Flowers Can Help You Sell Your Home

RTP, NC – Realtors say curb appeal is one of the most important tools to help you sell your home.

"Planting flowers is one of the least expensive ways to make the front of your house look inviting," says Bayer Advanced Garden Expert Lance Walheim, co-author of Landscaping for Dummies. "lt's like putting out a welcome sign that entices buyers."

Don't just run out and buy a bunch of flowers and stick them in the ground. Planning goes a long way toward putting more money in your pocket. Select plants with staggered bloom periods for the longest season of color and mix in different plant textures, shapes and sizes, says Walheim.

Contrast dark- and light-colored flowers, such as light yellows with dark blues, for example. And it's not always about blooming plants. Dramatic foliage, bright berries or fruit and even colorful branches can all contribute dramatic hues.

Quick-blooming annuals will last a growing season and are easy to plant from a tray of flowers. Consider pansies, violas, calendulas and primroses for spring color, as well as zinnias, marigolds and vinca for color all summer long.
Consider perennials such as campanula, dianthus, geranium and phlox for spring and early summer; yarrow, coreopsis, daylilies and rudbeckia for midsummer; and asters, pennstemon and mums for fall.
Don't forget the great foliage plants like ornamental grasses, hostas and artemisia.
Be sure to add mulch to the bed to retain moisture and help keep the weeds out.
Watering plants is critical to success. Check the soil by digging into it with your fingers or a trowel. If the top few inches are dry, it's time to water. Do it slowly and thoroughly so it soaks down to the deeper roots. Young or new plantings require more frequent watering to help their roots get established. Mature plantings with large root systems should be watered deeply but less often.

Healthy-looking flowers show you care about your home. But insects such as Japanese beetles, aphids and whiteflies, as well as diseases such as powdery mildew and rust, can make your flowers look sickly.

Bayer Advanced™ All-In-One Rose & Flower Care (bayeradvanced.com) protects your flowers from insects and diseases, and feeds them too. Mix with water and pour around the base of the plant every six weeks for protection. Read and follow label directions. (Product not registered in New York.)

About Bayer Advanced

Bayer Advanced lawn and garden products are created by Bayer Environmental Science, a business unit of Bayer CropScience LP and part of the Bayer AG family, a Fortune Global 500 company that makes such well-known brands as Bayer Aspirin, Aleve® and Alka-® Research Triangle Park, NC, is the business headquarters of the company''s NAFTA Region. Kansas City, MO, is the company''s core technology center. The global headquarters of Bayer CropScience is located in Monheim, Germany.

Bayer Advanced products deliver Better Science. Better Results.™ and carry a money-back guarantee. They are available at major retailers and independent garden shops across the United States. You can learn more by visiting www.bayeradvanced.com or by calling 1-877-BAYERAG.