The two most important rooms, when selling a home, are the kitchen and bath. If your counter top is old, you may want to consider granite 12x12 tiles. If the cabinets are in decent shape, a coat of paint and new hardware are equally important. The bathroom vanity is importatnt, as well as flooring. I am nearing completion on my first flip and will be selling the home furnished and decorated. My specialty is re-using found materials, flea market finds, etc. You would be amazed on what just a new coat of paint can do.
Which brings me to staging. You really want to make you prospective buyers see themselves living there. I am not sure how long you have been living there, but we all tend to collect too much clutter, so going through and boxing up some of your un-necessary "stuff" helps make the home seem more open and spacious. You were right about planting. Curb appeal is extremely important. You have to give people a reason to want to come in. If the front in not in that great of shape, people will not want to stop to see the inside. They will just assume that the outside is a sign of things to come.
I do this for a living, so can tell you that spending a little money goes a long way prior to selling. You do not want your realtor just continuing to suggest lowering your price if there are no offers right away. Let me know if there are any specific areas of your home that you feel need work. In this market, here in Michigan, you have got to try to differentiate your home to compete with all of the foreclosures out there.