Guide to Preparing For Spring 2023

With the warmer weather fast approaching, it’s time to start thinking about sprucing up your landscape. Whether you’re a business owner or property manager, getting your landscaping ready for early spring can be daunting. Winter snow and ice can cause damage to your lawn and garden, so it’s important to ensure your lawn and garden beds look their best when the cold season ends and spring rolls in. Here are some tips on how you, as a business owner, can get started. 

Clear up debris in landscaping after winter

Clear Debris From the Landscape

Before you can begin any landscaping work, you’ll need to make sure all winter debris is cleared away. This includes having dead leaves, branches from a winter storm, and any other clutter accumulated over the winter months, as well as weed control. Additionally, if there are any areas of standing water (ponds or puddles), these should be addressed early on as these may attract pests or cause drainage problems. Doing this now can make it easier to begin planting and landscaping.

Check out our Lawn Care 101: Taking Care of Your Lawn During Spring to find more helpful lawn care and tips to ensure your businesses’ lawn and garden beds look great after a long winter.

Check Your Irrigation System

Don’t forget about your sprinklers. Whether you have a simple system with just a few heads or a more complex one with valves, timers, and drip lines, it’s important to give your sprinklers a once-over before you start using them regularly.

Are you ready to take steps to prepare your irrigation system and ensure it works for you all spring and summer long? Our article, Think Spring: Prepare Your Irrigation System, gives you an idea of what your sprinkler system will need to be prepared for spring so your lawn and gardens receive the water they need all season long.

Aerate Your Lawn

Why Aerate Your Lawn?

The soil should be aerated annually when moist but not wet, such as after a good rain or watering cycle. If you wait until the soil is dry or hard-packed, it won’t be properly loosened by aeration and will require more water to penetrate it. That said, even if your soil hasn’t been properly aerated in years—or ever—this fall or spring is a great time to start. You can still see benefits from aerating even if you miss a year or two here or there.

Preparing the ground during spring is a great way to enhance soil conditions and give your grass (and its roots) the nutrients needed to make it healthy. In How to Aerate Your Lawn, you’ll know why your grass should be aerated, the equipment needed, and why to contact a landscape professional.

Don’t Forget to Fertilize

Fertilizing in the spring is another essential for promoting healthy growth. Fertilizing helps replenish essential nutrients in your grass, plants, and trees that may have been depleted over time due to heavy rains or other factors. Consider also having your landscapers use fertilizer specifically designed for the type of flowering plants in your flower beds, ornamental grasses or the grass in your lawn to ensure optimal results. Organic fertilizers are a great option if you want an eco-friendly way of keeping your soil healthy and fertile throughout the year.  

Choosing the right fertilizer for any yard or lawn can lead to more questions. When in doubt, ask your landscaper for their recommendation.

Have trees and shrubs pruned

Prune and Trim Trees and Shrubs

Pruning trees and shrubs in the spring helps them look their best. It also helps promote healthy growth by removing dead or diseased branches and encouraging new growth. Trimming hedges can also help shape and keep them neat throughout the growing season. This can also help ensure they are healthy and keep them from becoming overgrown. Both pruning and trimming should be done carefully using proper tools – otherwise, you could cause damage or even kill the plant. 

Summary

For any business owner or property manager, preparing your landscape for spring is an essential part of maintaining curb appeal and keeping costs down. By following these simple tips, you can ensure your business’s landscaping looks its best. For more in-depth information on preparing a lawn for early spring, check out our comprehensive spring landscaping checklist with several tips.

Remember to properly nourish and care for whatever plants you’re growing to ensure they thrive each season. By taking extra time now, you’ll ensure new plants, flowers, and existing trees and shrubs stay healthy throughout summer. With proper care, maintenance, and planning, you and your customers can enjoy beautiful landscaping all year round.

If you’d like professional assistance with these or other tasks, contact All Metro Service Companies today. We’re happy to schedule a free consultation.