Spring has finally made its appearance on the calendars. Though before you get carried away you need to take care of some spring cleanup first. As a homeowner, keeping your yard looking fresh and cared for is an important step for the rest of the year.
Official spring cleanup is no small task, there are trees, shrubs and flowers to care and clean for. It can be difficult to know which steps to take in order to tackle everything you need to do before you officially begin the spring season. We can help by listing 8 main steps you need to take in order to help you along your cleaning process. Each step breaks down all you need to do for your lawn and yard.
- Clean Up Your Dead Leaves and Branches
If you have children that can take the responsibility of raking and collecting the dead leaves you can assign them the task for a couple of points towards chores. Sure, they might fight you on the task but it builds character and allows them to realize how much work goes into upkeeping the yard/lawn. Within a few hours your land will look much better than it started out.
While this task is the biggest one to tackle, there's relief in knowing that once its down it will be out of the way and there are much easier tasks ahead.
- Trim Some Shrubs (Back Trees)
Tree trimming is no easy or safe task to do n your own without the proper gear, protection and strategy. If you wish to have some assistance in trimming up those branches that are too close to your home or hanging too low--let us know. We're here to help.
As for shrubs? That job can surely be taken over by you. By buying some shaping hedges you'll be able to shape your shrubs in no time with ease.
- Mow and Edge Grass
The smell of freshly cut grass is a highlight for many when it comes to spring cleaning. In fact, cutting the lawn is the best part. It pulls the entire look of your together nicely. There isn't much else to cover with this topic, it's simply down row by row and it might even be a good idea to start your edging first that way your mower can suck up the clippings.
- Apply Fertilizer and Herbicide
Crabgrass is a common weed that likes to appear in people's lawn. One way to rid yourself of these little pests is by purchasing a pre-emergent herbicide layer during the springtime. This will prevent any seeds of crabgrass from germinating and spreading throughout your lawn. Though by doing this, it may cause some dead spots to appear. But no worries, you can help new grass grow by waiting six weeks before seeding.
- Clean Your Rain Gutters and Downspouts
Over the winter season its highly possible that your rain gutter and downspouts have become clogged. Hopefully you were able to clean them out since it prevents overflows and ice dams during the winter. By doing your cleaning the right way you can prevent any mishaps that might happen because of your clogged rain gutter. It happens every year where clogged rain gutters crack and rip away from people's homes which causes significant damage.
- Overseed Dead Lawn Areas
It isn't rare for lawns to develop small spots of bareness during the fall and winter seasons. It happens due to dead leaves and debris blocking sunlight from that direct spot. Frost and snow can even do the same. If you find bare spots of your own you will want to overseed the area as soon as possible. This will allow it to be filled up during the spring.
- Prep Planters for New Flowers
If you own a spot of land or a flower bed specifically designated for flowers, now will be a good time to freshen up the area for new sprouts. Here are some ways you can do this.
- Clear the top soil completely of debris, weeds, dead foliage, etc.
- Plant summer bulbs 4-8 inches deep, depending on type and size of bulbs
- Cover with fresh potting soil and fertilizer as needed
- Cover with a light layer of mulch
- Give a good watering to settle the bulbs in
- Wait patiently for summer!
- Clean Walkways and Patio
This final step comes once you have completely taken care of your garden, lawn and yard. It'll be the finishing touch to your spring cleanup. A quick tip for cleaning mildew stains would be to use chlorine bleach or oxygen bleach but only if you are sure to rinse it off carefully. It can be dangerous to have it overflow into your lawn or flower beds. Another option can be to use a pressure washer with a natural cleaner that won't harm your lawn.
