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 Weekend
Updates for Your Landscape
By Melinda Myers
[May 24, 2025]
Adding new life to your landscape can seem
overwhelming. Tackling small achievable upgrades in a weekend can
get the momentum started and make a big difference in the overall
curb appeal.
Start with your door. Painting or staining the door can add new life
to a tired entrance. Look at your home’s style, siding and trim to
guide you in the process. Select a durable paint or stain suitable
for this purpose. Then dress it up with a seasonal wreath and fresh
new door mat.
Add a few container gardens to the steps. These make
a colorful welcome for family and friends. Include flowers that
complement the door color and your home’s siding and trim. Use reds,
oranges and yellows to draw attention, energize, and evoke feelings
of warmth and comfort. Create a sense of calm with blues, purples,
and greens. |
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Use containers that are scale appropriate for your
home. Make sure you can easily open the door when placing pots on
the front landing. Select containers large enough to support the
plants you want to grow. Choose tall and narrow pots to make a bold
statement in a narrow space and bigger containers or groupings to
make an impact at larger entries.
Include a few fragrant flowers to elevate the mood of everyone
entering your home. Sweet alyssum, heliotrope, nicotiana, and
nemesia are a few fragrant annuals to consider. Add some herbs like
lavender, Rosemary, and thyme as well as scented geraniums that are
sure to invite a gentle pet to release their welcome fragrance.
Freshen your garden beds with a bit of weeding and mulch. Weeds
compete with your desirable plants for water, nutrients and
sunlight. Many weeds also serve as hosts for insect pests and
diseases. Removing them improves the look and health of your garden
beds.
Once weeded, consider spreading a layer of organic mulch like
leaves, evergreen needles, or shredded bark over the soil surface.
Organic mulches help keep plant roots cool and moist, suppress
weeds, conserve moisture and, as they break down, improve the soil.
The finer the mulch, the thinner the layer needed, and generally, it
should be no more than two to three inches deep.
Edge planting beds as time allows. You’ll define the space, make it
easier to mow around, and slow the infiltration of grass and weeds
into the garden. Use a sharp spade or edging shovel to create a
V-shaped trench around the garden. Fill it with the same mulch used
in the garden. For larger projects, consider renting an edging
machine. You and your neighbors may want to join forces and rent the
equipment for the weekend for all to use. You’ll share the cost, and
no one has to store and maintain this additional piece of landscape
equipment.
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Update your address numbers, making them larger if
needed so delivery people, emergency services, and others can find
your home. You can purchase the numbers and craft your own sign or
order one online.
As you accomplish some or all these quick upgrades, you are more
likely to tackle larger projects that require more time, energy, and
perhaps money. You’ll appreciate each of these improvements every
time you enter your front door.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books,
including the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small
Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything”
instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s
Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and
contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned
by Summit for her expertise to write this article. Myers’ website is www.MelindaMyers.com.
[Photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com]
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