Santa Cruz Garden

As a seller preparing to sell your Santa Cruz home, you may be busily emptying closets and painting walls, but don't forget about the outside of your house. Home buying is emotional and, like many emotional reactions, it can be heavily impacted by first impressions.

Here are some suggestions on how to encourage love at first sight by increasing the curb appeal of your Santa Cruz home:

• Tidy up – You may be so used to seeing the crumbling stack of firewood by the garbage cans and the old paint cans by the shed that they fade into the landscape, but potential homeowners see the mess.  As you look at the outside of your house, think about what you can throw away or put out of sight. The broken swing on the tree actually takes away from the grandeur of…

All things must pass. No matter how the gardening at your Santa Cruz home went this year, it’s getting time to move on and change with the seasons. Here are some tips to help you:

• Dig those sweet potatoes. Harvest sweet potatoes before the first frost, or they will be ruined. If you wake up and find the frost has hit before you had the chance, run out there immediately and at least cut the vines off at the base of the plants. This may stop damage to the roots, but you still need to dig your sweets before the next frost. After digging, cure them by keeping them in a warm, dark place like the attic of your Santa Cruz home. This sweetens them up and gets them ready for storage. After curing, store them somewhere that never goes below 40 degrees; they can…

Maybe your vegetable garden has been neglected lately. Take heart, fall will be here before you know it, and all things can be renewed! Here are some tips to get the garden at your Santa Cruz home reinvigorated.

• Pick a cool morning. Don’t try going out there on a hot, sticky afternoon. Watch the weather and plan ahead. Be ready to get out there early.

• Make an evaluation. First things first. Do you have harvested corn stalks that need to be removed to make room for late short-season crops? Do the tomatoes need some compost? Need to replenish mulch? Make an inventory of tasks and prioritize.

• Tackle those weeds.  If you’re like most of us, chances are there are some weed problems in your Santa Cruz home garden this time of year.  Don’t try to pull…

Before you put your home on the market, you want to make certain that it’s in tip-top condition to ensure a quick sale. The key to listing your home at a competitive price and guaranteeing you have what buyers are looking for is to think like a Santa Cruz real estate agent.

To get your home ready to sell, here are five easy and inexpensive home improvements this Santa Cruz real estate agent recommends:

1. Layout – Take an objective look at your home and stage accordingly. Remove clutter and rearrange furniture so that potential buyers can envision each room’s purpose. Also, store any obtrusive furniture that disrupts walking flow or makes rooms look smaller.

2. Hardware – Update all hardware. Changing out door handles, drawer pulls and light fixtures…

Do you need to be convinced that it would be nice to spend less time mowing your lawn? Think of all the fun things you could be doing instead of burning all that gas, making all that noise and sweating in the sun! Here are some ways to free up your valuable time and improve your Santa Cruz real estate at the same time.

• Stop watering and fertilizing. Many people make more work for themselves by encouraging lush growth of their lawn. This is a waste of water and encourages problems with fungus. Using chemical fungicides creates a toxic cycle. You especially don’t want to use pesticides where your kids and pets roll around.

• Plant more trees. Trees are a priceless addition to your Santa Cruz real estate. They provide shade, habitat for birds, a place to…

Feeling a bit cramped in your Santa Cruz home, but not sure you’re prepared to add on? Consider adding an outdoor room. Depending on your site, you may want an outdoor kitchen, an outdoor sleeping space, an outdoor dining area or just an outdoor gathering space. Here are some things to consider.

• Take an inventory of your outdoor space. Spend time observing where the best views are, how the sun travels through the yard in each season, where hot/cold spots are, where you might need more shade or a windbreak, and of course where doors to your Santa Cruz home are located.

• Cover the deck.  If you already have a deck, consider putting some kind of roof over it. Many people find they don’t use their outdoor deck because it’s just too hot and sunny there.…

You don’t have to sacrifice comfort to save energy this summer. Some improvements to your Santa Cruz home will make your home more comfortable and save energy. Here are some examples.

• Make sure your air conditioner is the right size for your Santa Cruz home. Many people think bigger is always better. Not so. If your air conditioner is too large for your home, it will not reduce the humidity sufficiently. Lower humidity equals comfort in the summer. You may find that you can keep the thermostat a few degrees higher and be just as comfortable, as long as humidity is low.

• Shade your air conditioner. It will have to work harder if it’s out in the sun.

• Keep a/c filters clean.

• Use your window treatments wisely. Always try to close drapes or lower…

What’s the best thing about owning your Santa Cruz home?  Many people say it’s their yard.  No matter your lifestyle, there are things you can do to improve your outdoor space and your quality of life. Here are a few ideas to help you get more enjoyment from your yard:

• Relax:   Buy a lounger for sun bathing or a hammock for shade bathing

• Enjoy meals outdoors:  Add a picnic table to make eating outdoors easier.

• Grow a garden:  Whether it’s a vegetable, herb or flower garden there is nothing more rewarding than eating food or smelling flowers that you grew yourself. Start small if you’ve never gardened before. Like anything else, it’s easy to get burned out if you bite off more than you can chew. A few of your favorite vegetables and herbs will…

Saving money and saving the planet go hand-in-hand. It’s all about being thoughtful, creative, and into DIY – doing it yourself. Here are some ways you can save money, save energy and save the earth in your Santa Cruz home.

• Be seasonal. Dress, cook and eat according to the weather. If it’s hot outside, dress accordingly, and keep the thermostat in the high 70s. Don’t use the oven in summertime; eat and drink cold fare. When it’s cold, wear a sweater, and keep the temperature in your Santa Cruz home in the high 60s. Winter is the time to bake and to eat warm, hearty food.

• Use a clothesline. The clothes dryer is an energy hog. Let the sun and wind do it instead. Go ahead and fluff the wet laundry briefly in the dryer on the air fluff cycle before…

The sound of birdsong is only one of the benefits of having birds frequent your Santa Cruz real estate. Depending on the type of birds you attract, they may also reduce the insect pest population. Here are some ways to attract birds to your property:

• Install a bird bath. Finding a good place to take a bath can be a challenge for birds, especially in dry weather. If they can find it in your backyard, you’ll have the joy of watching them bathe. If you have a cat, just make sure that you’re not creating mayhem; keep her inside, or get a hanging bird bath that will be inaccessible to her. Bird baths come in a wide range of styles and materials, from ceramic to metal to resin and more. Keep it filled, because the birds will come to rely on it.

• Put up…