How to Improve Your Home's Curb Appeal

Easy to maintain garden at Lewisville, NC house

If you are among the people who have migrated to the suburbs in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, you probably enjoy living in a home with a nice yard. Luckily, you do not have to be a landscape expert to maintain the exterior of your home in tip-top shape. You will surely find at least one helpful tip among our seven low-maintenance landscaping ideas for your Lewisville-Clemmons, NC house.

 

So, if you are planning to purchase a Lewisville, NC home, you are probably looking forward to spending your free time in your backyard. On the other hand, if you are planning to sell your home, having an attractive yard will improve the curb appeal of your property. Therefore, although you will have to make some landscaping changes, you can reduce the time and effort it takes to keep your lawn or garden looking good. Here are a few low-effort, practical landscaping tips you can introduce to your home.

 

1.  Determine what you want and what you can get

 

The first step is to assess your exterior area and compare it to your landscaping ambitions. This will allow you to plan out the rehaul of your yard successfully. Start by noting down the current state of your garden. There may be plants already there but are not that pleasing to the eye or easy to take care of in the North Carolina climate.

 

 

Also, consider the distribution of sunlight and shade in your yard. Perhaps the plants are withering due to inadequate placement. Another factor that could limit your landscaping options includes the pH value of your soil. You can test this with a pH test kit that will determine the kind of soil you are working with. This will help you pick the plants you can use, needed fertilizers, herbicides, and other treatments. It makes sense to invest in this analysis as it can help you improve your soil's nutrition. And the healthier the ground, the less maintenance it will need in the long run.

A woman watering her garden with plants and flowers, representing low-maintenance landscaping ideas for your Lewisville, NC house.

Know your garden to keep it low-maintenance.

2.          Change the hardscaping

Next, examine the hardscaping that is already there. Is the position of the lanes and the fencing taking full advantage of the potential of your garden? Is it in good condition? Think about your family's needs and preferences. Couples with children might be inclined to dedicate a significant portion of the backyard to a lawn where they can play or get creative with their kids. If you like to organize gatherings and celebrations, extending the patio or the canopy might be a good idea. Not a fan of metal fencing? You could swap it for an easily trimmable hedge to make things more green and private.  Tilson Outdoors is one such company that does great hardscaping work in the Lewisville-Clemmons area.

a gazebo and pond in a garden

 

A pond might sound amazing, but it is better to keep it real and stick to low-maintenance landscaping ideas for your Lewisville-Clemmons, NC house unless you want to hire a professional to maintain it for you.

 

 

These updates last forever, making your house more comfortable, enjoyable, and easily marketable. Potential homebuyers will appreciate your efforts, which will make your investment home easier to sell. 

 

3.          Plant drought-tolerant plants

 

Aside from their exotic appearance, going for drought-tolerant plants is also an excellent way to reduce water consumption, as you will have to water your plants less frequently. Therefore, you can plant succulents, trees, flowers, and shrubs that do not need much water to survive. Make sure you choose plants that match your soil’s properties so that the plants can take root in your garden. 

 

a garden with succulent plants

 

Succulents look great and do not require a lot of care.

 

 

Note that the first two years are crucial - some plants might require extra or timely care initially. If you are moving into your new North Carolina home and want to move some of your favorite plants to your new home, it is best to hire a competent moving company that will execute the transfer successfully. Replanting can be a challenging endeavor, so make sure you can reach any part of the state quickly and easily. Experienced long-distance movers can help. Even if they don't transport your plants in the moving truck, they will relieve you of the other tasks on the moving list, so you can focus on keeping the plants safe.

 

 4.          Choose easy to maintain shrubs 

Maintaining the lawn in perfect shape can quickly become a time-consuming, tiresome task. Your yard can look neglected due to overgrown grass in a blink of an eye. An appealing lawn also requires a good lawnmower, a good sprinkler system, and various gardening tools.

 

 

Instead of a big lawn, you should choose pest-resistant, easy-to-maintain shrubs and other plants such as resistant evergreens. Or, go for plants that are native to the North Carolina climate. This will cut down the pruning and trimming times and reduce the chances of your plants withering.

 

 

5.          Build your structures with permeable materials

 

Smart landscaping is not just a matter of planning and design. It is best to use durable, permeable materials to build structures in your backyard to keep everything as low-maintenance as possible. Hence, the patio, canopy, walkways, and other hardscape elements should be able to permeate rainwater into the ground and even water the flowerbeds. In this way, you will minimize erosion and put a stop to runoff. Some examples are organic mulches, stone, gravel, and any other material labeled as permeable.

 

 

6.          Minimize weeding to keep it low-maintenance

 

Weeds are a source of a lot of problems and work in landscaping. You should mulch generously around your plants to stop the weeds from spreading. You can use compost, tree bark, or stones to do so. Another way to minimize weeding is to plant your plants close together and avoid turning soil excessively.

 

 

7.          Do not cultivate demanding plants

 

As dashing as a rose garden might look, this is a potential time and money pit you'll have on your hands. Demanding plants require a lot of pruning, watering, fertilizer, and pesticides to reach their full potential. And even a slight unfavorable period might turn all of your hard work into dust. It is better to stick to low-maintenance landscaping ideas for your Lewisville-Clemmons, NC house to avoid wasting time and energy on plants or projects that are likely to fail quickly.