When the winter season is in its final stages, you should start spring cleaning your landscape. During the winter period, the homeowners keep themselves restricted indoors. Therefore, the spring season is the best period to enjoy the time in the landscape with your family.
Generally, the winter season is the unattended season and will leave your landscape with tons of problems. Therefore, it is vital to have some garden improvement tips under your belt. These landscape improvement tips will let you prepare your garden in the best possible way. It is very important to make the green area of your home top-notch.
Setting Up the Trap (Key Points)
- Spring cleaning your landscape comprises three phases: debris removal, trimming, and ground preparation for new plantations.
- You should remove all the debris, including snow, weeds, dry leaves, broken stems, and dead plants.
- Trimming the perennials is also essential for cleaning your landscape, as trimming will curtail the extra space occupied by these plants. Ideally, you should aim for 4 to 5 inches above the soil line.
- Mulch replacement is also necessary to expedite the new plantation drive. Select the most suitable type of mulch according to the plants that you plan to grow in that specific area.
- Furthermore, mulches should be added in the form of layers having dimensions not more than 2 inches.
- Keep pH level neutral for grass growth.
- Prepare the lawn by using a metal rake. Loosen the soil by using compost and it is to be noted that it also acts as a fertilizer.
- Add new plants such as roses, hydrangea, catmint, or African daisy.
Spring Cleaning Your Landscape: Process Breakdown
Spring cleaning your landscape is based on three phases. The first phase is removing the debris and is an essential part as the future planning of the landscape’s layout depends on thorough cleaning of the area. Moving forward, the second phase is trimming and soil preparation. It involves cutting down the extended parts of perennials to create room.
Moreover, fertilizers should be added to the loosened soil surface to make the soil conditions ideal for growth. Add mulch after the completion of the fertilization process. The final phase of the spring-cleaning process is to replace dead plants with fresh and new plants.
Remove Debris: Spring Cleaning Your Landscape
The removal of debris and waste material on the landscape is the first and most crucial step. You should remove snow, dry leaves, broken stems, rotten fruits, and dead plants from your landscape. It is a prerequisite step as you will be able to plan the future outlay after spring cleaning your landscape.
Take time and remove every inch of weed, debris, stones, pebbles, and all unwanted materials from your garden. Once you get a clear picture of your green areas, you can decide about the forthcoming steps to make your garden ready for the spring season.
Trimming Perennials
Perennials are the plants that become the face of your garden. However, overstuffing occurs when they are left to grow excessively during the winter season. Therefore, it is time to cut down the extended parts of perennials for spring cleaning your landscape.
According to garden improvement experts, you should trim perennials only 4 to 5 inches above the soil line to get the best results. Trimming will shrink the covered area of these perennials and will give a wider look to your garden. That’s why trimming is considered one of the most vital aspects of garden maintenance.
Moreover, you should also reconfigure the placement of perennials. It gives a shady look if there is overcrowding of these beautiful plants. Thereby, you should limit the grouping of perennials. Limiting the perennials to smaller groups will ensure that every plant gets an adequate amount of minerals and nutrients for growth. Thus, perennials should be divided into three to five shoots.
Soil Preparation: Spring Cleaning Your Landscape
This is a crucial step in garden maintenance as you will have to follow it to get the best results. Soil preparation is essential as it has long-lasting impacts on your garden. It is vital for spring cleaning your landscape. Firstly, you should prepare and aerate the lawn by using a square metal rake.
Furthermore, you have to make the compacted soil loose to get the best growth benefits. Aerating is important as it will provide air and light to the roots of the plants, enhancing their growth considerably. For the area of grass, you should keep the pH level neutral while preparing the soil.
Fertilization And Compost
The landscape will paint a non-fertile picture after the winter season. Therefore, it is critical to make the soil fertile after preparing the soil thoroughly while spring cleaning your landscape. You should use low-nitrogen fertilizers for the fertilization of your landscape’s ground.
The low-nitrogen fertilizers are best for perennials, shrubs, and other plantations in the garden. Compost is the best and most easily available material to carry out the fertilization process. You should use compost according to the types of plants in a specific area.
Compost is rich in vital nutrients and will elevate the plant growth process. Furthermore, it is also important to store organic debris rather than throw it away with other debris. The organic yard debris is also a compost material and will serve the role of fertilizer for your landscape for the coming months.
Spring Cleaning Your Landscape: Layering Mulch
Mulch is another important aspect of spring cleaning your landscape. It is important to remember that mulch is added after the fertilization process as it helps to stop the growth of weeds and will keep the soil moist. Moreover, adding mulch after completing the fertilization process will disallow the overheating of soil.
You should also remember to spread mulch over the fertile soil in the form of layers with thickness not exceeding 2 inches. The type of mulch to use for certain plants is also important for consideration. You should use pine straw as mulch for trees. Moreover, leaf mold, cocoa hulls, and compost will be good mulch for perennials. Lastly, do not spread excessive mulch near the base to avoid suffocating the roots.
Adding New Plants: Spring Cleaning Your Landscape
Finally, after you are done with cleaning, trimming, soil preparation, and mulching processes, it is time to add new plants to your garden. Ideally, you should go for perennials such as rose, hydrangea, African daisy, or catmint. However, you can also use edible plants to elevate the diversity of your landscape.
Adding new plants is the fundamental step of spring cleaning your landscape. Be careful while choosing plants and avoid those that require excessive care and environmental conditions.
Conclusion
Spring cleaning your landscape is the process every homeowner has to go through. It is a vital step after the winter season. It comprises three phases: trimming, soil preparation, and adding new plants. For best results, you should follow all the above-listed steps in the respected order. Following the order will make spring cleaning a hassle-free job.