As Spring looms, the time comes for the start of the spring garden clean up – not everyone’s favourite garden job but nevertheless a necessary job if you want to keep your garden looking its best throughout the season. There can be a lot involved in a spring garden clean up, so you are best to ensure that you have all of your garden tools to hand, and that they are in good working order. You should also make sure that you have some decent, hardwearing gardening clothes, which you don’t mind getting dirty.
To start with you should look at pruning and tidying the larger inhabitants of the garden, such as trees, bushes and shrubs. Clear all rubbish from around and in these places, and get rid of any damaged branches and wood from the trees. You need to gather all of this together – but don’t throw away the wood and other organic waste…these can be used to add to or start a compost heap.
You can also start to rake away the leaves and mulching from around the plants and vegetation. You may have used mulching around the base of your plants when you were winterising your garden; plus of course there may be leaves lying around from the autumn. You should gather all this up into a pile, and once again save it for the trusty compost heap. When you rake the leaves, be careful not to be too aggressive as you may otherwise end up tearing out some budding plants. Once you have removed the leaves, mulching and rubbish from around the plants and vegetation, you can make a start on pulling up any unwanted weds, which should now be exposed.
Your next job is to move on to any dead plants and perennials. You need to get these removed to make the garden look better as well as make it healthier, with fewer pests to worry about. All rubbish around the plants and any decaying vegetation also needs to be removed – and, of course, can be added to the compost heap.
Once your garden has been cleaned and freed of any debris, decay and rubbish, you can start to think about planning new beds and improving old ones through the use of your compost. The debris and organic waste that you collect from your garden during the spring clean up can really help to build an impressive compost heap, which can in turn improve the performance of your garden.
Although spring garden clean up can be hard work, most gardeners enjoy the satisfaction of getting the garden looking tip top again after the cold weather, and getting prepared for a new season of planting and nurturing. Remember, also, that effective winterising can help to protect your garden from a great deal of winter damage, and can make life far easier for you when it comes to spring garden clear up.
