If you want to boost your front garden’s kerb appeal, it’s pretty easy to do, and can also enhance the value of your property.
Use no-dig gardening to protect wildlife. Use fruit protection bags (over netting, which can trap birds and wildlife). Learn how to create pet-friendly gardens (use humane slug/snail deterrents).
Avoid facing indoor foliage to outdoor gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows.
- The Organic Natural Paint Co recommends Graphenstone and Auro for exterior walls, to protect walls from heat/moisture, and improve insulation.
- Lifetime is a nontoxic varnish and linseed paint is good for doors/frames (highly flammable, so store leftovers in water).
- Keep things subtle to not affect neighbouring properties. Remove ‘path clutter’.
- Use solar outdoor lighting that goes off when not in use, to avoid light pollution. Report broken street lights to Fix My Street.
- Live simply to avoid overflowing rubbish bins.
- Use eco-cleaning products for your windows and donate/sell/recycle clutter to make a picture window, to enjoy the views from your sofa. This lets natural light in (block off unsafe outdoor areas from children and pets).
Assessing Your Current Front Yard
- Research your soil, to know the best types of plants to use.
- What do you want? A splash of colour, or a quiet place to reflect.
- What is your budget? You don’t want to run out of money half-way through.
- Create a plan: a charming cottage rose garden or a peaceful Zen space?
- Consider the walkway – a stone patio, fences for privacy etc.
- Where will you site a water butt, to hydrate plants?
Coir Doormats
Coir doormats are suitable for indoors or outdoors, sold in over 60 designs to suit all tastes. They are durable, absorbent and weather-resistant.
The natural coir bars built in are great to scrape ice, snow and sludge from boots and shoes, before entering your home. The long coir bristles absorb and hold dirt, small stones and water, and coconut fibre naturally helps to repel insects, due to coconut oil. And holes in the rubber let water drain through freely.
The strong anti-slip moulded rubber backing, prevents slipping on smooth floors. Give it a good shake every week or so. Beat it with a broom handle, ideally over a rail or washing line. And use a stiff wet hand brush to scrub areas covered in dirt. Put back in place and give a final hoover to extract remaining dust and dirt, using the brush setting.
