Some questions about moving from a Garden

We're getting ready to build our final (?) home. Although it will take 1-2 years, have any of you had experience in selling a home that you've gardened for awhile? Do you think that eclectic type gardens - we mix flowers, herbs, etc in crazy ways, detract from a sale? We like "the look" but wonder if prospective purchasers will think our place is too much work.

Have you written into contracts plants you want to take with you and has this ever caused problems?

It's tough because I'll not be able to resist to continue to garden in our style. Just curious and Thanks!

We sold our home of 30 years, 5 years ago. Our yard was unique. We lived on a small city lot - 45' x 100'. The front yard was all ground cover, one tree, and gravel paths to the front door and driveway. The backyard was fenced in with an 8' wood privacy fence. There was no gate. The only way to get to the backyard was through the house. The bakyard was all garden and gravel patio. We had a small gazebo also. Our yard was completely different from any house in our neighborhood. The house went on the market on a Friday. That evening some folks came to look at it, but didn't like it because there was no garage. The realtor held an open house that Sunday. The house sold. The papers were signed Monday morning. Unbelievable. We go back to the old neighborhood to visit friends, and the people that bought our house didn't change a thing ! So, in my experience, our unique landscaping didn't make a bit of difference. And yes, I did include some of my plants in the contract so I was legally allowed to move them to my "new" home. I just took divisions of almost everything. It was really hard to leave the garden, though. I'm glad I took lots of photos over the years.

I too go by and see the house I sold 2 years ago...the new owners left everythi g I had planted and just added to it. I'll tell you what they really liked when they looked at the house...

I kept a journal for the new owners, what was planted where ( you cant tell in the fall for example what spring bulbs are planted) any specific instructions..example ..this plant really gets too much sun here,but if its watered every 2 days in the heat of the summer it will be fine..etc. I even included photos of my garden at differnt times of the year. This really helped since I was selling during the winter. The new owners were thrilled to know what it would look like come spring.

Thanks HoneyGirl and bamasharon:) I think we'll start a photo book of our yard in various seasons - great ideas!

Since I was recently in the house-buying market, I'll tell you what I looked for - a yard that wasn't going to need any more than a couple weekends to "clean up". When looking at houses, I was more interested in what the inside looked like, of course. However, if the outside was a small tornado that looked like a backhoe was the only solution, I was already disappointed in the property.

A mix of plants would not have bothered me. What I do remember is driving by some properties and seeing a mess. Yards that hadn't been mowed in weeks and flower beds that obviously had good intentions but had dead life and weeds throughout. I specifically remember driving past one that I told my parents, "that one might be good inside, but you'd need a dumptruck and a backhoe to find a real yard under the mess". I never saw the inside of the house because the outside looked so bad.

Trim things back, label as much as you can, and maybe even start a notebook about each plant, how fast it grows, what color it blooms, a few photos of it at best, etc. When either you or a real estate agent is ready to show the house, put the notebook out in plain view, maybe even open it up to your favorite photo.

My two cents,
-Jennifer

Your quite welcome! Good luck!