Are you ready for our annual spring yard clean up tips? The good news for most of us is that the winter appears to be over. The weather is starting to warm up a bit. That means you need to start thinking about your yard and your landscaping. There are some early spring cleanup tasks that you or your landscaping professional can actually get started with now. They are as follows….
1. Prune The Damaged And Dead Branches From Your Trees And Shrubs
Many of your tree and shrub branches have been damaged by the cold, snow, ice and wind during the winter time. That means they must be pruned back to their live stems. You can use a handsaw for any branches that are bigger than ½ inch in diameter. It’s better to shape your shrubs with hand pruners instead of electric ones. In essence, it eliminates that thick outer layer of growth that prevents the air and the sunshine from reaching the center of the bush. You should also prune any of your summer flowering shrubs at this time, but wait to prune your shrubs that bloom in spring until after they flower. If you don’t want to do the pruning yourself, we can take on this important task for you.
2: Cleanup Around Plants And Flowers
The next item on our spring yard cleanup tips is to rake out any leaves and dead foliage in the flower beds and around the plants. If you fail to do this it will not only promote disease, it will also smother the flowers and plants. Remove any dead annuals. Also, remove the existing mulch in order to prepare for a new layer once the spring planting is complete. Any heaved plants need to be pushed back into the flower beds. Tamp them down around the base of the plant with your foot. In severe cases, you can use a shovel and replant them.
It’s also a good time to spread plant fertilizer on the surface of the soil around the plants so that the spring rain can reach the roots. Add some fertilizer around flower bulbs once they flower in order to increase the bloom time. It will also go a long way in feeding next season’s growth stage. If you don’t want to clean around the plants and flowers yourself, we can take on this important task for you.
3: Compost Your Yard Waste
Did you know that all of your yard waste can be composted in order to feed your flowers and plants in the near future? Start by dumping collected leaves, tree and shrub cuttings, dead foliage, and last year’s mulch into a compost pile. You should shred leaves and chip branches that are bigger than ½ inch in diameter in order to quicken the decomposition process. You can also add bagged compost to your starter pile. Your compost pile should be as moist as a sponge that has been wrung out. The pile needs to be aerated with a pitchfork every two weeks.
Do not add any early spring weeds that have seeded because they will most likely sprout instead of decompose. We can set up and take care of your compost pile if it’s not a task that you want to attempt on your own.
If you’re interested in getting more tips for cleaning up your yard in Marlborough, MA in preparation for the upcoming spring season, or would like to schedule an initial consultation please contact The Veron Company today.
