(landscaper trimming and preparing yard for spring clean)
Early spring is the time of year when we prepare our homes and yards for the beautiful warm weather. It's the time when we go through our closets, sheds, and gardens in order to clear out the cobwebs and prepare for a fresh start.
For lawns, early spring is the perfect time to start your spring yard clean-up. This means tidying up the flower beds and gardens. Spring cleaning is the perfect way to prepare your property for the warmer summer season and get your landscape looking its best.
Five Spring Yard Clean-Up Tasks For a Healthy Lawn
#1: Early Spring Leaf and Debris Cleanup
Your property's spring makeover begins with raking up the dead branches and fallen branches, dead grass, and dead foliage left over from the fall and winter seasons. If you laid a deep layer of mulch in the late fall, you should scrape this away so that any perennials can start poking through. The mulch can be reapplied after a few weeks when the tender perennials have grown a few inches.
This debris has been lying under the layers of snow for a few months and will need to be removed before you can really start sprucing up your property. You should collect last season's mulch, old grass clippings, dead leaves, and other debris into a compost pile that can be shredded and re-used later. If your property is large and expansive, you may find that hiring a professional landscaping company can help you finish this spring cleanup task faster. Raking the fall leaves from your landscape prepares your beautiful lawn for the next steps and makes it easier to tend to it during the growing season.
#2 Lay The Grass Seed
Once you've cleaned up the fallen leaves, broken branches, and other debris, you are probably left with a lawn that is still not looking its best. The winter storms and cold, wet weather may have left behind bare spots and bare patches where your grass has thinned out. To improve your lawn and get your yard ready for warmer weather, you should lay seed for new growth, especially in those areas where the grass is thinner.
Use a tiller to break the new ground before seeding the area and be sure to water your grass with your garden hose regularly. While you can also lay new seed in the fall, early spring is a great time for a new layer of seed. Be sure to add fertilizer so that your seed is well-fed to develop deep root systems and prevent soil erosion.
#3: Prepare Your Garden Beds
Winter can leave your garden looking like a plant cemetery that desperately needs some fresh mulch and flowers. The cold and wet weather has likely left your planting bed lifeless and dull. To get ready for the spring planting season, you should prepare the beds for optimal growth. You can pull out any dead limbs or weeds and spread some new soil in the planting beds. Fresh soil and mulch not only improve the look of a garden bed but can also help with the healthy growth of your plants. You may also want to use compost or fertilizer to make your soil soft and ready for plants to sprout in the late spring.
#4: Pest and Weed Control
Weeds can steal the nourishment and sunlight that your plants need to survive and clog up your yard or garden. You can get ahead of this headache with a crabgrass treatment or crabgrass control. You would not want your freshly laid soil and mulch to go to waste with pesky weeds and crabgrass popping up.
Weeds thrive and germinate when the soil temperature reaches 12-15 degrees Celsius. Using a pre-emergent herbicide or other safe forms of weed control on your landscape can help you combat the various pests and weeds that can affect your property throughout the year.
#5: General Lawn Care and Maintenance
Finally, general yard maintenance can go a long way when preparing for the spring and summer. This includes mowing the grass, pruning shrubs, and monitoring the growth produced by your lawn and garden. For cutting the grass, be sure to set your mower to the right height and mow regularly throughout the spring. Pruning should only take place after your summer flowering shrubs have finished blooming and can be different depending on the type of shrub you have. As the weather warms, your maintenance will likely be more sporadic, depending on your area's climate.
We Can Help: Riverwood Oakville Landscaping
(fresh spring backyard after a spring cleanup)
Need a professional to help you with your yard clean up? Riverwood Oakville Landscaping is here to help! Our landscaping services include general spring maintenance to prep your lawn for the warmer months. Contact us today to see how we can help you prepare your lawn for spring!
