Behind on Garden Clean-Up? Three Steps to a Tidy Spring Garden...

Every spring I'm sure I've never been so far behind, but this year it's reallly true. I only got around to cutting back spent lily stalks last week...The combination of relentless rain, saturated soil, and continued cold had me pruning roses on the cusp of spring, weeding at the same time I was cutting back hydrangeas.....it was so bad that the narcissus were blooming through dead grasses, and the new growth was cloaked by old....

Dividing spring clean up into three stages organizes the work to get it done reasonably efficiently... After a long weekend of work, I'm starting stage 2....

Start by moving through entire garden with a rough clean up, beginning close to the house where you most appreciate your work. At this stage, if you get too much into the details you'll never keep moving along. The mantra is "better done than perfect" - it's about cleaning up piles of dead leaves and debris, cutting back ferns, roses, clematis, epimedium, last year's hellebore leaves, and ornamental grasses. I spent the most time tidying the strawberries (thank goodness I'd cut down the raspberry canes during that one sunny day in February), and pruning the hydrangeas and rampaging clematis. I never remember how twiggy a garden can be until I bag up all the debris too woody for my compost pile to take to the yard waste recycling center...

Key to success in steps 1 & 2 is to allow yourself to plant nothing until you're done. No nursery visits, no primroses, nothing - except I did get my sweet peas in and a few early lettuces....but this discipline keeps me motivated and at work to get to the planting stage....

On to Step 2, which is all about the soil. Now is the time to add compost, and more potting soil if need be to raised beds and containers.  I fertilize the roses, gunnera, hydrangeas, hostas - whichever plants are greedy for nutrients. I dose most perennials, peonies, and the list above with a good measure of liquid fish fertilizer (for its trace nutrients as much as anything). Now is the time for tidying up of individual plants. I pruned and tied up the Camellia sasanquas, cleaned up the pots (although I'm not sure yet in some cases which plants are alive or dead...). Lastly, weed, weed, weed - it's the moment to get rid of all those perennial weeds and freshly blown in annual weeds before they go to seed.

The last step is hard, dirty, and intensely satisfying. It's time to spread a rich, brown manure-mulch around the garden. Usually you'd water first to make sure the ground is thoroughly moist, but that isn't a concern this rainy season. Give more mulch to the hydrangeas and roses, raspberries and bamboo, but be careful not to pile it up on the crowns of perennials or around woody trunks and stems. This coating of mulch improves the soil while hiding all manner of sloppy clean up sins. The dark mulch shows off the fresh chartreuses and pastels of the spring garden and....presto...your garden is all cleaned up.

Only after step 3, when the garden is freshly topdressed and the plants are fed and tidy, is it time to clean up the gravel, plant primroses, tie up the clematis and enjoy puttering about in the  springtime garden..

Bridget supervises the completion of Step 1 and the hauling away of all the woody debris to the local yard waste recycling center...my home compost pile overfloweth...

 

 

 

Comments

[Beth Evans-Ramos]

Your mantra is perfect - "better done than perfect". Works so well for many parts of life.

[Ruth]

I sure needed this prod! BTW, love the bumper sticker!!

[Chris]

Thanks for the inspiration to get out there and tidy up the garden...maybe we'll have more than one nice, sunny day in April to do so! Today doesn't look so bad...so far!
I also love the bumper sticker...it matches mine! :)

[Karen Preuss]

If only you could get Bridget to DO Step 1's cleanup!

[valerie Easton]

Hi Karen,
I can't get Bridget to do a single useful thing, let alone step 1...sitting around looking darling and generally messing things up are her best talents....
Val

[Nan Paris]

If I could only not buy before cleanup and composting. I need a PA group (plants anonymous). When Costco has Eremurus and Lilium henryi almost 'free', I can't resist. However I did spend 29.5 hours cleaning up in March with more to go. Deciding to keep track of my gardening hours is suddenly scary........

[valerie Easton]

Oh, Nan, that's dangerous counting gardening hours. I've never wanted to quantify how much time I actually spend gardening, it'd probably be appalling....

I think your key words are "with more to go"....

The problem with a PA group would be that we'd all talk about plants and stir up yet more plant lust and...well, you know where that leads....
Val

[Rachael]

Wow--such discipline. I tend to work on one area of the garden at a time. So while areas close to the house look good by early-March, the outskirts of the garden are still a mess in April. I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever get to them. Also, I have ADD in the garden. I head out intending to mulch the raspberries and half way though decide a patch of weeds under the roses must take priority. I definitely need a system.
Btw--I think I pruned my raspberries on the same day as you--the one sunny day in February.

[Linsey]

"Key to success in steps 1 & 2 is to allow yourself to plant nothing until you're done. No nursery visits, no primroses, nothing..."

Wise words! Looks like cleaning up the garden is much more fun with a trusty pal.

A few tulips have braved yesterday's hail up here in Skagit, and the fields are sure to be ablaze soon. Do come for a visit!

[Laurie Feetham]

Thanks to you, I am reading A Pattern Language and wanted to make sure you know it was a topic on NPR's Studio 360 tonight, April 3rd.

Laurie Feetham, Gardener,

[Crib Mattress Size]

Wow，great content and your blog design is just gorgeous. Is this template free or not. If so, would you please share this template? if not, Where can i purchase it? Thanks a bunch!

[Topsoil Suppliers]

Get the garden ready, then start planning what you do in the garden. Getting the garden ready is a large task, bigger than i thought.

[charlie]

Thanks for the tips; after seeing your bumbersticker I know never to purchase any of your books. I don't want any of my money going to you which could then be given to help elect Obama to another term of destruction of this country.

[valerie Easton]

Better not even read my blog Charlie, somehow that might qualify as support for our president....

[Construction Materials]

Started clearing my garden this week after the first signs of the sun coming out. Looks like I have a major job on my hands. After four car loads of rubbish it is starting to look ok. Glad i read your post before starting. I was going to do the fun bit first.

[Tori]

Great blog and bumper sticker! :) Thanks for the motivation!