Your Garden Gnomes Are Ready… Are You?
If you look out into your garden and see a graveyard of last year’s plants, take a deep breath and don’t worry – you’re definitely not alone!
Old stems, fallen twigs, excess foliage, and scatterings of leaves are completely normal when the season turns. However, leaving it there for too long can not only be an eye-sore but can also hurt your garden. Dead material can harbor disease and spores, and can also hide weeds that can quickly spread if left for too long.
Extending your spring cleaning to the garden is the best way to keep it healthy and looking its best.
To Garden? Or Not to Garden? That is the Question.
Spring weather is dicey at the best of times, especially in Alberta, so there are a few conditions that you should wait for before deciding to start on your garden tune up.
Firstly, wait until the last frost is scheduled. This information can be readily found on both your local weather and gardening sites. Nobody wants to go through all the work of gardening only for the cold to kill of your new plant babies.
Secondly, wait until the daily temperature is consistently 10C (or 50F) and above for at least two weeks. Stable weather is key!
As well, pollinators (such as bees and dragonflies) hibernate in old plant foliage over the winter months and won’t wake up until it’s warm enough to do so. If you start your garden clean up too early, you might accidently get rid of more than just your dead leaves!
In a Sea of Greenery, Where Do I start?
Just like with any large goal, it’s always best to break it up into smaller, more manageable tasks – and cleaning up your garden is no different! To make things as simple as possible, we’ve broken it down into five easy steps to get you started.
1. Prune Your Shrubs
Pruning your shrubbery is a great way to say goodbye to the old and hello to the new. It encourages new growth and also helps to curb disease which will leave your garden looking fresh in the summer. Depending on the size of your garden, you can use a full sized rake or a hand rake to clean up the fallout. Then it’s into the compost with all those old bits and pieces!
Pro tip: leave the trim work on your blooming shrubs till after they’re done flowering – you don’t want to accidently cut off any buds by mistake!
2. Remove Dead Annuals and Freshen Up Your Perennials
Annual flowers (such as petunias and geraniums) only live for one year and won’t grow back after winter – so now is the time to pull them. Use a spade to make sure that you get the whole plant, including roots and stems.
While you’re in there, you can also pull out any old vegetables or fruits that may have been missed in your summer/fall harvest. Nobody likes mushy produce except for the critters!
Perennials (such as day lilies), on the other hand, will regrow year after year and generally don’t need to be removed. They do, however, need a yearly tune up – so make sure to pull all the dead leaves off of them to ensure maximum growth and healthiness. Use a soft hand when trimming around the base of these plants so that you don’t accidentally take off any new growth.
Pro tip: make sure to remove any clumps of leaves that are on top of your perennials to ensure the best growth. Be careful though! If there’s resistance when you’re trying to pull out old foliage, then prune it instead – this will prevent you from accidently killing any new growth.
3. Pull Your Weeds
We all know those pesky weeds are coming! Spring is the best time to get a jump on those before they have time to take root and spread. As an added incentive to get started on this earlier, weeds are SO much easier to see before all the plants/bushes/hedges start filling in. Save yourself some hassle in the long run!
Pro tip: once you’ve completed your spring weeding, cover the soil with a thick layer of mulch. This will help curb any new weeds from sprouting.
4. Get Rid of Some Leaves, Keep Others
Did you know that leaves can act as a layer of mulch to help keep weeds to a minimum? Or that they can also help to nourish your plants as they break down and decompose? Pretty cool, right? We think so too!
For this reason you’ll want to make sure to sweep some of those old fallen leaves into your garden. Just be sure to brush back any really thick layers of leaves that are sitting on top of your plants – that can stop them from growing properly.
5. Remove Any Sneaky Grass
Once you’ve pulled up your dead plants and raked some of that dead foliage/debris away, it becomes much easier to spot those ‘weird’ spots where grass may have started to grow. Tidy up the corners of your garden by removing any stray grass that may have started to sprout.
Pro tip: if the soil is damp, it’s much easier to pull out wayward grass. Pick a day where there’s still some moisture in the ground to make things easier on yourself. Your back will thank you for it!
Remember, you don’t have to get everything done in one day. What’s most important is to get started and to be consistent with what you’re doing. Take breaks, go slow, and enjoy that spring sunshine while you’re at it! We also highly recommend patio drinks as a reward – to see our favorites, check out last month’s blog HERE.
And never fear! If you need some extra support with your inside spring cleaning whether it be a seasonal one off or something a little extra added to your regular clean, we’ve got you covered. It’s a double win if you book us while you do your outside cleanup, so you can enjoy a lush yard and a sparkling house all at once!
Remember: We love cleaning so you don’t have to!
~Your friend, Anna