Last Updated on September 9, 2020 by Kimberly Crawford
At the end of every season, it is essential to clean your garden so that plants and animals can continue to thrive in the next season. Removing debris and dead plants needs to be combined with weeding and general maintenance.
It is not just for aesthetic value that gardens must be kept clean: debris encourages mold and undesirable creatures to live in your garden, and these can then enter your home. By staying on top of garden maintenance and keeping your outdoor spaces clean, you can be sure that it will flourish during spring and summer.
It is worth being proactive in your approach to garden cleaning and here is a concise guide that will help you to achieve that.
Paths and Porches
Sweeping paths and porches can help to prevent any accidents in the garden and ensure that they are as safe as possible when people visit. The corners of porches are prone to dirt build-up so they must be regularly cleared to avoid damp situations which can result in rotten wood. This may seem obvious, but porch maintenance will prevent any expensive heavy duty maintenance that may be otherwise required.
Weeding paths can be difficult but a sharp flat object, such as a spade, can help remove unwanted plant growth. When you are weeding a garden path it is best to tackle weeds in their early stages, as this will prevent them from releasing seeds. Here are a few tools you may need to clean your garden path and porches:
- Weed killer
- Bucket
- Garden rake
- Spade
- Wheelbarrow/Dolly
- Tamper
- Garden trowel
With these tools in your garden shed, you’ll be able to go around your garden over the course of a weekend in order to give it a proper once-over.
Flowerbeds
You will need to research pruning guidelines for your perennial plants, shrubs and trees to make sure that you are pruning them in the right season. Make sure you do not prune any garden plant that has not fully flowered yet as it will result in an inability for it to flower fully in the spring. Pruning is an important part of cleaning the garden and it should be carried out in the correct season to avoid damaging plants.
Evergreens should not be ignored and when you are cleaning the garden, it is important that you trim them to prevent overgrowth or messiness. You must also ensure the soil is healthy and rich for them. Sometimes fertilizer can help if the soil quality surrounding evergreen shrubs and trees is lacking in nutrients.
Ponds
Any water feature in the garden must be regularly maintained to prevent the chances of water becoming dirty or stagnant. Utilising fish pond pumps is highly recommended for the overall maintenance of your pond and it will keep fish and other wildlife happy and healthy.
Ponds must be maintained throughout the year and replaced annually. Regular maintenance will ensure that animals and insects will thrive in your outdoor spaces.
Cleaning your garden is a simple task if you do it proactively, try your best to avoid waiting until your garden is overgrown and full of weeds.
See also: how to clear a yard full of weeds
