Here are some things you can do now to help your lawn and garden look it’s best this coming Spring!

1. Get Your Tools Ready

The right tool for the job can make the difference between a job taking an hour, or taking all day.

The tools you need will depend on what you are wanting to accomplish in your garden but here are some of the basics:

• Large and/or small clippers for trimming large branches and pruning small plants
• Gardening gloves
• Shovel (and wheelbarrow if needed for moving larger objects and soil)
• Hand trowel for smaller holes, and for loosening and spreading soil
• Large rake and/or hand rake, both are needed to clear your garden loosen soil and clean plant beds
• Knee pads so you can garden, for longer, more comfortably

2. Prepare your soil

You might not be able to plant that veggie garden, or those gerber daisies you’re looking forward to, but you can prepare for them! Soil can make the difference between a thriving garden and a struggling one.

3. Clear Your Lawn and Garden

Better to do this now than pushing it off till spring. Rake your lawn and garden clear of the debris and dead plants from winter and add it to your compost.

4. Prep Your Perennials

If you didn’t already do so in the fall, prune the perennials that need it. If you have questions of whether it needs trimming, email us a picture at email@thgc.net.

5. Weed

Weed while topsoil is still damp, not because it’s easier, but to get to the weeds before they seed other parts of your lawn. Do not add weeds to your compost though, because then you’ll just be re-feeding the weeds back into your garden! Also, make sure to put out a pre-emergent! This will kill the weeds before they even sprout!

6. Mulch Mulch Mulch

Mulch is like a multivitamin for your garden. You can live without it, but everything blossoms better and has more vitality with mulch. It not only conserves water, but cools plant roots, feeds the soil over time and helps smother weeds.

7. Finishing Edge

An often overlooked step, edging your garden is like a trim between haircuts. It just makes things look much more polished and put together. A good edge, especially on borders and between flower beds and lawn, is that finishing touch that will elevate your garden’s look and appeal.

Now that everything’s ready, all that’s left to do is just wait for that moment when you can plunge your hands back into the soil!