Springtime Garden Chore List

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Today, I’ve written a springtime garden chore list for you to consider. Soon, your garden will be waking up from its winter nap.

As the weather warms and then gets cold again, spring bulbs will emerge, becoming confused by the changes. There’s nothing we can do about that.

However, there are some things we can do to improve our garden spaces. It’s kind of like the spring cleaning we often do indoors.

Garden Tasks For Early Spring:

This is when it’s time to clean up the surfaces of flower beds and container soils of all the winter debris that has accumulated. If you put winter mulch around your perennials and ornamental grasses, it is time to remove it.

Cut back last year’s dried brown foliage to give your plants a head start. Wear protective gloves when working on prickly-leaved plants or shrubs.

Now is a good time to divide perennials, another chore on the springtime garden chore list. Dividing perennials means you’ll have more plants to relocate elsewhere or give to others. It also keeps your plants healthy.

After a few years, plants that form a large clump can thin out, leaving a bare patch. Dividing plants encourages new growth, while preventing this.

Cleaning Up, Trimming & Dividing Plants:

Once you’ve tackled the cleaning up, trimming, and dividing, it’s time to add new mulch to discourage weeds and help your plants retain moisture. Spread the mulch evenly while wearing gloves or using a rake.

Don’t layer mulch too close to plants, as this can encourage disease.

If you have fruit trees, now is the time to trim them. You will want to do this before buds appear on the branches, which would stress the tree. This is also the time to trim evergreen shrubs.

Before you begin planting, ensure you don’t need maintenance on your hardscaping.

Hardscaping refers to the non-living elements in your landscaping. Check pathways and bedding stones to ensure they aren’t loose and will hold in soil.

Clean up the outdoor furniture and get it ready for summer, another task on your springtime garden chore list.

Planting Cool-Weather Plants:

Cool-weather plants like lettuce, potatoes, and peas grow best when the ground is still somewhat cool. So once the soil has thawed, plant these vegetables in your garden. They will be ready to harvest in early summer.

In the middle of spring, you will start to see more activity in your garden spaces. Perennials are waking up and beginning to emerge, showing new green shoots. This is when you can start planting more plants.

Perennials take longer to grow new roots. If you’re anxious for color and filling in bare spots, plant hardy cool-weather plants. Consider planting pansies, nasturtiums, snapdragons, sweet peas, alyssum, calendula, or larkspur.

I love the scent of alyssum, but as it gets hot, the blooms dry up. So you want to plant alyssum early to enjoy it while you can.

Learning From Garden Mistakes:

I learned last year that lobelia shuts down when it gets hot. You may recall that I planted purple lobelia around the Kangaroo Fern. It was beautiful when I planted it, but before long, the blooms began to shrivel and fall to the ground.

That fern plant didn’t make it through January. If I get another Kangaroo fern plant, I’ll know to surround it with hardier flowers that don’t wither when it gets hot.

Annual pansies also bloom best before the heat of summer hits. So fill containers or beds with pansies early on to add color to your garden.

If you want to plant new trees or shrubs, plant them as soon as the ground is no longer frozen. This will give them time to build roots before the hot weather hits.

Then, mulch around them. You want to mulch before weeds begin to grow, which will cut down on weeding chores in the months ahead.

In late spring, you will need to start cleaning up the flowers that have already bloomed this season.

With flowering bulbs, let the foliage die back on its own. Wait until it’s completely yellow or dried before snipping it back.

Planting Warm-Season Plants & Herbs:

You can begin transplanting warm-season plants, such as tomatoes, peppers, and herbs.

Start shopping for annual plants to beautify your garden, yard, and porch/patio. Annuals bring instant color and gratification.

Spring-blooming bulbs should be planted in the fall. But if there are no more freezes in your area, now is the time to plant summer bulbs. Check the latest average frost date to better understand when to plant.

Now you can begin to enjoy the fruits of your efforts. Here’s to spring and summer gardening!