You've probably heard about curb appeal, and the increase in property value that a pleasing road-side appearance can bring to your home. To illustrate just one example of how a few hours can bring a whole new look to your property, we decided to start with a simple edging project.

The hot, muggy weather didn't present ideal conditions for a landscape project, but the edge of this flower garden had become a mess. It was nearly impossible to tell where the bed left off and the lawn began. The goal was to make a dramatic difference in the garden's appearance as quickly as possible, and we selected this strip along the road for the most impact.

Despite the intense heat and glaring sun, we officially started the journey of working in the garden and documenting our improvements to develop more content for our Homes and Gardens websites.

If you look closely at the pictures, you'll see the hose in the "before" picture. This is a little trick I learned from one of my garden magazines--to use a hose to design the edge before you begin cutting. I love the ease of trying out difference curves to see which way I prefer before I commit to the real deal.

Here are some quick before and after photos to show today's accomplishments.

Happy gardening!

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