It's Time To Spring Clean Your Garden - Pinecone Cottage Retreat

Spring is finally here! For most of us, we can breathe a sigh of relief that this crazy winter is finally over. But winter has left a mess that we’ll need to take care of. As you finally emerge from your dark winter home to walk around your yard, here are a few things that you might notice…

downed branches
broken tree limbs
matted leaves in the flower beds
snow mold
smashed and broken shrubs
leaves blown into corners
spilled flower pots
damaged fences

These are just a few of the problems you might discover, so it’s time to spring clean your garden.

When spring finally hits, gardeners are often excited to begin planting flowers and preparing the vegetable beds. But before all the fun stuff can begin, you’ll need to do a little (or a lot) of spring cleaning. You need to clean up that winter mess so your flower beds, cutting garden, vegetable garden and pots are ready for your new plants. Let’s get started!

Steps To Spring Clean Your Garden…

Step 1: Assess

Take a quick walk around your yard and garden and make notes on all the tasks you need to accomplish. Some of your winter cleanup chores might be quick and easy, while others could take months to complete. Also, make note of any supplies you might need for these jobs. Keep in mind that you don’t have to complete all of the tasks on your list before you can start the planting. However, you will need to do some of the work prior to spring planting.

Step 2: Quick Wins

Now that you know what needs to be done to get the garden in shape, don’t put off the chores. Go for the quick wins first. What can you accomplish quickly to make your yard and garden presentable? Take an hour to rake up all the broken branches. Spend an afternoon prepping your flower borders by raking out the leaf matter and trimming the broken branches off your shrubs. Be sure to start with your beds that have early season bulbs and perennials coming up. Don’t wait too long to clean out these beds or the plants can be damaged by your rake or other garden tools.

These quick wins will help you see a more rapid change and you’ll feel encouraged to keep working. Don’t start with the hardest project first, such as repairing your deck. This can be overwhelming and you’ll be less motivated to complete other garden chores.

Step 3: Set A Schedule

For the tasks that will take longer to accomplish you’ll want to set a schedule. Break the jobs into smaller tasks and incorporate these jobs into your daily gardening activities. For example, create a schedule for cleaning out the leaves from under your evergreens. You can rake leaves for just fifteen minutes a day until the job is completed. If you need to repair your fence then work on one six-foot section at a time. Repair one line of your irrigation system at a time.

I encourage you to create your plan and actually put it on your calendar. This way you can remind yourself daily of the garden chore for that day. Otherwise, you might just continue to push those chores off until it’s late in the spring garden season and you won’t have as much time to work on them.

Step 4: Create Some Motivation

Visit a local nursery or two for some gardening inspiration. Nurseries oftentimes will have beautiful flowers ready to go before you can actually plant them. Just seeing the beautiful blooms and envisioning your lush flower and herb beds can give you the incentive you need to get your yard and garden ready to go.

You might also see a new feature that you’ll want to add to your collection. Maybe a new bird bath, water fountain, garden pot or birdhouse. There is nothing like walking through a full-size greenhouse loaded with spring starts to get you excited for the new season.

Here Is A List Of Spring Cleaning Jobs To Complete…

Clean up winter debris
Rake up leftover autumn leaves
Remove mulch on tender plants once the risk of frost is over
Prune damaged shrubs and trees
Prune for the growing season (do not prune spring-blooming shrubs and trees until after they bloom)
Cut back perennial stems that you left standing last winter
Cut back last year’s grasses
Divide hardy perennials such as hostas and daylilies
Add compost to your beds and borders
Repair damaged structures such as fences, decks and sheds
Clean up pathways, decks, and patios
Repair and clean outdoor furniture

Now is a perfect time to get these early season chores done. For many of us, it’s still a little too cold to be planting vegetables or flowers. But you can get your garden prepped and ready to go for the spring show. Cleaning up from the winter is certainly not everyone’s favorite garden activity, but it’s something that will definitely need to be done. So grab a jacket and some garden gloves and spend a little time each day working to get your garden ready for the full spring season. Before you know it your spring bulbs will be in bloom. Your flowering shrubs will be bursting with flowers. Your garden beds will be prepared and ready for your seeds or transplants. The temperature will continue to rise making strolls through your garden a wonderful morning and evening activity.

As you and your garden emerge from winter, you’ll begin to see little changes that can help keep you motivated. The garden work that you begin now is like that daffodil starting to peek out of the ground. As it pushes its way up, it makes room for the full plant and beautiful blooms. As you begin working in the garden and cleaning up the old, winter mess, you’ll make room for the new spring and summer plants that will be bursting with life.

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It’s Time To Spring Clean Your Garden