gardens Blog - HomeTruths

Spring is such a lovely time of year. Many of the houses we work with at HomeTruths are rural or village homes, surrounded by fields and woodland, and look absolutely beautiful at this time of year. I love how the flowers count down the weeks until summer too, starting with the snowdrops, then the daffodils, and of course the beautiful bluebells.

Lots of our clients are really pleased when their photographs and brochure feature their beautiful gardens, complete with seasonal flowers. However, I have to explain that whilst it’s true that they do look so pretty, they unfortunately date the photography, and therefore the date the house first came to market, for their buyers to see. I can look at property photography and date it within about 4 weeks, and that may be information you don’t want to share with your buyers.

There are some weeks between spring and autumn when it’s reasonably safe to photograph a garden without giving too much away. A good property photographer will exclude any tell-tale flowers if he possibly can, and give you the best chance of achieving an attractive brochure that doesn’t date.

So – no daffodils please; and if your photographs can be ‘dated’, it’s time to give your agent a call and ask him to arrange for new ones. Tell him Sam said so.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Just seconds into a first meeting we form an impression of people based on their appearance and how they’re dressed, and it’s much the same with the first sight of a front garden.

If you’re selling your house the prospective buyer will quickly form an opinion of what the inside of the house is like, based on the appearance of the front garden and entrance to the house.

Try to imagine what the house looks like to a first-time visitor, take a photo from the entrance and see what this reveals.
These simple steps will help to create a smart, stylish exterior:
• Clear any old leaves and debris, sweep paths, clean windows

• Move any dustbins or recycling boxes out of sight

• Remove any flower pots with dead or unattractive plants

• Replace collections of numerous small plant pots with few larger ones

• Use plant pots of similar material, type and colour

• If there is any grass, cut it and trim the edges

• Cut hedges

• Fill containers with single colour (much smarter than mixed colours) bedding- plants for a quick fix. Match the flower colour to the paintwork of the house, or choose a contrasting colour.

• Use light eg white or pale yellow flowers, to bounce some light into shady areas.

• Invest in some smart lollipop-shaped topiary shrubs to place either side of the entrance, and as long as you remember to tell your buyer that they’re not included in the sale, you can take them with you.

Then just sit back and wait for the compliments!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.