Plants like bright sun and intense heat, but only to a point. At the height of summer, when the sun is its hottest, some landscaping can become dried out and stressed.
Set Up An Automatic Sprinkler System
Moving and selling a house can be very time consuming, so when the home selling process picks up, you may find that you’re too busy to water your lawn. Take advantage of any in-ground sprinkler systems on your property. Repair any broken sprinkler heads at the beginning of the summer to ensure that your lawn will be properly watered throughout the season. If your home has no in-ground sprinkler system, set up a sprinkler and a timer to ensure that your lawn is watered regardless of whether or not you have time to do the watering yourself.
Keep the Grass Trim
Overgrown grass can be unattractive for home buyers, and can make your home look unkempt. Cut your grass on a weekly basis to ensure that your home’s lawn always looks its best for showings and open houses. Remember that buyers can show up or drive by at any time, so your grass will need to be cut even if you don’t have any showings scheduled. If you’re too strapped for time to cut your lawn, hire a gardener to help keep up with the maintenance.
Deadhead Throughout the Summer
Annuals live to produce seeds. Once they have flowered and seeds have been scattered, their growth may slow. Deadheading, the process of pulling dying blossoms from the plants to prevent them from going to seed, can help your annual flowers broom productively throughout the summer.
Mulch
Mulch can be used to hold in moisture and prevent your plants from drying out. Mulch also suppresses weed growth and hides organic debris like sticks and twigs. Before putting your house on the market, lay down mulch between flowers and in flower pots to help reduce the amount of time you spend watering and to ensure that your garden beds look their best.
Remove Brown or Dried Out Shrubs
Despite your efforts to water your lawn throughout the summer, some of your plants may still dry out and die. Dead plants and shrubs can be a distraction from the beauty of your property. Remove dead plants as soon as you’ve noticed them. Dispose of them in a trash can or in an out of the way location where they won’t be obvious to homeowners.
Install a Shady Spot to Sit
On a 90 degree day in the middle of summer, your lawn might seem hot, dry and overwhelming to home buyers. Providing home buyers and guests a place in the shade where they can rest and take in the scenery can help make your home more inviting and pleasant. Somewhere on your back lawn, set up a patio table, chairs and a patio umbrella for shade.
Upholstered padding and pillows will help make your chairs or benches a more pleasant place to sit when the weather is hot, but these pads will need to be kept clean throughout the summer. Dust off the chairs and clean off the table regularly to ensure that visitors will want to sit and spend time. During open houses and home showings, consider putting a pitcher of icy lemonade and a few cups on the table to set the scene.
Give Extra Water to New Plants, Trees and Shrubs
If you planted a new tree or new shrubs this spring, your new plants may not be fully established until they’ve been in the ground for at least a year. To ensure these plants survive the summer, you'll need to provide extra water, especially when the temperatures become uncomfortably warm. Add mulch around the base of new trees and shrubs to hold in this moisture, but avoid putting mulch up against the trunk of your trees. Mulch that touches the base of the trees could cause fungus.
Work With Your Real Estate Agent
An experienced real estate agent will know a lot about staging a property, and will be able to give you helpful tips to boost curb appeal. Before putting your home on the market, talk to your real estate agent about the various ways that you can stage your property and make your landscaping more appealing to buyers.
