#Spring into Action: 8 Must-Do Tasks for a Thriving Garden

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With spring nearly upon us, it’s time to take out all your gardening tools and spring into action. If you want your garden to look beautiful this season, and at the same time lose some pent-up energy you gathered over the winter, spring is the perfect time to do all that.

However, remember that returning to your garden after the winter can be overwhelming. But there is nothing you can’t do with just a bit of planning and organization. To help you get back into your gardening groove, we gathered a list of 8 must-do tasks that will help you prepare your garden for a new season.

Let’s see which 8 must-do tasks will help you create a thriving garden this spring.

1. Inspect your garden

Some surveying and inspecting is the first thing you should do every spring. After every winter, your garden is in a bit of disarray, and you should do some evaluating to see what needs your attention.

Some of the most obvious elements you won’t miss will be trees and shrubs. You’ll easily be able to spot broken tree limbs or high-risk trees. If you notice something like this, you need to react immediately, especially if the damaged tree is close to your house or other structures. Call an arborist or, if you know how to deal with this problem yourself.

Once that’s been dealt with, you can assess your garden beds. Garden beds will most likely need to be cleaned out before you decide to plant something new, so you can start with that.

The final thing that you should inspect in your garden is the hardscape areas. These areas include fences, walls, benches, pathways, sheds, and so on. You might find that your fence is rotten and needs replacement, or that your pathways are in disrepair and need your attention.

2. Get your garden tools ready

Once the garden has been thoroughly inspected, you can start getting your garden tools ready for use. You’ll notice that some of your tools need TLC because they haven’t been used for quite some time.

If that’s the case, you can easily sharpen the blades of your shears and trimmers. You can also oil and disinfect them. In case you’re missing some of the tools, or you find that you can’t repair your old ones, replace them. Investing in new tools will help you take better care of your garden. So, don’t be afraid to buy a new pair of loppers, pruning shears, or a shovel.

3. Resolve hardscaping issues

Before you start cleaning up your garden, you should deal with hardscaping issues first. As mentioned, this means repairing walls, fences, and pathways. Also, make sure you check and clean your gutters, benches, trellises, raised beds, sheds, and so on.

Harsh winter temperatures can do a big damage to all these areas of your garden, so repairing them in the early spring while your garden is still dormant is the best course of action.

4. Clean up your garden

After all the hardscaping has been done, you can concentrate all your energy on cleaning up your garden. Clean out debris from garden beds before spring bulbs start to pop out. Remove all the dry leaves, cut down last year’s foliage, dig up, and rake the soil.

If you have a water feature or a pond, now is a good time to clean these up as well. Early spring is the perfect time to clean up your garden and get it ready for planting.

5. Prune, prune, prune

Next up is pruning. You’ll need to be doing quite a bit of pruning this spring, that’s why you need a good pair of pruning shears and loppers. Pruning your shrubs and trees prompts new growth and keeps your plants healthy. It also gives shape and improves the look of your shrubs.

Prune anything that has been broken and damaged during winter. You can also prune shrubs that will bloom on new wood, and shrubs that will bloom in summer. This includes roses, hydrangeas, butterfly bushes, and so on. Azalea, quince, lilac, and forsythia are shrubs that bloom on old wood, and they shouldn’t be pruned.

6. Take care of the soil

Spring is also a great season to take care of the soil. Before planting anything, make sure you test your garden soil. You don’t need to do this every spring, but every 3 to 5 years.

Testing the soil will tell you which organic materials or nutrients the soil is missing and which it has more than enough of. Once you get the test results, you’ll be able to feed the soil. If you’re not sure how to do this, ask someone from your local garden center. They will tell you which fertilizer is good for your garden while it’s still waking up.

7. Plant your garden

After the soil is fed and ready, it’s time to plant your garden. You can start by planting containers and then moving to flower beds. Before planting anything, check to see if the plants you chose should be planted in spring. For example, plants such as pansies, crocus, daffodils, and daisies, don’t mind cold weather, so you can plant them earlier.

On the other hand, flowers such as lilies, callas, dahlias, begonias, and so on, should be planted later, once the soil has warmed up.

If you have perennials, early spring is a perfect time to divide and transplant summer and fall blooming perennials if needed.

Spring is also a great time to plant trees. So, if you plan to add a new tree to your garden, now is the perfect time.

8. Add mulch

As a final spring garden task, you should add mulch to your garden. Adding mulch is the easiest task on our must-do list, but it has both aesthetic and functional purpose.

Mulching your garden will conserve soil moisture, it will suppress weeds, and improve the soil around your plants. On top of that, mulch can improve the appearance of your garden, making it look tidy.

Bottom Line

And there you have it – 8 must-do tasks for a thriving garden. Don’t let the state of your garden after winter scare or overwhelm you.

With these 8 tasks such as cleaning, pruning, and planting, your garden will look better in no time. Gardening is one of the best springtime activities, so make the most of it this spring.

Author name: Erin Lane

Author bio: Erin Lane is a creative writer and lifestyle blogger from Canberra, Australia.

She is a hard-working, organized, dedicated professional interested in learning new

things. With five years of experience in writing, Erin has covered numerous topics,

including health, fashion, fitness, makeup, home improvement, decoration, business,

and finances.

Author mail: [email protected]

Facebook: Erin Lane

Twitter/X: @lane9104

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