Cleaning Your Garden

Spring cleaning your garden is important especially if there was no cleaning last fall. You may have decided to wait because there are some perennials though that needs the extra protection from the harsh winter. For whatever reason that the garden didn't get pruned last winter, once new growth starts growing you will want to remove the winter mulch and prune the perennials back to ground level, but you will want to do this at the right time. An added benefit to cleaning your garden is that you are giving your plants a chance for a healthy start.

Here are some things that will help with getting your garden back into shape:

• Timing. The best time to clean your garden is defined by a short window of opportunity. This time is when you are able to walk on the ground without it being a muddy mess and before the new growth takes over and makes it hard to cut back the old growth.
• Get help. Cleaning your garden is not always an enjoyable job. So, involve your friends and family and make it into a party atmosphere. It becomes less of a chore that way. Like my grandmother used to say, "many hands make light work." This is where more help really does make the job lighter and more enjoyable.
• Clean. This is just basically going through the garden and tidying it up. The winter months really can wreck havoc in the garden. For some reason it seems that the garden area attracts more than its share of trash, leaves, and other debris. If you used the leaves from last fall to help protect your perennials from the winter be careful when removing the leaves so that you don't hurt the new growth. Don't throw the leaves away; put them into the compost pile for later use throughout the summer.
• Feed Your Plants. Feeding your plants now helps them to be healthier, which will also bring more blossoms. This is a great time to use your compost pile from last year. If you don't have a compost pile, talk with your local nursery for ideas on what type of food would be best for the area that you live in. Remember to feed your plants throughout the summer months.
• Trim. Trim and prune the bushes or shrubs that surround your garden area. They are plants that have woody stems and they need to be pruned each spring. Waiting until spring to prune gives the plants more protection. Remove the dead annual plants and place them into your compost. This helps give the area surrounding your garden a fresh, clean look.
• Edging. One of the final touches is to edge your garden. This will give the edge a crisp look that helps the garden look finished. Edging the garden will also prevent the lawn from becoming part of your garden.

Now that your garden is clean it is now ready to plant your flowers, vegetables, and other plants.