GIVE YOUR HOME THE GIFT OF CURB APPEAL

With today's shrinking lot lines, garden homes, townhomes, and condos, homeowners are looking for ways to beautify and increase home value in their properties. Many of the smaller, ornamental trees serve as versatile, attractive answers that are tailor made for the modern landscape. Providing a focal point to a patio, poolside area or entry courtyard, they promise to brighten the landscape and turn an outdoor area into a more hospitable and enjoyable place for those hot summer months ahead.

"Ornamental trees and plants are, as you might imagine, ornamental, as opposed to trees and plants used for commercial gain. For the purpose of residential landscaping, however, ornamental trees also often refer to smaller trees that can't be used to support hammocks, tree houses, or tree swings. Just because you don't have a lot of space doesn't mean you can't plant a tree in your yard. Small ornamental trees can assuage your impulse to have a tree in your yard without overwhelming your home and ruining its curb appeal. For truly tight areas, you may ned to be content with an ornamental plant but even these small additions can add beauty and/or fragrance for your home.

Flowering ornamental trees are often the most prized possession of a homeowner's landscape. They combine the beauty of a flower with the size of a small tree, creating a truly magnificent addition to your yard. You can choose a tree with any number of blossoming traits; you can plant a saucer magnolia for its large pinkish white blooms or crape myrtles for their long blooming period." Two other outstanding choices are the Texas redbud, one of the first signs of spring with its brilliant, purple-red spring blooms and the Mexican olive that blooms with a profusion of large funnel-shaped flowers into mid-summer. The blooms turn into olive-like fruit which is reported to be mildly intoxicating and "deer-resistant".

"Weeping ornamental trees are another favorite of many homeowners. Their long, slender, looping branches are coveted for their immense and unique aesthetic value...also like a flowering tree, different tree species can be chosen for size, flowering traits, and growth seasons." Local choices would include the weeping willow and the weeping Texas redbud.

With all the varieties and choices Milbergers has to offer, let us enhance the value and beauty of one of our greatest assets .... the family home.

Source: Marcus Pickett, Servicemagic