How to Prepare Your Flower Beds and Trees Carefully in Spring

Spring preparation involves a fair amount of patience, hard work and dirty fingernails. But the beauty, shade and protection your trees and flowers provide all summer long make spring garden preparation well worth the effort. Knowing how to prepare your flower beds and trees carefully allows you to use your energy and time wisely, and results in a better looking, healthier outdoor space.

Pruning and Prepping Trees for New Growth

Many trees need to be pruned in the spring. Be careful to schedule pruning at the right time – trees that experience sap rising during the early months of spring need to be pruned later in the year. Avoid pruning birch trees, as well as hickory, walnut and maple trees, in the early stages of spring.

Other deciduous varieties can be pruned now, including beech, chestnut, crab apple, oak and ash trees. Always hire a professional tree service company to handle pruning on larger trees. The last thing you want to do is hurt yourself tackling this job.

Garden Preparation

Mulch and winter insulation can be removed once the temperature remains above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave burlap and other cold protection in place until then, to ensure your sensitive plants make it through the shifting seasons.

Spread compost throughout the year for maximum advantage, but remember to spread the first generous layer now to boost nutrients in the soil. Your plants and grass have a better shot at developing established root systems and continuing to grow when compost is spread early in the season.

Clean Up

Spring also provides the ideal opportunity to clean up your yard. As the snow melts away and spring runoff dries up, you have the opportunity to create more space. Clear away any brush and leaves, trim the trees and shrubs, and compost the die back from your perennial flower beds.

Plan to remove old stumps, with the help of a professional tree service company, and use that cleared away space however it suits your fancy. Chipped wood from the stump may be used for mulch or disposed in your composter.

Prepare your flower beds and trees for a healthy growing year by getting to work this spring. Hire the pros where necessary and take the projects one step at a time. Your landscape will be in better shape after all your hard work.