You've been staging your home for sale for the past few months. You've done the bathroom's, both in the home and the guest house, replaced old furniture with new, eco-friendly choices and you've even added new cherry wood flooring throughout the whole house. You stand back and look at the final product from the outside of the property and still feel a bit unsatisfied with how it looks. As you stand outside, you realize the outside of the home could also use some updating. It dawns on you; it's time to make outdoor improvements.



Believe it or not, the second best return comes from outside the house - landscaping. With an average return rate of 100 percent, fixing up the outdoors can make a big difference in luring in home buyers. Creating an interesting landscape won't require a huge bundle of cash either. Adding fresh flowers that are bright and beautiful will make a big impact for little money as well. And with a resale rate of 100 percent, that's a project that would be well worth your effort. The following are handy home staging ideas and tips that will help with landscaping improvements.

Do it Yourself (DIY)

You drive by someone's house and admire the bustling flowers, trees, or other foliage. You want to know how to make your yard look like this but you don't have a fortune to spend. Is Hiring a gardener is also out of the question? Here's how to landscape your front yard for less than $300

Step 1

Plant grass seed in your front yard instead of using sod. This costs far less, about $150 for 6250 square feet, and grass seed will take in a matter of just a few weeks.

Step 2

Edge & Trim: As in, edge and/or trim driveways, around mailboxes, around flower beds, etc. While mowing a lawn to make it look neat is a given basic, the trimming/edging is what gives it that "finished" show room look.

Cost: $0 (this assuming that you have an edgier/trimmer).

Step 3

Add Color: This can be done very inexpensively with cost-effective flowers like annuals and perennials. They usually come in trays of 6 and cost anywhere from $1-$3/per tray.

? Add as much yellow as possible. Yellow has been proven through research that it envokes buyers emotions. A study in 2004 reported that 7 out of 10 buyers bought houses that had more yellow colors in the front yard.

? Landscape tip: Plant flowers close to the dwelling itself and around the edge of beds that contain shrubs to really make them pop.

Cost: $50. This amount will get you a good many of these gorgeous plants to liven up existing greenery.

Step 4

Mulch: Add fresh mulch to the flowers beds to make them pop and to give it a fresh cut look. ?Mulch? is the icing on the cake and adds the finishing touch for a well manicured yard.

Cost: $125 for about 3,200 square feet.

These are just a few of the many home staging ideas and tips for landscaping improvements that you can apply to your home staging efforts. For more information and tips, visit The Home Staging Channel.