Dear Heather,

I am going to be putting my house on the market in a couple of months, is there anything I should be doing now to get it ready?

Home Seller

Dear Home Seller,

One of the best things you can do to give your house instant kerb appeal — besides the usual exterior repairs and painting — is prepare a beautiful garden. And now is the time to do it!

March is a bit of a guessing game.

Will it warm up soon? Will it stay warm? Will the rains start/stop? What about the wind? About the only thing we can count on is that March, too, shall pass.

So go ahead and push the envelope a bit.

You should have your seeds started, trees and shrubs pruned and your tools ready to go.

After that, the most important thing is to have patience.

It’s tempting to take advantage of warm days, but even in Bermuda winter gets the last word in the garden. Here are some spring chores.

Take them on with a spoonful of judgment:

• Prep the soil: add manure, fertilisers, mulching, etc.

• Prune back shrubs and bushes to make ready for the new spring growth. The rule of thumb is remove any dead wood; deadheading always encourages blooming.

• Rake up leaves and pick up branches blown down during the winter (start a compost heap).

• Deal with insects as the weather warms; slugs and snails love the wet winter weather.

• Fertilise grass, adding weed and feed if required.

• Repot and refresh potted plants (keep them in a sheltered place for now).

• Pull up all weeds and plants that are not doing well or too big for the flower bed.

• Avoid walking on wet soil in the garden.

• Trim and fertilise rose bushes, clip off areas that have been damaged by winter winds. Bermuda rose bushes bloom prolifically until May or June, when they typically “rest” whilst the weather is hot.

• Transplant container-grown citrus trees. Fertilise established trees now. Wait four to six weeks to feed newly planted trees.

• Start replacing cool weather annuals with summer varieties.

• Plant summer bulbs, tubers, etc, like blood lily, caladiums and canna lily.

• Start planting bedding plants, like petunia, daisies, begonias, impatience.

• Keep watering, especially new plants.

The local nurseries all have a fabulous supply of spring plants, pots and even raised wooden vegetable gardens; the summer varieties should be coming in roundabout now. Your garden will look fabulous in a couple of months’ time — the bedding plants will have grown up, small shrubs will be established and older bushes and shrubs will have new growth. Have fun! Happy planting!

•Heather Chilvers is among Coldwell Banker Bermuda Realty’s leading sales representatives. She has been working in real estate for 27 years. If you have a question for Heather, please contact her at hchilvers@brcl.bm or 332-1793. All questions will be treated in confidence. Read this article on Facebook: Ask Heather Real Estate