Spring is a fantastic time to decorate your yard and grow new shrubs and trees. The temperature is beginning to warm up, and the sheets of snow and ice are finally melting away.d
However, you must first learn how to clean up your yard for spring to fully take advantage of this season. Doing so ensures that there won’t be obstacles in accomplishing your upcoming gardening tasks.
Cut Your Shrubs and Grasses
First up, check your perennials and grasses if they need some pruning. This is an important activity that encourages new plant growth.
Ornamental grasses like blue fescue, blue oat grass, and maiden grass should be reduced to a height between two to three inches from the ground.
Use sharp pruners since uneven and dull cuts make your plants more vulnerable to disease.
Likewise, flowering perennials such as twincrest onion and amaranth are better off being just four to five inches tall.
Apart from pruning them, you can also transplant some of them in other areas in your yard.
However, you must be sure that the soil has thawed. Look for bare patches and place them there. This prevents overcrowding, which forces shrubs to constantly compete with each other for nutrients.
If you have any rose canes, locate any parts damaged during winter. Cut these affected parts down to one inch lower from where the damaged section begins.
If you have climbing vines such as wisteria, trumpet vine, and lilac solanum, you can remove their old wooden canes. Let the younger canes remain.
Furthermore, try to improve the appearance by bending the young canes and making the flowers point downward.
Prune Your Trees
Apart from shrubs, trees also need attention if you want to completely prepare the garden for spring. Both damaged and dead parts of trees should be pruned as soon as possible.
Several factors could have damaged the branches back in winter: strong winds, heavy snow, and extremely cold temperatures.
Prune these branches back to where the stems are still alive.
As for evergreens, look for a branch that grows to a direction you prefer and prune the others.
Fix Damaged Sections of Your Lawn
Repairing damaged patches of your lawn should be done about a month before you sow new grass seeds.
Some sections might have succumbed to pests, diseases, weeds, or even to too much salt in the soil.
Use herbicide, pesticide, or fungicide to treat the area — you can even completely remove all the grass in one patch.
Go and grab a metallic flat-tip rake to get rid of the dead lawn grass. Afterward, flip the rake so you can use it for composting.
Apply a half-inch layer of compost on the affected patches. This increases the amount of moisture while also improving the rate of germination.
Clean the Garden Beds and Borders
It’s not yet time to store your rake in the shed. Apart from the lawn grass, both beds and borders need to be tidied up.
Get rid of any fallen leaves, twigs, and branches. Apart from possibly harboring diseases, this debris could prevent your plants from receiving ample sunlight and nutrients.
Annuals like snapdragons, wax begonias, and maize can be pulled up once they’ve finished their life cycle. Place them in a wheelbarrow where you can collect all other natural garden waste.
If there is no imminent spring frost, get rid of the mulch you previously placed. Apply a new layer of mulch after you’ve sowing new seeds or transplanting seedlings.
Any vegetables or flowering plants that have been moved to the side of the garden beds should be pushed back. Step on the ground surrounding these plants with your shoes to keep the soil compact enough.
You can also get a shovel to dig them up and securely replant the plants on the beds and borders.
Keep Your Garden Pathways and Patio Clean
Get your rake once again and move any displaced gravel back to the appropriate pathways or to your patio.
A low spot might have developed, especially around your driveway, so fill this up with gravel as well.
If you have flagstones, fill the areas between them with sand or stone dust.
Don’t forget to use a garden hose to let them set. You can also get rid of stains and algae on your pathways and patio using a pressure washer.
Furthermore, the snow and ice from winter could have pushed the pavers away from their original location. Pull them up, then, reinforce the base material before placing the pavers again.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many spring cleaning activities that you can do.
Pruning trees and shrubs alike should encourage new growth while improving their appearance. Utilize your rake, shovel, pruner, pressure washer, and other gardening tools to get rid of yard debris and undesirable foliage.
We hope that our guide will help you prepare your yard for spring. If you have any questions, feel free to send us a comment.
