Spring is the perfect time to get your landscape looking its best, but with the spring weather we’ve had so far here in the Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver, Washington area, it has proven more challenging. Stong winds, snowfall, and an endless amount of rain makes it difficult to properly clean up your lawn and yard. Here are some basic tasks to perform when cleaning up in spring to ensure your property will look its finest.
Debris
Any good landscape cleanup starts with removing debris. Debris comes in many forms. From leaf litter, downed branches and trees to pet waste, and garbage, it all seems to endlessly collect throughout our property. The removal of this debris is key in maintaining a healthy yard and lawn. Leaves and pet waste that has been left on our lawns will quickly create other problems (i.e. dead patches, fungus and mold, etc.). It is incredibly important to remove these forms of debris as quickly as possibly. So, if you have neglected removing this debris throughout the rest of the year, spring is the time to do it!
Mowing & Edging
Spring is when most grasses awaken from dormancy and begin to fiercely grow again. Once all of the debris has been removed from your lawn, it’s time to resume mowing and edging again. If you plan on aerating and dethatching this spring (see below) then it is best to mow your lawn slightly shorter than usual. With mowing out of the way, you can move on to edging. Giving your lawn a nice edge will ensure your yard looks well-manicured and taken care of. Edging can be accomplished with a powered edger or, simply, with a string trimmer.
Flowerbed Cleanup
If you overlooked the flower or garden beds with your initial debris cleanup, pay special attention to them now. Once the beds are cleaned up, remove any undesirable pants, such as weeds. Weeds are often overlooked throughout fall and winter as they tend to grow far slower. However, if weeds are left unchecked during spring, they will quickly consume an entire bed. Urban Eden Landscaping always strives to be as organic and environmentally friendly as possible when dealing with weeds, so we suggest manually removing undesirable plants from your lawn and flowerbeds. This may take more time than other methods but is far more rewarding and safer.
Mulching
Speaking of flowerbeds and weeds, one of the best ways to spruce up your flowerbeds (and organically combat weed growth!) is to add mulch. Adding mulch to beds slows the germination process of weeds and makes it more difficult for them to easily grow and spread. There are MANY benefits of adding mulch to your property as well; it helps with soil erosion, building better soil, insulating plants, and can add aesthetic beauty to your property as well. Mulch comes in many shapes, sizes, and colors to fit anyone’s preference and taste.
Dethatching and Aerating
If your lawn isn’t looking it’s healthiest one possible solution could be to aerate and dethatch your lawn. Over the course of the year, your lawn can become compacted and overrun with dead grass and debris (thatch). Dethatching will remove that debris, allowing moisture, light and other nutrients to reach into the roots of your grass. Aerating relieves the compaction that occurs throughout your lawn by perforating small holes which also allows a greater abundance of nutrients to reach the roots of your grass. Spring is the best time to perform these two tasks as it will allow your lawn to “recover” before the heat of the summer arrives.
Overseeding and Fertilizing
Lastly, it is important to give your lawn all of the nutrients it needs in order to flourish. Fertilizing your lawn does just that; it provides your lawn with vital nutrients that it may be lacking from surviving off of the stored nutrients of winter. Overseeding, a simple process of adding new grass seed to your existing lawn, can benefit your lawn as well. This will help fill in any bare patches and generally improve the lushness of your lawn.
If you need some assistance with your spring cleaning tasks, don’t hesitate to contact us today or fill out our FREE estimate request form online. Happy spring!