Do winter landscapes make you feel dull and drab, somehow just unsatisfied with the curb appeal your Dallas-Fort Worth home is presenting? It doesn’t have to be that way! Consider a few yard improvement projects that can boost the appearance of your DFW yard for many years to come.
Plant Evergreens
Fall foliage is pretty — while it lasts. But after the vivid reds, yellows, and oranges fade to brown and pile on the ground, you’re left with depressingly bare trees and piles of leaves to rake. Planting evergreen trees either alongside of or in place of your leaf-shedding trees can ensure that you’ve got pretty color in your yard year round.
Evergreens are an investment, both of time and money. If you want to plant larger evergreens, that blend more seamlessly with your mature current trees, they’ll come at a price. And if you’re looking to save on cost, be prepared to patiently wait for smaller evergreens to grow to the height you desire over many years — expect about a foot of growth per year.
Light It Up
Landscape lighting can really add the brightness your yard is craving during the months of short days and long nights. Whether you use lighting to frame your yard or home, or situated along paths or the driveway, you can instantly brighten your space.
You can also use tiny white lights to brighten your outdoor trees or along plant beds or shrubs throughout the entire winter. White lights are far more subtle than their colored cousins, and can give your yard an instant perking up.
Open Brightly
Your front door can itself be a focal point for your home during the dark and dank winter months. If it’s currently a darkly stained wood or painted a dark color, it may be time to consider making a change. Bright blues or reds can not only make your home pop, but can provide much-needed color in a monochrome winter landscape.
Remember Your Lawn
It’s easy to forget about maintaining your lawn over the winter — you’re out of your normal cycle of mowing and edging. But keeping up your front lawn over the winter is key to your home’s curb appeal. Weeds can continue to grow even in the winter, and long spells without rain can leave brown spots. Occasionally give your yard a bit of water (check for your specific town’s outdoor watering schedule first) and before winter truly hits, give it one last thorough mowing. Then continue to edge your yard through the winter. Between that and the occasional watering, it’ll stay pretty and green.
Planting, lighting, painting, and mowing — taking on these projects can turn your home’s facade from wintry doom and gloom to winter wonderland delight.
Image Source: Flickr/Nick Amoscato
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