April 7, 2020

​As we spend more time at home, it’s a good idea to get outside and enjoy some fresh air. It can also be a nice opportunity to start a little spring cleaning around your yard and garden. Cleaning up dead plant material can help prevent major problems later in the season. Once the ground has thawed, here are some simple cleanup tips to help you get started this spring:

1. Prune shrubs – Spring pruning triggers new growth and helps to prevent disease issues.
2. Get rid of mulch – Remove winter mulch you may have added last fall.
3. Brush back leaves – Be sure to brush back thick layers of leaves that are on top of plants.
4. Pull dead annuals – Petunias, begonias, marigolds and other annual flowers won’t grow back after winter. Pull them out, roots and all, and toss them into the compost bin
5. Remove dead growth from perennials – Prune or pull the dead leaves from perennials like hostas, day lilies and ornamental grasses.
6. Clean up the vegetable garden – Remove as much of the debris and roots of the plants around your vegetable garden beds.
7. Pull weeds – Weeds are easy to see in the spring before all the perennial plants start filling in, and easy to pull since the ground is wet.
8. Edge garden beds – Once you have the garden clean, the grass is easy to see, and it’s also easy to pull out, since the soil is wet.

Taking the time to do your spring garden cleanup will make summer maintenance much easier. A clean garden is a healthy (and pretty) garden!