Tips from the Garden
Preparing to Sell? Start With Your Front Yard
Three simple landscaping priorities that can help your home make a stronger first impression.
By Bobby Lewis
Before a potential buyer ever walks through the front door, the landscape has already said something about the home. A front yard that feels cared for, intentional, and easy to maintain can help make the entire property feel more inviting from the moment buyers arrive.
If you’re preparing to sell your home, you don’t necessarily need a complete landscape makeover. Instead, start with three priorities.
1. Fix anything that reads as neglect
Begin with the things buyers are likely to notice immediately: weeds, overgrown shrubs, undefined planting beds, bare spots, and tired mulch.
Re-edge beds, refresh mulch, and prune plants that cover windows or crowd walkways. These relatively simple improvements can give the landscape a cleaner, more polished appearance.
One important detail: avoid piling mulch against tree trunks. More mulch isn’t always better, and excessive mulching can damage trees over time.
2. Make the entrance the focal point
Your landscaping should naturally guide the eye toward the front door—not hide it.
Keep walkways open and well-defined, and consider adding a few intentional touches near the entrance, such as seasonal containers or flowering plants. The goal isn’t to fill every available space, but to create a welcoming and purposeful approach to the home.
3. Choose plants that make sense for Northern Virginia
A plant that looks great today can become a maintenance problem later if it isn’t suited to its surroundings.
Before planting, consider its mature size, sunlight requirements, drainage, local clay soils, and deer pressure. For lasting structure and seasonal interest, options such as inkberry holly and Virginia sweetspire, paired with flowering perennials like coneflower or black-eyed Susan, can work well in many local landscapes.
Before the listing photos
Take a moment to stand at the curb and look at the property as if you were seeing it for the first time.
Ask yourself:
Does this yard look like something a buyer would be excited to inherit—or a project they’ll need to fix?
When preparing a home for market, the goal isn’t necessarily more landscaping. It’s the right landscaping, in the right places, looking its best when buyers arrive.
About the Author
Bobby Lewis is Vice President of Marketing, directing the marketing efforts of Meadows Farms Nurseries and Landscape and supervising four retail locations. With nursery experience dating back to the mid-1980s, he holds a Bachelor of Professional Studies and a Master of Business Administration. Over his career he has worked nearly every position in the retail division, from laborer to assistant manager to store manager and now vice president, and he managed the Meadows Farms golf course for many years. An avid gardener, Bobby’s favorite pastime is river fishing from a kayak
