Why Chip Gaines Thinks Landscaping Is the Best Home Project This Fall

Even though he grew up in Texas and is no stranger to the heat, Chip Gaines is looking forward to cooler weather this coming fall—believe it or not.

“Thank God,” he said when I mentioned the upcoming season.

In addition to being a respite from the hot summer days, fall is also a great time for homeowners to tackle some home projects that they can’t do in warm weather and need to complete before winter arrives.

As a contractor and star of the hit show, FixAlong with his wife Joanna, Gaines specializes in home improvement projects, and he has a specific suggestion for the best project homeowners can undertake this fall.

Read on to learn about his must-do project and tips for getting the job done.

Landscaping is the best project for fall.

Of course, it’s much easier to tackle outdoor and landscaping projects in the fall when temperatures are milder, and Gaines encourages us to take a closer look at landscape designs as fall approaches.

“I like landscaping when I think about value for money,” he told The Spruce. “First impressions are the look of the property. So I’m serious when I say the mailbox is important to me, the landscaping around the mailbox is important to me, the driveway is important to me, the landscaping around the house is important to me.”

Gaines says landscaping may even be the best project to undertake if you plan to sell your home soon, as it can make the biggest impact on potential buyers. He has seen this firsthand while working RepairExplain that the exterior is key to attracting potential buyers to the store.

Landscaping isn’t the only suggestion Gaines has for upgrading a home in the fall.

“Paint can go a long way,” he said. “I understand it’s intimidating, but once you get in there and try it, you realize it’s not that hard.”

Gaines Partners with Bobcat to Renovate Park

Gaines spoke with us at the launch of his latest initiative with Bobcat, which involves building a baseball stadium in the heart of his hometown of Waco, Texas. And in classic Gaines style, there was plenty of demolition involved.

With the help of a few Bobcats, he demolished the old cabin and even planted a few trees before some volunteers and city workers moved in to finish the renovation.

In addition to doing some of the construction work, Gaines also used his role as a Bobcat brand ambassador to help promote Bobcat’s community improvement contest. Communities across the United States can nominate themselves to renovate a local park or recreation space, and the winner will receive $100,000 for their project.

For Bobcat, partnering with Gaines on this contest was a no-brainer—and not just because of his love of sports, especially baseball.

“Late last year, we started talking about working with Chip, and it was really based on the fact that he operates our equipment; he’s a landscaper,” said Laura Ness Owens, Vice President of Global Marketing at Bobcat.

“I think we have a lot in common in terms of hard work ethic and wanting to find a better way to get things done and give back to the community.”

The contest also partners with the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), which has previously partnered with Bobcat to provide grants to needy communities in need.

Bret Gaither, Senior Director of Development at NRPA, said the community that wins the competition will be the community that actually benefits from the funds.

“Green space is such an important thing that parks provide, but it’s really undervalued,” Gaither said.

He explained that the process of selecting a winner will include evaluating the community’s existing park budget, population size, and ensuring the project is ADA compliant, among other factors.

“We didn’t want a park in the middle of a bunch of mansions to get this investment,” Gaither said. “We wanted to make sure it was an area that really needed it.”

The deadline for nominations for the park renovation project is August 16.