Five Ways to increase the value of your home through your garden:
Keep it in good condition
Keeping your garden tidy and well maintained can make a huge difference to potential buyers – An overgrown or poorly maintained garden is likely to put buyers off, as this will represent yet more work on moving in. Mowing the lawn, weeding and pruning hedges back are all small jobs, but ones that can make the world of difference to the look and feel of the area – remember, the garden is now considered an extra room, and you need to treat it as such. Your home insurance should cover your garden as well, in case of any accidents or disasters.

Appeal to different people
While your idea of the perfect garden might be one that’s completely paved, you must remember that your garden needs to appeal to all, and as such you should consider the different uses people may have for it. A patio is always a good idea, but large uncluttered areas of grass make ideal areas for children. A glass veranda and some patio furniture makes a nice outdoor dining area, and it’s things like this that will sell your property.

Plan for the whole year
Your garden needs to look attractive all year round – it’s no good having a fantastic haven in the summer that’s reduced to a dead wasteland in the winter. Although winter shrubs may not have the same visual impact of summer flowers, but they will keep your outdoor space green in the summer months.

Plan your time well
Keeping tabs on your garden throughout the year will mean that there’s never too much to do, and will make your life easier. In the Spring, plant seeds, remove weeds and prune trees and hedges, maintain and water blooming flowers and lawns in the Summer, plant bulbs and compost leaves in the Autumn, and keep any paved areas tidy and maintained in the Winter – the cold can play havoc with slabs and other stonework.

Build extra storage
The tidier your garden the better – and for those with limited interior space, a shed or metal storage unit represents extra storage space that might be lacking in the house, and give people somewhere to store bikes, lawnmowers and the likes that they normally wouldn’t be able to.

This article was written by Chris Spann from Moneysupermarket.com.