3 Landscape Tips Before Spring for Your Garden

April 3, 2017

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Whether it was a harsh winter or not, there are certain things you’ll have to do to your landscaping before spring officially arrives. When it warms enough for being outdoors working in the yard, you might be tempted to jump directly into your gardening. Unfortunately, there’s a transition phase between winter and the gardening of spring. Consider these landscape tips as a preparation for spring.

1. Winter Clean Up and Lawn Care

While you might have done a good job at cleaning before winter hit, there’s likely some work to be done in the yard. Clearing debris like broken branches, twigs and left over leaves, are a priority for spring. If you didn’t clean as much as you should have in the fall, now is the time to clear the rot or mold that could have developed.

It’s a great time to rake your lawn. Even if you raked all the leaves, the grass can become matted due to snow depending on your area. It’ll give you a chance to assess the grass too. While raking the grass to allow it to breathe, check for signs of blighted areas. While caring for your lawn, aeration can help to loosen a compacted lawn. When you find bare parts of the lawn, add some seed to that area. Spring is the time to fertilize the lawn too.

2. Tree and Shrub Damage and Pruning

In the spring, you’ll want to do a perimeter check to see how the trees and shrubs fared through the winter. High winds, snow, and ice can really destroy some trees and weigh down shrubs. Broken or bent branches should be cut immediately. When trees and bushes emerge from winter to spring, they’ll take that time to heal from trauma. A clean cut heals better than a rip or torn branch.

Make sure you understand the types of shrubs and plants you have before trimming and pruning. This task should be done to some trees and shrubs, but not on others. When a shrub has buds that can appear on the new wood, these are the shrubs you’ll want to prune. You’ll get a short, full shrub for the summer. This also means it’s time to prune rose bushes and climbing vines. Some flowering bushes or shrubs should be pruned only after they’ve flowered, so you can see where the dead parts are located.

3. Equipment Inspection

From the blades on your lawn mower to the sharpness of your cutters, hedge trimmer, and spades, it’s important to check and maintain your landscaping equipment. Add fuel to the lawnmower and chainsaw. Any equipment with a motor should be checked to ensure the lines aren’t frayed or torn.

This is the time to check the sprinkler system too. Make sure none of the lines have been damaged. You can hire a professional to test and repair the system if you’re not comfortable doing it yourself.

Before you can think about planting, there’s a transition phase between winter and spring where you should be cleaning from winter and preparing the lawn and garden for the coming warmth. These landscape tips should help make that transition easier.