Are you looking to maximize your property’s curb appeal? This is something that’s too often overlooked, despite the fact it can make a huge impact on the value of a home.

Here are five investments you can make to maximize the attractiveness of your property today!

5 Simple Steps to Improve Curb Appeal

Paint Your Front Door

Adding a fresh coat of paint to your front door is one of the easiest ways to increase curb appeal. If you paint your door a bold color that compliments the colors of your house, you’ll be surprised at the difference it can make.

Add Window Boxes or Window Shutters

Window boxes or window shutters are cost-effective ways of increasing your home’s “wow” factor. Either window boxes with tasteful plants, or colorful shutters that coordinate with your home’s colors, can go a long way to increase curb appeal.

Plant a Few Trees or Flowers

If your front yard could use an update, consider planting a few trees or flowers. When someone looks at a home, they aren’t only looking at the structure. A well-kept front and backyard will signal to potential buyers that you’ve maintained the property in good form.

Invest in Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor lighting can also add a touch of elegance to a property. Sometimes all it takes is simply updating the light fixtures to make your home look more inviting. 

Rent a Pressure Washer 

If you’re looking to increase curb appeal, a quick cleaning can never hurt! Rent a pressure washer and wash anything that looks drab. Don’t forget to do the sidewalk in front of your house as well! 

As you can see, fixing boring curb appeal doesn’t have to be complicated! If you follow the five simple steps above, your property is sure to impress potential buyers.

Did you know that your home landscape and garden can be worth up to 28% of your home’s overall value? Because of this fact, it is essential to invest your time and money into the right landscaping projects. 

Here are four landscaping projects that ensure you will get a great return on your landscaping investment. 

Create a Lush and Low-Maintenance Lawn 

When potential buyers drive by your home, the first thing they are likely to notice is the state of your lawn. Investing in quality grass seeds and taking special care in the seasons leading up to when you are looking to sell will have a huge payoff. 

Once you’ve invested time into having a great lawn, consider ways to make sure it stays green using an automatic irrigation system like sprinklers. 

Sprinklers will keep your lawn healthy both in the dry months if you are too busy to water the lawn and will spare you the worry of coming back to dead grass after traveling. 

Add a Unique Space 

Although an all-grass backyard is appealing, adding a unique aspect to your yard will make it interesting. Consider creating a rose garden or zen garden.

To create your unique space, look into different grasses or plants that have significant meaning to you and draw attention to the garden. 

Use Year-Round Planning

Making sure your landscape looks good year-round is a great benefit to add to your home. Try buying and planting annuals for the summer, shrubs for the fall, evergreens for the winter, and bulbs for the spring. 

In a time where social media is all the rage, having a photogenic house should be high on your priority list. 

Increase the Privacy 

Investing in a new fence can be a great way to add privacy to an open backyard. Aim to choose a fence that will be aesthetically pleasing yet still do a great job of creating an intimate feeling yard. 

Final Thoughts

First impressions are important when it comes to selling your home at the best value it can be. 

For any landscaping projects that you may need extra help with, landscaping professionals are available to help you get a great investment return. 

Remember: Don’t overlook the lawn if you’re wondering how to boost your home’s value. 

After you plan the appearance you want for your yard and garden, it’s time to choose which landscaping projects to tackle. Some landscaping projects are better done in a specific season to give your plantings the best temperatures and time to grow. And sometimes, weather conditions make certain projects impossible.

Spring Landscaping Means Gardens

One of the best landscaping projects in the spring involves starting a garden. Whether you choose a flower garden or a vegetable garden, spring is the optimum time for most planting. Some fruits and vegetables need to be planted later in the season, but you should prepare the soil for them when you initially plant the garden. 

Summer Landscaping in Canada

Building a patio is the perfect summer landscaping project. You’ll create a beautiful space to enjoy the Canadian summer and fall for years to come. 

Plant Trees in the Fall

Fall is a great time to plant trees because it gives them months in the ground, establishing roots before summer arrives with heat and lack of rain. You can safely plant even young trees until the first hard frost. Avoid planting trees near structures to keep from having problems when the roots grow. 

Winter Landscaping and Planning

You may not be able to get outside and plan in the wintertime, but cold days are perfect for planning future projects or creating an ice rink for skating fun. If you don’t already have a pond to skate on in the winter, you can create a backyard ice rink with a liner and some boards.

Hire an Experienced Landscaping Company

Even if you’re not confident that you can do these projects yourself, you can still enjoy four seasons of landscaping projects by contacting the experienced, award-winning landscaping team at Neighbourhood Landscaping Inc. Call us today at (416) 333-5296 to set up a consultation.

Neighbourhood Landscaping is a leader in Ontario for updating and refreshing residential properties. We also like educating our communities and customers about the best ways to be safe and healthy. That’s why you should continue reading to see how to get rid of those nasty weeds before you’re sneezing this summer.

How Weeds Impact Health

Plants like pigweed, ragweed, ryegrass, and plantain aggravate asthma and other respiratory problems. This is a significant issue with children who like to play and run. Skin contact with poison oak, hemlock or ivy, monkshood, or buttercup weeds causes serious skin irritation in pets and humans. 

On top of that, weeds disrupt the hard work you put into keeping your outdoor spaces maintained and appealing. Weeds quickly outgrow the surrounding grass and plants. They take away sunlight, nutrients, and moisture that could be strengthening grass, plants, and trees.

Prevent Weed Growth

You can use pre-emergent materials to help prevent certain weeds, like crabgrass, from overtaking your property. Take note that this method may require several applications overtime to work effectively.

Getting Rid of Existing Weeds

A post-emergent weed killer may be the answer, as weeds will absorb the material. The material will spread through the weeds and eliminate unwanted plants.

Spraying vs. Pulling

If you’re dealing with a small area or a few weeds, pulling them out at the roots is a good solution. (If you’re allergic, wear masks and gloves. Avoid clothes like shorts that expose skin.)

Large areas may require herbicide. This could also be the option if weeds resurface no matter how often you pull them. The application has to be smartly applied, or you risk killing the wrong vegetation. 

Timing

Go after weeds early in their growth spurts. Weeds flower quickly. Yank blooms if you don’t have time to pull them completely.

Talk to Ontario’s Leading Weed Killer

Neighbourhood Landscaping lives and works in your community. We want it to look as beautiful as possible and to maximise air quality. Weeds are an annoyance, and we have a team of specialists trained to manage these unwanted invaders.

We’ll maximise your property so that it’s safe for humans and pets and enhance curb appeal so that you enjoy and entertain in your spaces. We’ll help you minimise the disbursement of seeds. 

If you’re finding your outdoor spaces getting overrun by ugly weeds, reach out to Neighbourhood Landscaping, Inc. for a free consultation today!

When it comes to your yard, you may think there is only one option for grass. There are many different types of grasses that you can choose from when landscaping your lawn. Here are some of the most popular options on the market.

Kentucky Bluegrass

Kentucky Bluegrass is the most commonly used grass for yard work as it spreads quickly and holds up well in cold climates. The grass does not hold up well in excessively hot or dry conditions but will bounce back when moisture is reintroduced. Kentucky Bluegrass has medium to fine leaf sizes and is dark green.

Kentucky Bluegrass is the best grass choice for areas that experience a cold winter, as it holds up the best during the winter months and, in some cases, thrives on the reintroduction of moisture that comes with cooler weather.

Perennial Ryegrass

Perennial Ryegrass is another medium to delicate leaf dark green grass that makes a popular alternative to Kentucky Bluegrass. The grass is more heat resistant than Kentucky Bluegrass, making it an excellent choice to mix into a Bluegrass mixture to make your grass heartier during the summer months. Ryegrass does not hold up in cold conditions, so it is not the best fit for regions that experience a cold winter.

Tall Fescue

Tall Fescues are a popular choice for warmer climates as it holds up best in warm, dry conditions. Tall Fescue is a delicate leaf green grass that thrives in open areas to get lots of suns. This grass is not fit for colder weather and should be avoided if you live in an area experiencing harsher, cold weather.  

In Conclusion

There are many different grass options that you can use for your yard, and the one you choose should be based on availability and the central climate that it will be growing in. Be sure to do plenty of research on the many kinds of grasses before making your final decision. If you need additional information about what grass would be best in your yard, contact Neighborhood Landscaping Inc to learn more.

Spring is in full swing, and you might be asking yourself, “How do I prepare my lawn for those warmer days and nights to come?” It all starts with a good plan.

Lawn Prepping

When I prepare my lawn each spring, I focus on the needs of my yard after the long winter hibernation:

• Food
• Water
• Protection

Prepare Your Sod

A good rule for a healthy turf or bed is a sufficient depth of six to eight inches for sod roots to take hold and germinate. You want nutrient-rich soil with high amounts of organic material, nitrogen, and oxygen. I prepare my lawn for the coming season by having the soil tested, achieving a balance of nutrients to fertilize my sod.

Watering

Grass has a shallow root system, and it’s essential to hydrate your lawn for at least 20-30 minutes for each zone. From March to May, I prepare my lawn by watering around my home when it cools off a bit—just before the sun rises or just after it goes down. Peak daylight can evaporate the water before it seeps into the ground.

Protection

The first defense to protecting your lawn is to check the covenants in your neighborhood. If no rules forbid you from building a privacy fence, it’s the easiest solution to reducing heavy foot traffic.

Those of you who live in communities where fences are out of the question can reinforce your existing grass traffic tolerance by blending it with a seed. Pathways helped me prepare my lawn for possible people looking for a shortcut through my yard.

The Final Cut

If you’re like me, you’ve probably owned a home with an established yard, or you’ve laid down new sod for a new yard; either way, I always prepare my lawn by starting with a solid plan each spring.

However, if this is your first lawn care year, having a green thumb isn’t a requirement. It is more about being prepared and following your plan—that’s what results in a lush, green yard.

Spring is the time for regrowth, but that can’t happen if your lawn isn’t in good condition. Canada is especially prone to heavy snow and rain during the colder months, which can take a toll on your lawn’s health. Preparing your lawn for the spring months will keep it healthy and beautiful.

There are three things you can do to help make sure you’re preparing your lawn for spring correctly. You don’t even need a green thumb for these easy preparation steps.

1. Take Care of Your Lawnmower

While your lawn is cycling through its life stages, your mower is doing the same. Months of non-use will take a toll on your equipment. Right as the weather warms up is the perfect time to inspect your mower. Give it a much-needed tune-up by sharpening or replacing the blades, changing its oil, and installing new spark plugs or filters. Your lawnmower will be doing all the work. Give it the care it needs.

2. Overseed Your Lawn

Overseeding your lawn is a superb way to prepare your lawn for spring. Overseeding your lawn will ensure that your lawn is full of grass instead of mixed with weeds and other eyesores. To overseed your lawn, you need to monitor the temperature of your lawn until it hits 10 degrees Celsius.

Once your lawn has hit that temperature, you’ll need to mow your lawn shorter than usual and rake up the area you want to overseed. This gives the grass a solid place to take root. From there, just overseed and care for the grass as you would any other plant.

3. Plant Dutch Clover

Preparing your lawn for spring might also mean planting white dutch clover. These perennials aren’t eyesores and have a massive impact on the health of your lawn’s soil. If you live in an area that gets incredibly hot, consider investing in planting white dutch clover. These clovers are heat tolerant and can aid in fixing the nitrogen in your soil.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like spring, which means it’s the perfect time to start preparing your backyard for warmer weather. With the season not quite upon us, though, it’s still a far cry from daffodil and tulip season. So what do you need to know when prepping your garden for spring?

Clean Up

Fall and Winter leave behind a lot of detritus, mulching leaves, and broken branches, not least of these. The first thing you need to do to prepare your backyard for spring is clear this mess away. You don’t want to do it too soon, though, because bees and butterflies both thrive on the minerals and nutrients left behind with the detritus. Still, if you want to get your garden spring-ready, a bit of cleanup is the first order of business.

Clean up isn’t just for the garden either. When you’re preparing your backyard, remember to clean up those garden tools too. A bit of soap, water, and mineral polish will stop them from cracking this spring and save you a trip to the shops.

Look After the Soil

Rubbish tidied away; the next step is to get to work on the soil. So, how do you prepare soil for gardening? Start covering the flower beds in anywhere from a half to a full inch of compost. This will add vital nutrients back into your soil and encourage this year’s flowers to flourish.

It’s also important to loosen the soil since all those months of sleet and snow will have compacted it. It’s best to do this when the soil is nice and dry, as it will crumble while loosening and prevent you from accruing large clumps of earth.

Need Help with Landscaping?

Prepping your backyard for spring doesn’t stop with the flowers going in. A lot goes into getting your plants healthy and happy. Neighbourhood Landscaping Inc. can help you spruce up your backyard and maintain your shrubberies. Our professional horticulturists are passionate and certified to meet your individual garden needs. Contact us for more information!