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Preparing your garden for the spring season is a great way to enjoy the longer, brighter days as the weather starts to warm up. There is plenty you can do now to optimise your outdoor space and turn it into a tranquil relaxation spot for the summer.
In this article, we’re covering 5 simple steps to get your garden ready for spring… which already feels right around the corner! Whether you’re a novice gardener or an avid green thumb, follow these steps to maximise your garden’s growth potential.
Step 1: Clean Debris
Clearing your garden of dead leaves and branches is a great first step to prepare for spring. Engaging professionals like Goods Tree Service can ensure that large or hazardous trees are safely removed, enhancing your garden’s readiness for spring. Doing so can prevent excess moisture and mould from building up and will help streamline spring planting. Engaging a professional tree removal service Flemington can ensure that large or hazardous trees are safely removed, enhancing your garden’s readiness for spring. When clearing your garden, make sure to wear gloves and goggles as it isn’t always clear what is hidden amongst piles of leaves and dead branches, whether that’s a sharp bit of plastic litter or an expertly camouflaged snake!
You can use clean rubbish removal services to dispose of the waste once it’s gathered. Not only will you save your back the trouble of all that heavy lifting, you can be sure your organic matter will be handled sustainably and discarded in the right places, whilst freeing up your time and energy to focus on the rest of your garden.
Cleaning debris is a great job to ease you back into gardening after a long winter, although carrying out similarly simple regular garden maintenance throughout the season will prevent your backyard from drying out and becoming a fire risk in the summer.
Step 2: Prepare The Soil
To effectively change the condition of your soil and make it more conducive to a plant-growing environment, it takes slow gradual adjustments. Getting started before you put your spring seedlings in can make all the difference in their early survival. Treat the soil with a mixed nutrient blend that covers the main three plant nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium..
In addition to this, you’ll want to research the optimal acidity level for your soil, as the pH level will affect the ability of plants to absorb certain nutrients. pH 7 is a good neutral base, though specific plants favour slightly more acidic or alkaline conditions, so spend time learning about what will be the best option for the kind of garden you want to grow.
Step 3: Trim & Prune
Leaving your plants untrimmed will cause them to grow uncontrollably and lead to a list of problems come springtime. Many plants require pruning; larger foliage can leave excess dead branches that impedes future growth or completely takes over others. Meanwhile, getting rid of your dead flowerheads allows smaller plants to focus on developing new ones. Each plant has a different optimal pruning method, so don’t go straight in with the shears.
While you’re at it, trimming the canopy of taller plants also allows light and air flow to penetrate to the lower foliage and help younger plants to grow. Dead branches and partially dead leaves can get infected easily and cause the plant to suffer, so trimming and pruning your plants before spring can help prevent them from becoming sick.
Step 4: Plan Your Planting
One of the main reasons gardens end up left unattended during the summer is that homeowners don’t put much thought into how they’d like it to look until it’s already too hot to make planting new seedlings worth it. Now, at the end of winter, is the perfect time to start drawing up a plan for your garden.
Do you want dense bushes that bring lush privacy, flowering trees that offer sweet-smelling shade, vivid stems along a flower bed to be admired by your household and guests, or a vegetable and herb patch ready to use in your kitchen?
Using a program such as Microsoft Excel, you can visualise your garden goals and track your progress. Something helpful to consider when planning is companion planting, which is the concept of planting symbiotic plants next to each other to maximise results.
Step 5: Mulch & Protect
Mulching is a method of preserving a soil’s natural fertility and moisture by packing a light layer of organic matter on its surface – such as wood chips, leaves and bark. Mulching aids moisture retention and pest protection by presenting a barrier to the seedlings, so animals or the hot sun can’t ruin your hard work!
Other forms of protection for your growing shoots include nets and greenhouses which are great for protecting even smaller plants and seedlings. Automatic watering systems can be useful for plants that are particularly sensitive to dry weather conditions.
For the high-tech gardener, there are Wi-Fi-enabled monitors that can send alerts to your phone when your garden is at risk, allowing you to know and respond to the condition of the soil.
Final Thoughts
Cultivating a lush garden isn’t just great for your mental wellbeing and providing an outdoor space to relax, landscaping can also add value to your property, by truly maximising your space.
As we’ve covered, cleaning your garden from plant debris is a great starting point for any gardener. Preparing the soil with the correct nutrients and adjusting the acidity level will give your seedlings the best chance going into spring. Trimming and pruning will increase airflow and prevent infection, and taking the time now to plan your garden gives you a chance to optimise your space with companion planting to maximise growth potential. Finally, setting up mulch and protection will keep your plants from drying out or becoming targets for pests.
With a clear step-by-step plan, you already have a head start for spring. Keep practicing with a diverse range of plants and you’ll soon grow a lush garden.
