This time of year, we can almost hear our gardens calling to us to come outside and spend time with them. This is the perfect time to do your spring landscape maintenance check. What are some things that you can do to make sure that your landscape is in working order and ready to bloom?

Clean it up!

The first step to preparing your landscape for spring is to clean up the debris left behind from the cold season. Winter often wreaks havoc on your beautiful garden. You’ll need to remove fallen branches, rake up leaves, pinecones, acorns and twigs. Raking is also a great way to bring new life to your grass by removing clumps and aerating it.

Once you’ve cleared the debris you can start to prune your trees and shrubs. This will improve your curb appeal, remove dangerous limbs and keep the bushes under control. To improve the look of your lawn, don’t forget to edge the grass! This will keep the lawn looking neat and prevent the grass from growing into your beds.

Next, you can mulch! Mulching helps to prevent weeds from growing and helps to absorb some of the water remaining from heavy rains and release it slower. It’s important to make sure you wait until your plants sprout up, this way you don’t cover new growth, and also don’t forget to remove the old mulch as well.

Your landscape is now ready for fertilizer. If you can fertilize before or after a light rain this would be the best timing. Apply fertilizer, pre-emergent and weed killer. This will help prevent weeds. (Be careful not to apply pre-emergent if you have young seedlings.)

If you haven’t already, this time of year is great for planting early spring vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, onions, potatoes). Start them now and have delicious homegrown veggies for your late spring and summer meals!

Inspect your Irrigation

Now that the weather is starting to warm up it’s the best time to make sure that your irrigation system is in working order. You should turn on your system, and make sure that it is clean and adjust any sprinklers as needed. If you have a landscape company, they can inspect it for you as well. They could also help clear your gutters of winter debris.

Spring is a time of growth and rebirth and it’s the perfect time to make your visions for your yard a reality. Think about ways that you can improve your space and make it more personalized. It would be a great time to plan for water features, outdoor lighting improvements, outdoor entertainment spaces, and improve the shade in your yard. Whatever fun plans have for your yard you can start to make a reality, and spend time creating the landscape of your dreams.