Spring is a good time to sell your home. The weather is improving, people aren't yet going away on their summer holidays and the garden is bursting into life.

Making sure you mow the lawn and keep your flower beds tidy could be your most profitable pastime, according to new research.

Some 72% of 2,000 home owners who took part in a survey conducted by National Garden Gift Vouchers believe that a presentable garden adds value to a home.

First impressions are important and if your front garden needs a quick makeover, consider buying a couple of standard trees or shrubs to put either side of the front door for a grander entrance.

Tatty steps can be masked with pots of evergreens which will last even when spring and summer are over, just in case you don't sell the house immediately.

Hide eyesores such as dustbins by putting up a framework of trellis in front of them and plant fast-growing climbers over it, even if you have to plant the climbers in pots.

Certain design strategies can help make the garden seem bigger. If you have a narrow or L-shaped garden, consider dividing into two areas and introduce archways or pergolas which will make it seem bigger.

Add curves to a bed to make it more interesting, while strategically-placed outdoor mirrors can also make an area feel greater.

They say the smell of bread baking or freshly brewed coffee helps sell a house, but a gorgeously fragrant front garden may also help, if you plant low lavender hedges along the driveway or other scented plants near your front door.

Eden Project horticulturist Lucy Wenger offers these budget-conscious tips:

:: Budget bedding plants

A tray of tagetes (marigolds) or antirrhinum (snapdragons) will add instant colour to your garden. They come in a range of bright oranges, reds and yellows and both will bloom beautifully throughout the summer. Look out for argyranthemums, whose bright and cheerful daisy flowers bloom in an array of colours. They look great in the garden or in big flower pots, but don't plant them out until the last frosts have passed, usually around late May. Feed them weekly with tomato food in the summer and keep them well watered in the heat - snip off any dead flower heads to keep them looking good. They should last until the end of the summer.

:: Hanging baskets

Make the approach to your front door fresh and inviting with a fragrant hanging basket. Use multi-purpose compost and add water-retaining gel. Trailing surfinias (try Surfinia 'Blue Vein' for scent as well) and bacopa should thrive in a sunny spot, but for shadier corners, try lobelia and trailing fuchsia to create a lush display. Feed them weekly in the summer with tomato food and keep well watered - which may mean twice a day in summer.

:: Lawn care

Create a greener, lusher lawn by feeding and seeding it. Regular mowing in the summer should keep it healthy. Between May and August, pick a cool, moist day to apply a summer lawn fertiliser or chicken manure pellets. Sprinkle them across your lawn and lightly water.

:: Perk up your paintwork

Revitalise wooden fences, gates and sheds by giving them a lick of paint, using paint specifically designed for outside use. To focus attention on the plants, use a colour to divert the eye away from fences and gates such as holly green. This will make them melt into the background.

Jane Templar, garden buyer at Homebase, suggests: "Think about creating a walkway, either through or around your garden. This provides a route for potential buyers when they are looking around and means they don't get muddy as they go. Stone makes for a good path in almost any home, although if your house has a cottage-like feel, consider a gravel path, as this is more in keeping with the style of the property."

BEST OF THE BUNCH - Euphorbia

Their flowers may be insignificant, but the bracts of this reliable perennial can be show-stoppers, ranging from acid yellow to deep orange. They are brilliant for year-round interest, filling the gap between spring bedding and the first flush of summer perennials. Growing to around 50cm in height and spread, they will grow in most soils which don't become waterlogged and most prefer sun, but will tolerate partial shade. Good varieties include E. polychroma, a bright yellow type which combines well with purple sage, and the larger E. griffithii 'Dixter', which can grow up to 100cm and may need staking, but whose deep orange bracts appearing in April and May and again in August and September will make any maintenance worthwhile. Always wear gloves when handling euphorbias as they are all poisonous and produce milky sap when damaged which can irritate the skin and burn the mouth.

GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT - Asparagus

This is the month for asparagus, a seasonal favourite often offered as a simple but delicious starter, served hot with melted butter or cold with mayonnaise. Its season is short - May and the beginning of June - and those who buy it out of season will be disappointed at the lack of flavour. Y ou'll need to prepare the soil well beforehand when growing asparagus. It needs to be free draining and well weeded. If your soil is heavy, add masses of grit in the base of your beds and rotavate it in, raking the surface to make it smooth. Plant asparagus crowns (young plants) at the end of March in a sheltered, sunny spot. Leave it until April if the soil is cold and wet, digging trenches around 1m apart. To ensure a longer harvest, plant an early variety such as Connover's Colossal along with a later variety, such as Martha Washington. You should not harvest the spears which appear shortly after planting. Cutting can begin properly in the second year, when the spears reach 10-15cm, and can be cut around 8cm below the soil surface with a special asparagus knife. Never let them grow too tall or they become lanky and woody.

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

:: Plant agapanthus bulbs in groups in large pots or directly outside in warm and sheltered borders.

:: Feed pond plants by pushing fertiliser pellets down into the compost of established water lilies and other aquatics growing in baskets.

:: When flower stems appear on strawberries, place either clean straw or polythene around the base of the plants so that fruit will be kept clear of the soil as it develops.

:: If you missed out on raising cabbage or cauliflower for transplanting, late crops can be had by sowing direct in the bed.

:: Feed seedlings and young plants which are growing poorly or have pale, yellowing foliage.

:: Remove faded flowers from daffodils, hyacinths and tulips.

:: Prepare trenches for planting out young celery plants raised under glass.

:: A range of salad seeds, including alfalfa, fenugreek and mung beans can be sprouted in jars on the kitchen windowsill to use in salads.

:: Transplant young seedlings of cabbages and other brassicas sown in seed beds earlier in the year.

:: Continue a weekly mowing regime of the lawn, lowering the blades a little at a time as grass growth increases over the weeks.