Preparing Your Landscaping for Spring
Preparing Your Landscaping for Spring
While it may not seem like there is a lot to do for your landscaping, lawn, and gardens over the winter season, there are actually some chores you can complete over the next few months.
Here are some of the top tasks you should be considering and completing before springtime hits your backyard this year. Depending on the size and complexity of your property, you may want to get started on these sooner rather than later.
Prune Your Shrubs
If you have any shrub shelters covering and protecting your bushes, this is a good time to start removing them as the weather gets warmer. Then you will want to take a long, hard look at your shrubs to see if there are any old/dying branches that need to be removed. You may have some branches that were damaged by snow that need to be pruned or completely taken away.
As for the living sections of your shrubs, be careful when you decide to prune them. If you have bushes that bloom in the springtime, you may want to hold off on cutting any living wood until later in the year. However, for shrubs that won’t bloom until summer or fall, it’s safe to prune them at the end of winter.
Clean Up Your Lawn
If you kept up with your landscaping during the autumn season, then you most likely got rid of a lot of debris and leaves before snow and rain started falling during the winter. Even so, you will most likely still need to do some clean up around your lawn.
Since the grass has most likely been under either a blanket of snow or other moisture, there are probably still leaves, sticks, and mud to get rid of. Take your rake and clean out any clogged/covered areas to give your lawn extra fresh air and sunshine.
Also make sure to go through and rake up pine needles and pick up pinecones, rocks, animal waste, and anything else that may have made its way to your landscaping.
Prepare Your Flower Beds
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When it comes to flower beds that are established and have perennials growing in them, consider putting in some extra compost around the plants for fertilization and make the soil more friable. Also remove any weeds that have grown in, and take away and dead growth that was missed in the fall.
As for opening up brand new beds for planting, there are a few options you have this time of year as well. You can start by killing the grass in the area using a smothering method, to make space for the incoming plants. You can also use a tiller to break up the new ground, or build up raised beds for the plants.
Once you have the space for the new bed, know that weeds will spring up fairly quickly. You might want to consider laying landscaping fabric over the ground and then mulching it to protect the space. If you don’t like the idea of landscaping fabric, simply stick with mulching.
Start Planting Seeds
Late winter/early spring is a decent time to begin installing shrubs and trees, as well as planting perennial flowers (as long as they’re hardy). If you want to plant more tender perennials or annuals, wait until there’s no chance of another frost in your region.
Mulching
Rather than simply adding new mulch to areas that will eventually need it, start by cleaning out old, deep mulch and matted leaves and debris.
Too much mulch can smother your perennials, so it’s a good idea to remove some of the mulch when the ground under them is starting to thaw. Then make sure it’s replaced before it becomes cold again later in the year.
Once the warm weather is here to stay and your perennials have pushed up a few inches, apply a new layer of mulch to conserve water and suppress weeds throughout the summertime.
Our Final Thoughts on Late Winter/Early Spring Chores
No matter the size of your landscaping, it’s important to “wake up” your yard and prepare it for the warmer days ahead. If you do have additional questions or concerns regarding early spring landscaping, contact Homescape Now for assistance today!
Where are you in your early springtime landscaping chores?
