Sometimes spring arrives heralded by a foot of snow! No worries, your spring bulbs are hardy and should be safe under their blanket of white. The good news is that cold winters and wet springs make for a glorious display of flowers in April and May. Your garden beds are about to go berserk, so read up below on spring clean ups and preparing your gardens and lawns for the coming growing season!
As the snows recede and we survey our land, the first thing we notice is all the dead stuff laying around! What served as interesting winter garden attractions over the last six months now just looks untended. Yep, it is time for the spring clean up!

Choose the right tools for your spring clean up

You’ll need gloves, clippers, pruning shears, a trowel and a spade, and something with which to haul the old plant materials to the compost. For those last stubborn leaves that clung to the tree all winter, you’ll want a rake or a leaf blower to get winter’s refuse out of the corners and from under the evergreens. Clean ups are exactly what they sound like; a wonderful opportunity to get rid of the old and make way for the new!

Spring clean ups include early lawn care

Early lawn care helps your grass grow in strong and healthy. It is a good time to power rake and aerate. Take advantage of the softer spring earth to deep edge around sidewalks and borders and dig any new trenches for irrigation additions or repairs. Though not yet time to turn those sprinklers back on, you might want to schedule a time before the rush in April to get them checked and turned back on.

Property clean up check list

Spring clean ups are also a great time to trouble shoot your yard. These are all things you will want to repair before the growing season gets underway:

• Look for signs of heaving under your patio stones or walkways. and get stones reset.
• Survey your pergolas and trellises for loose nails, boards and peeling paint.
• Feel the depth of your mulch to see if it needs to be replaced, adjusted or amended.
• Look for winter damage to stone retaining walls, especially where uneven or unstable.
• Check younger trees for signs of splitting in the bark, and see about having them wrapped to prevent further damage and disease.
• Climb a ladder and look at your gutters to see if they need cleaning before spring rains and runoff.

A thorough survey will also give you the chance to think about changes or additions to your landscape. Spring is a good time to put in new stonework, a water feature or fire pit so you can landscape early and get full enjoyment from your outdoor living space. Trees and shrubs will also be ready to be planted soon, and the ground will soon thaw sufficiently for digging new planting beds or excavating larger projects.

Boulder Landscape and Design will be glad to take care of these chores for you if you’d like. Just call us at 303-443-3460 to schedule all your landscape maintenance needs.