Gardeners and outdoorsy people all across Ontario can finally rejoice because winter is officially over and spring has sprung! We all know what that means—it’s time for spring cleaning your indoor and outdoor spaces!
If your lawn is currently looking a little worse for wear after the long, cold winter months, then here are some useful lawn cleaning and maintenance tips to revitalize your outdoor space!
1. Come Up with a Landscaping and Gardening Plan
You might think that the best way to care for your lawn and plants once all the snow and ice has melted away is to just dig right in, but that’s where you can easily run into problems. Before you get your garden gloves and shears, take a look at your outdoor space (front and backyard) and come up with a few ideas of what needs to be done to make it look beautiful again. That way, you’ll have a good idea of where to start and what you want the final product to look like.
2. Clean Up Your Yard
The first thing you need to do is to clean up your yard. Remove all debris including twigs, leaves, and litter that may have been stuck and matted down under the heavy snow and ice. Debris prevents your soil from providing vital nutrients to your plants. Plus, it just makes your yard look unkempt.
3. Collect Leaves and Twigs
You don’t necessarily have to get rid of all of the leaves or twigs that you find in your yard. Since these are organic materials that are native to your region, many of them can be repurposed and turned into mulch.
4. Fortify Your Soil with Organic Mulch and Fertlizer
That leads to the next point. Turning excess leaves, twigs, and other natural materials into organic mulch is a great way to boost the vitamin and nutrient levels of your soil. You can do this at your local home and garden center or consult gardening experts in your area. It’s also a good idea to add some fertilizer to your garden. Fertilizer can prevent the growth and spreading of harmful weeds in your garden space.
5. Prune and Trim Your Hedges, Bushes, and Trees
Spring and autumn are the two ideal times of year to prune and trim your foliage due to the mild weather conditions. It’s important to remove all broken or dead tree limbs, overgrown plants, and diseased leaves or roots to keep your garden looking beautiful and prevent the spread of viruses to your other plants.
6. Aerate Your Soil
Aeration is important because it creates air pockets in your soil that allows it to breathe and absorb oxygen and other nutrients more freely. It also provides space for your plants and trees to spread out their roots and allows earthworms to create underground tunnels which are essential for the survival of your plants.
7. Consult Professional Gardeners and Landscapers in Your Area
Gardening, landscaping, and general lawn maintenance isn’t necessarily everyone’s forte. Unfortunately, not everyone is born with a natural green thumb and while many people certainly enjoy a beautiful greenspace, not everyone knows how to create and maintain one.
If you need help cleaning up your yard this spring, contact the expert landscapers at FOREVER GREEN LAWN & LANDSCAPE INC. We provide free consultations in Toronto and the GTA!
