Enhancing the curb appeal of your Fairfield County CT. home.

Enhancing the curb appeal of your Fairfield County CT. home. It surprises me to find so few gardens dedicated to food production in this area. Most homeowners in these parts have meticulously cared for flower beds, ornamental shrubs and grasses, but not so much of the food producing variety. I know that some lots are completely treed in and are not capable of growing sun loving vegetable matter. The vast majority however, have a wide expanse of lawn that offers little in the way of edible foodstuffs short of dandelion greens. Which incidentally, I am told are quite good in salads. WEED LEAVES ??? Today at the garden center I kid you not, they were on sale at $2.99 per plant... Dandelions....WEEDS!!!!! Who knew? Apparently every spring I have been pulling and tossing away cold hard cash.

While lawns may be a fine place to run barefoot through or toss the Frisbee, there is considerable downside to the lush greenery. Scarcity of water is a growing problem in many areas of the country. Lawns are voracious consumers of water resources. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides used to maintain that fabulous carpet of green are fouling watersheds, estuary's and bays causing long term damage to marine life and the water itself. Having grown up in Maryland, I am keenly aware of the damage that has been done to the Chesapeake Bay. The world will be a lesser place without abundant and affordable Maryland blue crabs to steam and eat on my back patio each summer. That would make me very unhappy. Not to mention all my now (and future) friends that would not be invited over to eat crabs with me

Why not turn this 'wasted" space into a productive parcel of miniature farm land instead? Think about it...endless weekends of sweltering hard labor keeping the lawn cropped or, leisurely watching the tomatoes and carrots grow. With the cost of EVERYTHING rising, it makes sense now more than ever. Labor and cash input for a lawn or, low cost producer of fresh food for your family and neighbors??? Do the math.

Think of the fun you will have swapping the bounty of your land for goods and services. Reserve access to Dave's roof rake for next winter - a bag of beefsteak tomatoes should cover that. Borrow Ted's full size bounce house for your daughters next birthday party - fresh red peppers and a few eggplants and the kids will be in giggly heaven. And, there is no better way to say howdy neighbor than leaving a HUGE bag of zucchini on their porch, ringing the doorbell and running like the wind. Good healthy fun.

Seriously though, with many regions imposing water management restrictions and neighborhood associations insisting on climate appropriate and drought tolerant plant varietals, the lush lawn has ceased to be the pinnacle of suburban existence.

Imagine the joy when a potential buyer sidles up to your for sale sign and sees not only a low maintenance yet beautiful assortment of water shunning flora, but also LESS lawn to maintain AND a food producing plot of land !!!! This is curb appeal in spades up here in Fairfield County CT. So potential home sellers...when contemplating all there is to be done to repair and prepare you home for sale, look beyond the obvious (but none the less important) repairs and visual enhancements to the house, and consider the whole parcel. There is much you can do to catch the eye of a potential buyer. Staging the grounds to catch the eye is as important as staging the home itself.

Enhancing the curb appeal of your Fairfield County CT. home.