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Looking to sell your home soon? Good curb appeal creates a strong first impression for buyers, setting a promising tone for the rest of their home tour. Upgrading your landscaping with new plants for the front of the house and flowers is a cost-effective way to improve the looks of your property and can easily be done in a weekend. Read on for our favorite varieties and how to incorporate them into your landscaping or hardscaping.
Boxwoods
When you’re ramping up your curb appeal, start with evergreens that give structure to your yard. Boxwoods make great foundation plants and come in many sizes, so you can also add them to beds and borders.
Mix in annuals and other plants with year-round interest, says Julie Arnold Camp, a realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Metro Brokers in Atlanta. “Annuals give color during the length of the listing. Using pots is also a good idea to add seasonal color, or to add color to an area that has no interesting character.”
Tip: flats of annuals are usually cheaper than individual plants.
LEARN MORE: 26 Annual Flowers for Year-Round Color
Roses
Roses aren’t attractive in the winter, and even when they’re blooming, they often need pruning, fertilizing and spraying. But some roses, like the Knock Out family, are low-maintenance, which many homebuyers know and appreciate, and they produce spectacular flowers from spring until frost.
Tip: Smaller Drift roses, which mature around 18 inches tall, are also easy to grow and make a pretty groundcover for sunny spots.
LEARN MORE: Growing Double Knock Out Roses
Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas give you a lot of bang for your curb-appeal buck. They’re easy to grow, need little care and put on a spectacular show when they bloom. Most of these flowering shrubs prefer morning sun with afternoon shade and are hardy in Zones 4 or 5-9. ’Invincibelle Mini Mauvette,’ shown here, is hardy in Zones 3-9 and takes full sun.
Tip: If you use lush, leafy hydrangeas to camouflage an unsightly foundation, leave a couple of feet between the plants and the house so they have room to spread.
LEARN MORE: How to Plant, Grow and Care for Hydrangeas
Front Door Urns
For fast curb appeal, post urns on each side of your front door, and plant them with feathery-textured Pinpoint Blue false cypress. These evergreen shrubs grow into tall, narrow columns, so they won’t block your entrance. Here, they’re underplanted with ‘Spot On’ lungwort (Pulmonaria); the pink buds will open into blue flowers. The urns also hold yellow pansies, creeping phlox, calibrachoas Superbells Honeyberry and Shadowland ‘Autumn Frost’ hostas.
Tip: Urns are also ideal for growing topiary plants.
FIND MORE IDEAS: 20 Ways to Use Large Garden Containers
Hostas
Bare spots under your trees don’t make a good impression when you want top dollar for your home. Tuck shade-loving hostas into those areas or use them around shrubs and in borders. Their flowers aren’t showy, but their leaves, which come in shades of green, gray, blue, cream, and yellow-gold, are standouts. Choose small, medium or large varieties; most are hardy in Zones 3-9.
Tip: Add containers of shade-loving begonias and impatiens for pops of color. Shown here: Shadowland ‘Autumn Frost’ and Shadowland ‘Coast to Coast.’
LEARN MORE: Hostas: How to Plant, Grow and Care for Hostas
Annuals
Inexpensive annuals are easy to establish and they make good fillers when your bulbs, perennials or flowering shrubs stop blooming. For fast curb appeal, pop them into containers, hanging baskets or window boxes for splashes of color. Marigolds, petunias and geraniums are popular and easy to grow.
Tip: If you’re selling in the cooler months, try flowers like pansies and mums or ornamental kales and cabbages. Supertunia ‘Bordeaux,’ pictured here, blooms profusely until frost.
LEARN MORE: 22 Easy-to-Grow Annual Flowers That Thrive in the Shade
Arborvitae
Fast-growing, evergreen arborvitaes are available in a range of sizes and are popular to use as hedges, privacy screens and borders. True to its name, Mr. Bowling Ball arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Bobazam’), shown here, grows into a spherical shape. Since it tops out around 30 inches tall and wide, it doesn’t need pruning. Dress up your foundation or let these compact shrubs edge a walkway or driveway. Hardy in Zones 3-8, Mr. Bowling Ball is also great for containers.
Tip: Some arborvitaes grow faster and some are more drought-tolerant than others. Read the plant’s tag or label to be sure it will suit your needs.
Mailbox Plants
Don’t forget to see your mailbox as a potential buyer will see it. If it’s a plain Jane, dress it up with a mix of plants. Try evergreens like compact inkberry holly Gem Box, assorted perennials and colorful annuals like ColorBlaze Lime Time coleus or Luscious Berry Blend lantanas. Choose sun lovers for a spot that gets full sun.
Tip: Avoid plants that need frequent watering, unless you have a faucet nearby.
Azaleas
Catch a buyer’s eye with sweeps of azaleas planted in beds or around your mailbox or porch. Most are hardy in Zones 6-9 and need filtered sun or a spot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade. The shrubs come in a variety of colors and sizes.
Tip: If your budget is tight, put a few dwarf azaleas in containers near your entrance, or choose reblooming types that flower in spring and again in summer. Pictured here: Encore Azalea ‘Autumn Carnation.’
SEE MORE PHOTOS: Stunning Biltmore Estate Azaleas
Portulacas
You don’t have to spend a lot of time or money to amp up your home’s curb appeal when you fill matching containers with heat and drought-tolerant plants. Yellow pots complement the Mojave series of portulacas in bold colors like fuchsia, pink, red, yellow and tangerine. Portulacas, also known as purslane, sun roses and moss roses, are nearly carefree annuals that bloom vigorously in sunny spots.
Tip: If your home doesn’t sell right away, and the seasons change, just pop out the plants and replant with flowers or foliage in different colors.
LEARN MORE: Drought- and Heat-Tolerant Annuals
Daylilies
Sun-loving daylilies add cheerful color to your home when they’re planted in masses. These tough perennials tolerate heat, drought and many pests and diseases. Grow early, mid- and late-season varieties, and you’ll have a flower show that lasts for weeks.
Tip: If your home doesn’t sell, divide the clumps after the flowers fade and you’ll have extra daylilies to plant. This variety is Rainbow Rhythm ‘Going Bananas.’
LEARN MORE: How to Grow Daylilies