Lawn edging

Edging your lawn, even if it's in poor condition will help give a neat appearance

You must grab a buyer's interest from the curb if you want to sell the home for top dollar. Home buyers will sometimes refuse to go into a house with an unkempt yard, sagging doors or peeling paint. Even if you can't afford to paint, get that yard in tip-top shape.

Creating curb appeal is one of the best ways of improving your chances of making a quicker sale. Most people make a judgment on the property as soon as they see it based on what they see. If they see overgrown shrubs, dirty windows, stained gutters and peeling paint, they immediately have made a negative snap judgment about the property without ever seeing the inside.

Plastic edging

First, plastic edging is expensive and a lot of work to install. Unless done properly, it never stays in place. If you're working on your lawn and landscape strictly to enhance the looks of your property for the selling process, I wouldn't recommend all the effort it takes to install.

Using a spade, you can actually cut an edge around your beds that looks better than any plastic edging. The problem with this method, is that it is labor intensive from season to season. Since you're not actually concerned with this at this point, digging is the preferred option.

Once the bed has been edged, it's time to install mulch. Almost any mulch (except cypress) is recommended. If you have pets, do not use cocoa shell mulch as this can be fatal if your dog eats too much of it.

Apply a good 3" - 4" around your plants and trees, especially in the front yard.

Forget about using weed control fabrics. The stuff just doesn't work. Weeds grow right on top of the fabric, then root through the fabric making it even harder to keep your beds weed free.