Once spring springs, it’s high time for a touch of garden TLC. Set your shrubs and buds up for a bountiful growing season with a spring cleanup. These are best done before mid-May, encouraging optimal plant health, weed control, and overall appearance throughout your garden.
Take a moment to explore this checklist that the My Thyme Gardens team will cover in their signature spring cleanups, and watch your garden wake up with glee and grace.
Proper feeding for the spring
It is important that we give our plants nutrient-rich fertilizer and mulch to rejuvenate their roots after the cold, dry winter.
A reminder to water
As our plants receive their spring watering, they get the signal that it’s time to grow once again. If the spring rains are missing and sprinklers are not on, don’t forget to give your plants proper hydration as they reemerge from a period of dormancy.
Dividing plants
Spring is the perfect time to divide certain plants that are not producing many blooms, or just getting overcrowded. Some of our favorites to divide at this time are daylilies, hosta, and ornamental grasses.
Edging
Spring is a great time to reestablish garden bed edges because surrounding grass creeps into the garden and blurs the border.
Weeding
Diligent and regular weeding is important so that weeds don’t take over your garden and create more work down the road. My Thyme Gardens prefers the hand-weeding method, pulling weeds out by the roots.
Mulching
This helps with weed prevention and retains moisture for the roots. It will eventually break down and absorb into the soil, improving its structure and giving it nutrients.
Leaf care
As leaves fall into your garden, they break down and become food for the worms below the soil. Yay! They also help to aerate our often compacted clay soil. In the spring, we remove large piles of leaves from the lawn, without bothering the leaves in the soil. They are busy doing a mighty work. Everybody wins; the ecosystem is healthy and the garden is neat and tidy.
Cutting down
If you left your perennials up for the winter, now is the time to cut some of them down by 2-3 inches from the ground, making room for new growth. Be mindful of cutting back sedges too close to the crown. If you already cut your perennials back in the fall, the main thing to focus on for spring prep is to check their health. Is the mulch covering the crown? Are the crowns firm, therefore unsusceptible to root rot? Once your perennials begin to grow, they are able to push through the newly mulched areas. This will give your beds a very neat and natural appearance.
Pruning
Shrubbery, bushes, and decorative plants require trimming to promote growth and maintain the proper shape. Bonus points for renovation pruning, which means taking old, overgrown shrubs and pruning them to encourage new growth + prolific flowering.
Take note for next spring
If your spring garden is a little lackluster this year, consider a few pops of color to spice things up next spring. Spring bulbs are installed in the fall. Get your name on our spring bulb order to set yourself up for a colorful spring season. Do you need assistance in choosing a color scheme? We’ve got you covered with a complimentary color assessment.
Gift your garden with love so that it will not just survive, but thrive. As always, give us a call with questions. We also offer garden coaching! Enjoy a customized walkthrough of your own property learning how to care for your garden throughout the year. May include design and redesign ideas.