A little garden work will seal the deal

There's nothing quite like a dairy herd to ruin an open home. Last time we had one (an open home, not a dairy herd), the neighbour's cows staged a daring escape from their nearby field and converged on our front garden about 20 minutes before we were scheduled to start.
Although they lent the occasion a bucolic charm, they also contributed mournful sound effects and an inordinate number of cow pats, neither of which impressed any of the lookers enough to make an offer.
The real estate agent washed her hands of us and we took the house off the market.
Getting a house ready for sale is quite a challenge; getting a garden ready, with or without the distraction of a dairy herd, even more so, especially in winter.
It's not just a matter of buying flowers, brewing coffee and stuffing your son's underwear under his pillow seconds before the first visitors arrive.
Preparing the garden can take days or even weeks, and might involve a rather more substantial outlay than the cost of a packet of fair trade coffee beans.
Apart from the common sense measures like mowing the lawn and weeding the beds, there are numerous touches you can add to the outdoors that'll give your property an edge.
Most gardens have dead spots and if your home is on the market, it's the perfect time to enliven them. A gap between the end of the paving and the beginning of the wall doesn't need to be full of clods and weeds. Buy a bag of stones or shells, spread it over the area, and inset a couple of flat flagstones, or add a piece of driftwood or a colourful pot. It's a 10-minute, $10 job.
Disguise a messy view or give an edge to an area of paving with a set of container plants. Find three of the same pots and plant with astelias or grasses for a smart, contemporary look, or camellias or daisies for a cottage style. It's a more substantial outlay but you can take them with you when you go.
For serious drama, lash out on three good-sized shrubs or young trees, plant them and edge the ground with contrasting pavers. The outlay will be more but so will the effect - you'll get a classy, designer look. A single mature palm will have a similar impact.
Even when the temperatures are down to single figures, it's a good idea to present your garden as the ideal space for outdoor living.
If your own outdoor furniture is packed away or too dreary looking to be on display, beg or borrow an attractive setting, dress the chairs with throws and cushions and the table ready for lunch or drinks.
You won't want to outlay money on major items like lighting or water features, but shallow basins of water sprinkled with petals, and strategically placed candles or oil burners will promote the idea that this is a garden for entertaining.
And when all else fails - cheat. Just before an open home, chop lush foliage off existing shrubs and trees, cram into containers and position to cover up anything broken that you haven't time to repair.
TOP TIPS
* Waterblast slimy decks and grubby pavers, but not on the morning of the open home - dry spaces are generally more appealing than wet.
* Clean out and top up ponds and water features, and add one or two new water plants if required.
* Get rid of anything that's not enhancing your garden - roll up hoses, hide gumboots, stash away tools and old building materials, shift the dog kennel to somewhere it can't be seen and park cars out of the way.
* If you have pets, clean up anything they've left in the garden like bones, plastic toys and other unmentionables.
* Get rid of any dead pot plants and either replace or put the pot out of sight.
* Be best friends with your leaf blower - half an hour around decks, courtyards and terraces will blow away the signs of winter.