Curb Appeal Tip: Improving The Appearance Of A Concrete Block Wall
July 15, 2009
If you’re preparing your home for sale or just want to beautify your yard, here’s a home staging tip on how to improve the appearance of a block or stucco wall.
One of the biggest eyesores affecting curb appeal is a big concrete block or stucco wall right outside French doors or the kitchen window.
While the block wall probably provides security, privacy and noise control, they are usually butt ugly! I discovered a brilliant, simple and inexpensive solution on the CaliBamboo web site. By attaching 2×4’s top and bottom to the face of the stucco or block wall using concrete screws or anchors, it enables you to attach bamboo fencing panels and give the wall a much more pleasing appearance.
This bamboo application could work well with many architectural/garden styles.
Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet and is considered a renewable resource. Bamboo is also amazingly strong, durable and insect resistant. Many Bamboo cultivars grow particularly well in Los Angeles gardens.
Click here for more extensive instruction on how to face a block or stucco wall with bamboo.
Burkard Nursery Summer Sale
July 13, 2009
Burkard Nurseries, a Pasadena gardener’s paradise since 1937, is having a summer sale July 17-July 26, 2009.
Take 35% off all items!
Burkard is a fantastic nursery with a huge selection and very knowledgeable staff. If you have a shady dry corner of your yard, a sunny wet corner, or want to know which tomato plant produces the largest fruit, the Burkard staff will be able to point you in the right direction. And with a 35% discount, you’re in big box store pricing territory.
Some of the many things I have purchased for my Pasadena garden:
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Blueberry plants
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Strawberry plants
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Tomato plants – Burkards is famous for their heirloom tomato selection
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Roses – they have one of the best selections in Southern California
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Fruit trees – Peach, Nava Nava Navel Oranges, and Satsuma
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Landscaping plants – Kangaroo Paws, Gardenias, Camellias, succulents
Definitely worth a trip if you are getting your Pasadena home ready for sale and are working on your curb appeal or want to start that Freedom Garden.
For more information you can call Burkard Nurseries at (626)796-4355.
If you need assistance with curb appeal and preparing the outside of a home for sale, call Moving Mountains Design (626)441-8975. That is one of the many services we offer to help homeowners and real estate agents in Los Angeles and Pasadena prepare homes for sale.
Grow Blueberries In Your Los Angeles Garden!
May 7, 2009
Blueberries in my Pasadena garden
I am a unrepentant blueberry lover, and I’m thrilled to report that, yes you can grow blueberries in your Los Angeles or Pasadena garden. I’ve discovered they’re best grown in containers rather than in the ground. Blueberries are acid loving plants and it’s easier to create the ideal growing environment in a container.
This is the 3rd season for my blueberry plants and they’re bigger and more productive than ever. I grow them semi-organically in half barrels that I purchased at OSH, planted in organic soil for acid loving plants (Organic Camellia and Azalea potting mix from Armstrong Nursery). The only fertilizer I use is old coffee grounds spread around the base of the plants on top of the soil (don’t want to disturb the roots). Since my husband is the coffee drinker, I am at his mercy whether he will purchase organic or standard coffee, hence the “semi-organic” label. In addition, I use 1 or 2 inches of peat moss and organic potting soil (for acid loving plants) as a mulch in the spring. I make sure they get watered regularly. And that’s pretty much it.
I grow 2 different varieties of blueberry plants in my Pasadena garden: O’Neal (2 plants) and Misty (1 plant). They’re both Southern High Bush blueberries, which means they have low chill requirements and tolerate heat well. Growing 2 different varieties improves the size of the berries and the quantity. Both varieties are “early” berries. I just harvested my first bowl of O’Neal berries today (Oh, Happy Day!). The Misty plant which has plenty of green berries on it, usually ripens a week or two later than the O’Neals.
Growing blueberries in containers in Pasadena
Last year, I got about 3/4 of a gallon of blueberries from my 3 plants. This year, I expect to double that. Blueberries come into their own when they are about 5 years old, and can produce for another 15 years. The mockingbirds have discovered my backyard blueberries and now we are at competing to see who can get to the ripening blueberries first. My husband built a cage around the blueberry bushes this weekend, made of hardware cloth (coarse screen) and bird net, so I’ll have a fighting chance.
Pasadena Gardens & Curb Appeal – Where Do Artichokes Come From?
May 1, 2009
Artichoke
No, artichokes don’t come from the produce aisle at Whole Foods. Artichokes are plants that grow quite well in Pasadena and Los Angeles gardens. The plants are native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and N. Africa, with which we share a similar climate. Artichokes are grown commercially along the California central coast in places like Santa Cruz & Castroville.
Artichokes are easy to grow here in Pasadena and Los Angeles from seed or seedlings and are semi-perennial. They may bear fruit the first year but more often than not, the largest “chokes” will grow in the second or third year. If you are growing artichokes to eat, you will probably want to replace your plants after the fourth year.
Artichokes sprout multiple chokes throughout the growing season. The largest choke, also known as the King is usually significantly larger than the rest of the chokes and grows up from the center of the plant. The chokes nearer the top of the plant are usually larger and they get progressively smaller as they get closer to the ground and reduced sunlight. Each plant may produce 10 or 20 additional chokes and are usually harvested in spring and fall.
If you’re not into eating artichokes, know that they also make a striking landscape plant. The plants which average 4′ in diameter and just as tall, produce large spikey silver gray leaves. If the chokes are not harvested, each choke produces a huge blue/purple thistle-like flower which is beautiful in the garden or makes a long lasting cut flower.
Photo of artichoke flower by Anna Majowska
Growing Roses in Los Angeles by a Lazy Gardener
April 27, 2009
Roses in Pasadena Garden
Growing roses in Los Angeles by a lazy Gardener.
Living in Pasadena, the Rose City, we are blessed with perfect conditions for growing roses. I have upwards of 40 rose bushes in my front and back yards, many of which I inherited from previous owners. Some of the oldest bushes are probably 40 or 50 years old. I’ve added some English and heirloom rose varieties. The existing roses are all types, hybrid Tea, Grandiflora, bush and climbing roses. I find the English roses, which are more fragile, do best with a little light shade during the hottest part of the day here in my Pasadena garden.
Having said all that, I’m a lazy gardener, especially when it comes to roses. I don’t do a lot of cutting back and I don’t like using a lot of sprays and artificial chemicals. But I do get lots of blooms – big ones too. Wanna know my secret?
Epsom Salts. Yep, plain old drug store variety Epsom Salts AKA Magnesium Sulfate, a naturally occuring mineral. Interesting fact: Epsom salts get their name from Epsom, England, where it was originally mined.
I add Epsom Salts 2 or 3 times per year, whenever blooming slows down. I feed all my other plants with Epsom Salts as well. But I get the most spectacular results with my roses – more canes, more and bigger blooms.
I’ve been doing this for 7 or 8 years and have not seen any adverse effects.
I sprinkle 1/2 cup around the base of each plant and water it in. That’s it. You can also dissolve 1/2 cup in one gallon of water (doesn’t have to be exact) and water each plant or spray it on as a folliar spray. But as I said, I’m lazy. It takes me about 15 minutes to apply to all 40 rose bushes.
Mixed rose bouquet from my Pasadena, CA garden
Here is an important home staging and curb appeal tip: If you are planning on putting your house on the market and you have rose bushes, apply Epsom Salts as directed above, about 4 weeks before listing. Your plants will go crazy and look fabulous for potential buyers. If you don’t have any roses in your front yard or near the front door, pick up some Iceberg roses in white or pink. They are inexpensive (Lowes, Home Depot, OSH, Armstrongs) require little or no care beyond regular water and they bloom almost all year long.
By the way, Epsom Salts are great for humans too. Google “epsom salts”. You’ll be amazed at the number of uses for this very old fashioned, low tech health and beauty aid. I keep several boxes in my house at all times, some for me and some for my plants!
Getting A Los Angeles Home Sold In This Market – 10 Steps to Success
February 21, 2009
Want to get your Los Angeles home sold in this ‘challenging’ market? Here’s 10 steps for moving your home from “for sale” to “SOLD!”.
I’m here to tell you that Los Angeles homes are selling, some very quickly, even in this market. Most of the Los Angeles homes we stage are selling in less than 30 days, some with multiple offers. Want to know what those home sellers are doing to help their homes get sold?
This Pasadena home sold in 14 days with multiple offers after being staged by Moving Mountains Design
Here are 10 steps you can take to help get your Los Angeles home sold, too:
- Hire the best full service local Los Angeles REALTOR or real estate agent you can find. This is no time to be fooling around with less than full service. Do your research on the internet and by asking friends who they’ve worked with and if they had a good experience. Interview at least 3 REALTORS or real estate agents. Don’t hire your best friend, their cousin, your hairstylist who moonlights as a real estate agent, unless you are certain that they know what they are doing and can back up their claims. You are selling what for many is their most valuable asset. Don’t be embarrassed into letting your home sit unsold because you didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings.
- Don’t negotiate the sales commission. A really good, experienced REALTOR or real estate agent will tell probably tell you “no” anyway. Marketing and selling real estate properly is an expensive proposition in Los Angeles. All the brochures, flyers, virtual tours, professional photographers, etc. cost money. If you negotiate a lower commission, you are preventing your listing agent from pulling out the “big guns” to get your home sold as quickly as possible. Don’t hamstring the sale of your home by limiting the amount of money your listing agent has available for marketing. Also, with the abundant inventory on the market right now, buyer’s agents are going to show the homes that pay full commissions first.
- Listen to your Listing Agent regarding pricing.They know what they are doing (assuming your followed step 1). They are on the MLS every day and know what Los Angeles homes are selling for and how quickly they sold. They talk to other REALTORS and real estate agents daily. It doesn’t matter how much your dry cleaner thinks you should list your home for. It doesn’t matter how much profit (or how little loss) you would like to walk away with. All that matters is how much someone will be willing to pay for your house. A good REALTOR or real estate agent will be able to tell you how much you should list your Los Angeles home for to get it sold quickly.
- Hire a professional building inspector for a pre-sale inspection. You can address any issues that might sink a sale during escrow, or prevent someone from making an offer in the first place. Use the information to get your home into tip-top shape.
- Make any needed repairs. Los Angeles Home buyers want a home that is truly move-in ready. They don’t want an allowance for new carpet or a new roof. They want a house that already has new carpet and a new roof so they can move in right away.
- Clean your house from top to bottom. Clean it until it is cleaner than it has ever been before. If you don’t have the time or energy, hire a cleaning service. Make sure your house sparkles and smells clean every day it is on the market. If there is an issue you can’t address by cleaning, then replace it. For instance, if the linoleum in your kitchen has a big burn mark from the hot skillet you dropped, replace the linoleum.
- Hire a professional Los Angeles home stager. Again, do your research on the Internet and with your listing agent. Make sure you hire an experienced professional and not a hobbyist or (again) your sister-in-law, unless she is a pro with experience and knowledge of your market. Ask to see the stager’s portfolio (or view it on-line) and make sure all the photos are of their recent work. If you are a do-it-yourself type, at the very least, hire a professional home stager to do a comprehensive consultation so you know exactly what needs to be done. Most home stagers will also help you choose paint colors and carpet as well.
- Listen to the home stager regarding the condition of your home and what needs to be done to make it appealing to the greatest number of buyers. If they tell you your favorite floral pattern wallpaper has to go, do it. A home stager’s expertise is preparing homes to look their best so it is appealing to the greatest number of buyers and they have done it successfully for numerous home sellers (assuming you followed Step 7). Remember, they are looking at your home through “buyer’s eyes”.
- Have your home photographed by a professional photographer. Many REALTORs and real estate agents include this as part of their marketing package. Photos taken by a point and shoot camera are not going to show your home at its best. 80% of Los Angeles home buyers are looking at homes on the Internet before going out to see homes they are interested in. If your home doesn’t look great in the photos, then most buyers will pass you by.
- Follow all of the above steps before you put your Los Angeles home on the market.Clean it up, fix it up, have it professionally staged and then photographed. Once you have great photos that really showcase you home, give your REALTOR the go-ahead to post them on the MLS. Make sure they post the maximum number of photos allowed. The more photos you have showcasing your home on the MLS, the greater your chances of selling it. If you rush the process, then you will not be putting your home’s best face forward from day one. Staging or adding better pictures after you home has been on the market, even for a few days, won’t get back potetial buyers who dismissed your home when they saw few pictures, bad pictures, vacant rooms or an unstaged mess.
Remember: When you put your home on the market, you are entering it in a beauty contest. The best looking homes in the best condition sell first. It’s a no brainer.
*Getting Your Home Sold In This Market – 10 Steps To Success* copyright 2009 Michelle Minch and Moving Mountains Design. All rights reserved.
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Please visit our Los Angeles home staging web site for more information about how we can help you get you home sold quickly and for the best price. You can reach Michelle Minch, owner of Moving Mountains Design, directly at (626)441-8975 or via email, Michelle@MovingMountainsDesign.com . Don’t settle for second best when selling your Los Angeles area home. Choose Moving Mountains Design Home Staging, the Los Angeles staging company with the track record of rapid sales and the referrals from many happy clients to back up our claims. Featured in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Sunset Magazine and numerous other national and international publications, we don’t sell homes, but we know what makes homes sell!
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