Landscaping for Fun and Profit

Dear Pat,
My husband and I just bought our first house, which needs lots of work inside and out. We don’t expect to live here more than five years, and naturally we want to use our resources to get the best price when we sell. My husband wants to start with wall and ceiling repair, but I want us to work on the yard right away. I say the neighbors have waited long enough. Can you settle this?
---First Things First

Dear First,
Your concern for your neighbors is admirable, and you may be rewarded at the closing table as well as in heaven: I know of no home improvement with a better return than landscaping. I don't have hard data to support this, but I have seen that a $1000 landscaping investment can add perhaps $10,000 to value in just a few years-by making the home seem "just right" to a prospective buyer. Naturally, it's important to start planting trees and bushes right away-every year you wait can make a big difference in how mature and impressive your yard will look to a buyer.

Start with a top view of the house and yard, and lay out the design of how you want the yard to look eventually. Now is the time to plan for a future patio or deck-you'll want to plant complementary shade or light-filtering trees right away, even if you build the structure years from now.

Flower gardens add charm and value as well, of course, but they can be planted later. Trees and shrubs should be planted immediately, although the fastest-growing varieties will not always be your best choice-nurseries, books, landscape designers and grateful neighbors can help you make the right decisions.

So get your husband to put aside the trowel for a while, First, and hand him a shovel-think of it as digging for gold. May your backs be strong, and your ground soft!