Garden preparation with Zsuzsa Hajdu

My former client, now my garden stager

Zsuzsa Hajdu was our client. Together with Zsófi Farkas-Gyertyánági, we prepared the renovated but empty apartment of Zsuzsá in Lehel út for sale. The sale was a success and it turned out that the Zsuzsa was not a beginner “realtor”. She and her husband, Gábor, regularly buy and sell real estate, for them it is like a passion, a hobby, or a game. It also turns out that gardens are their strength. Zsuzsa is an obsessive hobby gardener and knows the feeling of having a garden so breathtaking that it actually sells the house. We found out that they really like the home staging process. They were stunned by the effect the preparation had on the visitors.

So when I got my first assignment in Wekerle, I asked Zsuzsa if she would like to be the first local “garden coach”. Zsuzsa and her husband were happy to take up the challenge.

How does garden preparation help?

As the Wekerle apartment in question was exceptional in that it had direct access to a garden, we knew that the garden would also sell this apartment, so we had to make sure it was at its best. The task was to create a more inviting, tidy garden than other properties offered in Wekerle with minimal budget, simply by trimming and tidying up the existing plants, cleaning up the garden and planting a few carefully selected fast-growing new plants and showy flowers. Watch a video to see how the work started!

First steps – ‘cleaning’

After I removed the garbage, the old worn garden furniture, the old debris from the garden, Zsuzsa and her family started to clean up the green areas. We started work at the beginning of March, when everything was still bare and plain. But as they picked up the fallen leaves from under the hedge, we could see a mass of small bulbous flowers, which we knew would soon be a flowering border along the little path to the house. This is already a great pleasure. But Zsuzsa also discovered other little hidden ‘treasures’ in the garden. It turned out that a garden peony was about to sprout in one corner. Zsuzsa cleared the ground around the small shoots so that they are free to grow. The neglected composter was turned into a garden bed by chopping up the green waste and planting fragrant herbs.

Terrace, garden shed and carport preparation

Meanwhile, the boys have set up a terrace in front of the window, so that people can sit out comfortably, even with more guests. We re-plastered the crumbling plinth of the small garden shed and painted the whole house. The guttering also needed replacing. Unfortunately, there was no time to replace the rusted gate, but I painted it with an anti-corrosion primer to prevent it from deteriorating further.

More garden improvements, plantings

Zsuzsa pruned the still barren hedges and other bushes so that they would be in good shape when they started to turn green. The grass that had faded away was refreshed and seeded, and small flower seedlings were planted in the open beds. The potholed dirt area leading up to the small house was covered with gravel to prevent it from getting muddy when it rains. The garden was now finished, and from here we were just waiting for the grass to grow.

Huge success: sold out in 1 week!

I watered the lawn for about 3 weeks, then when the grass seeds sprouted and the bushes and trees started budding, we put the apartment up for sale. A ‘fall in love garden’ was born next to a ‘fall in love apartment’, which sold out in a week. By the time the time the keys were handed over a month and a half later, what had been a barren, ugly, neglected garden a few months ago had become a lush green grove. For the buyer, the apartment and the garden were both love at first sight. Hopefully they will be very happy here.

You can follow the birth of this apartment and other dream homes and gardens in Wekerle in the fb group ‘Épül az álom otthonod Wekerlén’.