Category Archives: Outdoor Spaces

Making Your Outdoor Space Valuable

Your outside space is so valuable, especially if you live in the northern regions, as our time outdoors is so limited. Whether you are selling or dwelling, that space is valuable. It’s valuable to you for your enjoyment whether it is a small quiet place to curl up with a book or a large space to gather with friends and family.

It is valuable if you are selling as buyers can see how the house extends outward. It isn’t technically square footage but you better bet a nice outdoor space brings value to a buyer emotionally. This applies to decks, patios, and front porches.

My number one advice: TREAT THE OUTDOOR SPACE LIKE YOU DO YOUR INDOOR SPACE

  • KEEP IT CLEAN: Pressure wash or do a good scrub down in the Spring. Paint or stain any chipped areas. Brush off any cobwebs and leaves regularly.

Clean patio

 

  • USE AN OUTDOOR RUG: Rugs add a sense of warmth just like in your living room. It also defines a conversation area and can add color and pattern. Make sure it is an outdoor rug that will resist fading and dry quickly after a rain shower.

 

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  • BEING OUTSIDE DOESN’T PRECLUDE USING TEXTURE: There are so many fun outdoor fabrics that are water and sun damage resistant. Add in throw pillows and even an outdoor poof so you can put your feet up!

Pouf

 

  • DON’T FORGET TO ACCESSORIZE: Just like any other room in your home, accessories add the style and pizzazz to a space. Weather safe candles, lanterns, and even lamps. Yes I have a weather safe table lamp and floor lamp on my patio that I never bring in until winter hits! It feels so much like a true living room.

 

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Your outdoor space is valuable for so many reasons. Take the time to make it stylish! It’s nature so mix an abundance of color, pattern and texture. Have fun and enjoy your outdoor space!

 

It’s Time for Flowers!!

It has been a long grueling winter for many of us in the upper midwest. Record snows. Massive rain fall. And should I even bring up the incredibly cold temperatures!! I hope to never see another Artic Vortex!

But…..now we can take a deep breath and get outside. With that comes flowers for your house. Oh how I love planting all kinds of color in my patio pots and watching them grow.

 

Besides color I really love the whispy feathery plants. They add so much softness and kind of stick randomly through the other flowers.

I have tall narrow urns by my front door and every spring I love trying a different greenery that drapes down the side of the pot. 

 

 

I have even gotten to enjoy the pots I have in the shade that are filled with a variety of greenery and no flowers.

In Minnesota, they tell you that you are safe to plant flowers after Mother’s Day as far as frost but beat the rush and head out and purchase them today!

 

 

Flowers and Bushes that Assist in the Fight Against Mosquitoes

 

With summer comes one bad thing…..mosquitoes! Oh I hate that annoying buzzing at your ear and the horrible itching at night.

There are seven plants that you can add to your patio to keep your guests and you more comfortable without applying layers of chemicals to your skin.

Lavender 

 

Rabbits and insects won’t even destroy this plant in your garden. And is there anything prettier than multiply lavender plants in bloom. Place them in varied height pots for a stunning eye catching look on your patio.

 

 

 

Marigolds

 

Marigolds are hardy and can make great borders or you can even add them to your vegetable garden.

 

 

Citronella Grass   

Citronella has a distinct smell and there is a reason most patio candles are citronella. It is the most effective at repelling pests. This plant is low maintenance and does best in pots as it cannot withstand frost.

 

 

Catnip

DEET is the chemical most commonly found in insect repellent but catnip was found to be 10 times more effective than DEET in a study at Iowa State University. It did not state if your yard would be filled with the neighborhood cats getting tipsy. 🙂

 

Rosemary and Basil  

These herbs are great repellents and plant extra so you can use them in your summer recipes.

 

 

Scented Geraniums

The favored scent seems to be lemon which is similar to Citronella Grass. These fast growing, plants have beautiful blooms and have a strong fragrance that keeps pests away.

 

 

 

When it’s time for planting season don’t forget to mix in an abundance of this plants for a natural deterrent to a mosquito problem.