One of the simplest ways of improving the curb appeal of your home, be it historically significant or contemporary, is through landscaping. Yes, a paint job works extremely well too, but nothing delights the eye more than a varied display of color, form and texture that will embrace your home.

Trees and shrubs can lend additional architectural detail while flowers may add a certain air of sophistication or whimsey. Now as the summer winds down here in northern Vermont, and the first frost has nipped the annuals, my previous efforts at deadheading have allowed the perennials to come through once again. However, soon they too will succumb to the chill in the air, but I do not fret. Large pots of mums sit proudly alongside the front door, flanked by dried corn stalks and pumpkins of various sizes. The bounty of the season, in all its glory, greets neighbors and wayfarers alike, dressing up this old, stately house for yet another season.

As winter comes forth, ever so quickly here in the north country, snow will eventually crown the heads of autumn sedum. The tepees that lent a hand to runner beans, sweet peas and tomatoes over the course of the summer, will now act as my snowfall yardsticks, popping out here and there as the snow piles up, something it inevitably does throughout the Vermont winter.

Yes, the paint job is important, but it is the landscaping, never ending and always evolving that will give your home its enduring character.