Kickstart Your Garden This Spring: A Step-by-Step Guide

Just as houses get a deep clean once spring arrives, so must your garden be renewed. This article presents a structured spring gardening guide, divided into early, middle, and late spring tasks. This step-by-step process will ensure your trees, flowerbeds, shrubs, and all other garden areas are prepared for a vibrant growing season.

During the early spring, often denoted when temperatures begin to consistently surge beyond freezing, ready your soil surfaces for annual plantings. Clear away winter remnants, such as dead leaves, and cut back last year's dried foliage. When handling prickly-leaved plants, remember to wear gardening gloves to avoid cuts and scrapes. Prior to spring growth, divide your perennials; this cost-effective method encourages new growth and proffers more plants for your garden.

With your areas cleared, add a fresh spread of mulch around your garden beds; this facilitates soil moisture retention and suppresses weeds. For areas prone to washing away during heavy rainfall, consider substituting mulch with river rocks.

Now is the ideal time to prune your fruit trees if you have not already done so during winter. Pruning instigates growth and produces a much bigger crop. Also, inspect and repair winter-damaged stonework, patios, or decks. Additionally, early spring is the best time to plant cool-season vegetables like potatoes and artichokes.

Mid-spring is when new life begins to appear in your garden. Now is an opportune moment to refill bird feeders with fresh seed, take note of empty spaces for future bulb planting, and add some cool-season annuals like pansies or snapdragons for a dash of color. Plant trees and shrubs as soon as the ground has thawed out. Mulching around new plants will minimize the volume of summer weeding.

As we advance into late spring, focus on removing spent blossoms and planting for the summer season. Store energy for spring-flowering bulbs by removing spent blossoms. Find your preferred summer annuals, choosing the ones yet to bloom as they tend to be the most robust. It's also time to transplant the seedlings of warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers. And the thumbs-up for planting summer-flowering bulbs like dahlias and gladiolus is when there's no further threat of frost.

Abiding by our spring gardening guide will ensure your garden is one of the standouts in your neighborhood. Although maintenance is required throughout the seasons, adhering to these steps early in the growing season will afford you more time to relax and savor the blossoming beauty of your landscape throughout the summer.