The first garden year

The instinct after closing is to plant. The better instinct is to watch. A yard reveals itself over four seasons, and almost every expensive landscaping mistake is made in the first eight weeks of ownership by someone who has not yet seen the property in a hard rain.

Watch the water

Go outside during a serious storm and look at where water collects, where it runs, and where it arrives at the foundation. Pennsylvania clay soils drain slowly. A low corner that holds water in April will kill anything you plant there in June and can quietly work on your basement for years.

Watch the light

Full sun in May under bare branches is deep shade in July. Note the actual hours of direct sun on each part of the yard at the height of leaf out, not in early spring when everything looks generous.

Two things worth doing immediately

• Extend the downspouts. Getting roof water six feet away from the foundation is the highest return work on any property, and it costs less than a single shrub.
• Have mature trees looked at by an arborist. A large tree near the house is either the best feature of the property or a five figure problem, and the difference is not visible from the ground.

The trees you inherit are worth more than anything you will plant. Take care of them first.

The kitchen garden case

Raised beds solve the clay problem outright, warm earlier in the spring, and give a new owner one manageable project in a year that already has too many. Three beds is enough. Six is a commitment that arrives at the same time as everything else.