The best place to start is, of course, having a healthy garden to start with. If you have not taken care of your garden, then the work needed to get things looking good in the short span of time leading up to an auction will be immense. Whether it is winter or summer, spring or autumn, you should prepare your garden for the challenges. From fertilising to maintaining the pH level of the soil, aerating the soil at the right time to growing the right kind of trees or plants, flowers and perhaps vegetables, everything demands some effort and focus.
Gardens are great selling points for buyers – they want to imagine themselves sitting in the garden, enjoying the summer sun.
When you have a healthy garden, it can be decked up like royalty. Here is how you can get your garden ready for an auction.
• Start with the lawn. The greener a lawn, the more attractive it is. Ensure that your lawn is well nourished, moisturised and fertilised. The three are anyway linked to one another.
• Go for mulch. You should consider organic mulch. Don’t opt for quaintly coloured mulch or mulches that look outright artificial.
• Try have some highlights. Most gardeners or homeowners who love their lawns will have some features to grab attention. It could be an amazing bonsai or a lovely flower bed, there can be some organic vegetables or a water feature. The objective is to have something that will accentuate the garden. You may also go for large pots, some accent planting or have doors and windows leading to and from the house that will add more character to the garden and your entire property.
• Fenced gardens are always a bonus. Your trees shouldn’t trip over the fence. There shouldn’t be outgrowth unless you have a plant that looks good when it grows too much. You should have painted fences or boundary walls. The garden needs to look neat. It cannot appear to be clumsy or unattended. Shabby walls or broken fences speak of the latter.
• Work on the curb appeal of the garden. Cleaning it up is the first step. You should not only ensure the garden is neat but also the area’s leading to and from the garden. Pressure wash the driveway, the exterior façade of the house, the doors and windows should also be cleaned, any fixture that is obviously visible should be in perfect condition. An amazing garden in an unkempt property doesn’t have the desired curb appeal.
