting.
• Adding a water feature.
• Removing dead areas of lawn under trees and planting shade loving grass or plants.
• Installing edging strips around garden beds to keep the lawn out.

"A compost heap is an environmental solution to get rid of kitchen waste and garden cuttings, that will create compost for your garden."

• Planning a compost heap. Adding vegetable waste from the kitchen with lawn and garden clippings can make valuable compost which can be added to your garden, reducing your waste and fertilizing your garden. Of course make sure it is vermin proof.

Add, or improve, outdoor living areas – enjoy the outdoors

"The whole household will enjoy the garden after a good makeover."

Improving the outdoor living area could add immensely to your family’s enjoyment as well as adding value to your property. This could include:

• Constructing a flat level area which has a paved, tiled or timber deck flooring.
• Constructing a pergola or covered veranda to provide shade over the area.
• Adding privacy to this area by erecting screens on one side which have creepers planted to cover the screen. Using other plants to form a screen, or even constructing a timber fence or wall.
• Purchasing nice outdoor furniture.
• If you’re feeling more ambitious, then building a barbeque.
• Installing large doors connecting the house to the outdoor living area.

"You do not need a large garden to make a welcoming and enjoyable space."

A new garden creates a new home

You do not need a large garden to make a welcoming and enjoyable space. Nor do you have to spend lots of money or expend huge amounts of energy. Garden projects can even be undertaken in phases as time and money is available.

Decide what needs improving. Start with a good clean up and trim back of overgrown vegetation. Plan what you would like. Look for garden ideas in magazines. Visit your local garden centre who will happily give you ideas and suggest plants you could use.

Gardening can be enjoyable and rewarding and it does not have to take hours of your weekend. Be sensible and use simple ideas and easy care solutions. Ask advice from experts, or at an extra cost get the experts in to do a complete garden makeover for you.

​Make more use of your outdoor area. Add value to your home with a great outdoor living area and garden.

​Other Useful Articles:
​Remodeling Versus Moving How to Decide
Renovate, Move, or Build a New Home

This is an extract from the author's book  'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses: Volume 2 - Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home' 
​© 2022 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

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Want to learn more about designing, renovating and building houses?

​Paul Netscher has written 2 easy to read books 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volumes 1 and 2'. An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 1 deals with Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home.  and Designing your ideal home Volume 2 deals with Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home. 
​("Great for those that DIY. Very helpful in home renovations!" said a Reader on Amazon.com 5*****)
These books are available from Amazon and other online bookstores in paper and ebook.

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