Winterazing Your Home

Now that the summer is almost over and its getting cooler,its time to start preparing your home for the winter.Many of the preparations are pretty straight foward and can be done by yourself.During the summer,our gardens have provided a pleasant place to entertain our friends and relatives and its plants provided a great deal of visual beauty.Now is a good time to divide many of the plants and mulch the flower beds.This will help protect the plants and give them a good heads start for next year.While raking up the leaves,consider using the leaves as part of a compost heap.This material can be used as a natural plant food.It can help the plants be healther and more attractive.Proper use of mulch and compost can make the garden more attractive and help conserve water.
Fall is a good time to put on storm doors and windows.While this is work,it can reduce drafts and reduce heating costs. Talking about heating costs, its a good time to have your heating system tuned up and have the filters cleaned.While some filters can be easily yourself,its best to have a service person tune up the heating system.Both actions can help the heating system run more efficiently and same money.
These tasks may be the least enjoyable part of home ownership but its important to help maintain your property in order to help maintain its value

Landscaping at Home

As a Realtor,I have found that landscaping at residental properties is overlooked and under appreciated by home owners. It is my feeling that a home with an attractive garden adds value on many levels.A well established garden compliments a home and creates a much improved visual apearance for the home and rest of the neighborhood.Recent studies have shown that home values will increase if the home is well landscaped
Well placed shrubs and trees can add shade for the home and guests.Not only does the shade make guests more comfortable when visiting,but serves various enviremental functions.They can help purify the air and prevent sun from overheating the house during the summer and serve as a wind break during the winter,thus helping homes stay warmer during the winter.Flowering plants including native shrubs and flowers can enhanse the visual impact and help invite birds and butterflys into the back and front yard.Each house and neighborhood is different so care must be taken when selecting the plants.Without careful selection of the plants,the visual effect will not be effective or plants many not survive due to lack of sufficient sun or other climatic issues.Before seleting plants for the yard its best to contact a local plant nursery or landscape firm.