Hard to believe as I look out the window that today more or less marks the unofficial beginning of garden season here in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a heavy grey day outside and has been raining and blowing like nuts since yesterday afternoon. Oh wait. The sun’s out. Give it a few minutes. Now it’s hailing. Actually, that’s about right for our Spring weather.

In our yard, May 1st has always been the earliest that baby vegetables go into the garden, flower pots get hung and planters dressed up for the summer. We’re fortunate to have a huge garden plot, which also means that lots of weeding, soil turning, and fertilizing also takes place about this time of the year.

Gardening is a huge part of our PNW lifestyle, especially here in the suburbs where I work to assist Buyers in their home purchases so that they have a little of their own garden heaven. As I tour homes with them, it’s interesting to hear comments about the garden areas of the houses they like.

Some Buyers are so excited about green lawns and summer barbeques, some look forward to having a few fragrant roses to bring indoors during the summer months, and some have grandiose plans (like me) for full-blown vegetable plots hoping to grow enough produce to can and freeze for the year.

Because of Buyer fascination with gardens, Sellers should also strive hard, especially at this time of year, to be sure that yards and gardens are well trimmed and productive. Have a vegetable garden area as part of the yard? Go ahead and plant it even though the hope is to have your home sale completed well before harvest time. Buyers love the idea of picking fresh tomatoes!