Dear Heather,

I am going to be putting my house on the market in a couple of months, is there anything I should be doing now to get it ready?

Home Seller

Dear Home Seller,

One of the best things you can do to give your house instant curb appeal, besides the usual exterior repairs and painting, is prepare a beautiful garden — and now is the time to do it!

March is a bit of a guessing game in the garden. Will it warm up soon? Will it stay warm? Will the rains start/stop? About the only thing we can count on is that March, too, shall pass. So go ahead and push the envelope a bit.

You should have your seeds started, trees and shrubs pruned and your tools ready to go. After that, the most important thing is to have patience. It’s tempting to take advantage of warm days, but even in Bermuda winter gets the last word in the garden.

Here are some gardening tips to take with a spoonful of judgment:

Chores for spring would include:

• Prepping the soil. Adding manure, fertilisers, mulching, etc

• Pruning back shrubs and bushes so they’re ready for the new spring growth. The rule of thumb is to remove any dead wood; dead heading always encourages blooming.

• Raking up leaves and picking up branches blown down during the winter (start a compost heap).

• Dealing with insects as the weather warms; slugs and snails love that wet winter weather.

• Fertilising grass, adding weed and feed if required.

• Repotting and refreshing potted plants.

• Pulling up all weeds and plants that are not doing well, or too big for the flower bed.

• Avoiding walking on wet soil in the garden.

• Trimming and fertilising rose bushes, clipping off areas that have been damaged by winter winds. Bermuda rose bushes bloom prolifically until May or June, when they typically “rest” because of the hot weather.

• Transplanting container-grown citrus trees. Fertilise established trees now but wait four to six weeks to feed newly planted trees.

• Replacing cool weather annuals with summer varieties.

• Planting summer bulbs, tubers, etc, like blood lily, caladiums and canna lily.

• Planting bedding plants like petunia, daisies, begonias and impatience.

• Watering, especially new plants.

Nurseries all have a fabulous supply of spring plants, pots and even raised wooden vegetable gardens.

Your garden will look fabulous in a couple of months’ time; the bedding plants will have grown up, small shrubs will be established and older bushes and shrubs will have new growth. Have fun! Happy planting!

• Heather Chilvers is among Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty’s leading sales representatives. She has been working in real estate for 25 years. If you have a question for Heather, please contact her at hchilvers@brcl.bm or 332-1793. All questions will be treated in confidence. Read this article on Facebook: Ask Heather Real Estate