Erin Pennings is a travel and marketing writer with a passion for family, food, and the great outdoors…including her garden. See more of Erin’s writing at SalmonatSeven.com.

What does a roof repair have to do with your garden? It turns out everything, since both are related to curb appeal. When upgrading any aspect of their home’s exterior, consider giving your curb appeal an extra boost with some stunning landscaping as well. Whether you’re already planning on doing a gutter upgrade, adding a retractable awning, or taking on a roof repair, follow these four simple steps to landscape with perennials and improve the first impression your home makes on visitors.

You can easily improve your home’s value by using landscaping to create beautiful curb appeal.

Because perennials, by their very definition, grow year after year, they offer a relatively low maintenance solution to your landscaping needs, and therefore to your desire to improve your curb appeal. As you implement permanent plants, your favorite annuals — a nice hanging basket, potted plants, or even flowers planted in the ground — can provide a stunning contrast that further boosts your home’s exterior. Landscaping upgrades can be taken on as a single major project, or as a series of small projects with a few plants, trees, or hedges at a time.

There’s no perfect way to landscape, but you can create stunning curb appeal for your home, by adding a variety of perennials near the house as well as in additional areas of your property.

1. Plan your landscaping layout
Regardless of the relative size of your landscaping project, it’s a good idea to take some time to plan your space. As you look at your home, it’s wise to have a photo of your existing exterior and to have some paper so you can sketch out your ideal look. As you begin planning, you may want to consider these questions:

• Where do you want shrubs – and where do you want trees?
• Are you looking to landscape just around your home – or do you also want to create secondary landscaped spaces?
• Are you wanting more flowers or more greenery?
• Do you want a manicured look with hedges trimmed to perfection or a wide variety of foliage?

Regardless of how you answer these questions, your responses will help guide you as you make a plan that will ultimately give your home the curb appeal you want. So now that you have a layout plan, it’s time to research your plants.

2. Research your plants
Maybe you already know your area and the best plant options, but if you’re new to the idea of landscaping with perennials, consider a visit to your local greenhouse. They’ll be able to help guide you with plant selection, not just for the initial look, but plants that will continue the look you want even as they grow. They’ll also be able to help you select the right plants for your climate, in terms of year round temperatures and rainfall. Once you have the plants either ordered or in hand, your curb appeal goals are within reach!

3. Prep the space(s) and plant!
To successfully landscape, you’ll need to prep the space. Ultimately, the greenhouse where you purchased your plants will have the best advice on what each plant needs to thrive. A few common steps are contacting your utility companies to identify where any power or gas lines are so you don’t accidentally dig into them. Next, you’ll want to dig out the space where you want to add plants. You may wish to add landscaping paper that hinders the growth of grass and weeds, but if you want grass to fill in around your trees, you may wish to forgo this step. Perhaps you’ll need to improve drainage by adding some gravel near the bottom before you backfill the hole with dirt. Or, if the bed is already there, you can just remove any existing plants, replace with your new perennials, and fill in the top with mulch for a beautiful landscaped look that contrasts with your greenery.

4. Accessorize
Just like accessories can make or break a fashionable outfit, incorporating the perfect accessories into your landscaping can really pull together your home’s curb appeal. Maybe you’ll want to complement your perennial landscaping with your favorite hanging baskets or other flower containers. Perhaps you want to include a seating area with a pergola, or even a beautiful bench. Consider adding some solar landscaping lights to create a high end look and have the bonus of illuminating an area that your porch lights don’t reach. Accessories don’t need to be complicated, but one or two well-placed pieces will make your home stand out.

Accessorizing your perennial landscaping with hanging baskets and beautiful in-ground flowers, or even sculptures and pergolas, will help you achieve your curb appeal goals.

Ultimately, there’s no perfect way to landscape to achieve optimal curb appeal, since beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you’re planning to stay in your home for some time, then go with landscaping that fits your personal taste and desire for upkeep. If, however, you’re planning to sell your home soon, you may wish to stick with a more traditional landscaping with a wider appeal.

What’s holding you back from getting started on a curb appeal upgrade? Schedule an appointment with us today to learn how we can work together to upgrade your home, so you can get started further improving your curb appeal with landscaping.

Written by Del Thebaud