Spring Cleaning Check List

Can you believe it's April already! It's hard to believe this year is already going by so fast! I think it's partly hard to believe because we've had such a long winter. Winter seems not want to leave us! But with each day passing it's getting warmer, staying light out longer, we know that Spring is indeed here and Winter will have to leave us! 

Garden Season is about to be in full swing! Here's a check list of items that need to be done by now: 

Prep your beds! Give your garden beds a little freshening up by tilling in compost or well rotten manure.

Have your hedges pruned!

This is the time of year to cut back for new growth. March is the perfect month to do this, but our Spring is a little late arriving so we are slightly behind. If you plan to do this, do it quickly before it warms up too. However - you should not prune brushes or shrubs that bloom in the Spring. Those should have been done last fall. If you cut or prune Spring blooming plants you'll be cutting away all of the flowers that were suppose to bloom this spring. So be careful of that and wait until after they are done flowering to prune or cut them back. Here are some good links to check out on Pruning: Better Holmes in Garden  and This Old House: Do's and Don'ts of Pruning

Do a little Spring Cleaning by clearing up brown dead foliage away from the plants. This foliage provides a nice blanket throw winter, but now with Spring arriving we want to clear it and make room for new growth! 

Rack up the dead leaves or debris  that could have blown into the gardens during winter. 

Cut back your ornamental grasses to about a few inches above the ground. This clears away the brown dead grass and gives room for thick green grasses to grow in. Your ornamental grasses will look healthier by doing this. 

Hope this gives you all something to do now that Spring is here! 

Have fun getting dirty in your Garden! 

Until Next Time!