Spring is just around the corner, offering fresh perspectives, beautiful weather, and the perfect opportunity to begin preparing your yard for spring planting, birds, and butterflies.These easy tips will help prepare you and your yard for the coming spring, so that when spring and summer arrive you can sit back and enjoy the labor of your hands.
Here are five tips from Yahoo on getting your yard ready for summer.
Fill the Bird Feeders
I walked out this morning and it felt like I walked into a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Birds. Birds are already beginning to migrate and will be in full migration soon. It’s time to fill the bird feeders so that I will have visitors stop along their migration route. Early spring is when natural food supplies are lowest. You will attract many faithful birds to your garden by filling your feeders now. I even like to sprinkle a few handfuls of seed on the ground because the wood thrasher is a common bush dwelling bird that is often scampering about on the ground in Georgia.
Tips to Prepare Your Yard for Spring: Clean the Bird Bath
Make sure a cool, fresh dip of water is available for birds. It is best to wash away dirt, grime, and mildew with soap and water. If you must use a more harsh cleaner with bleach, be sure to rinse the birdbath several times before filling it with water for your spring and summer guests.
Tips to Prepare Your Yard for Spring: Clean the Garden
Dry foliage of perennial flowers are likely curled up in your garden. It’s time to clean out the old and make room for the new. You may find remnants of other plants, or weeds, which made their way into your garden over the winter. Clean these out as well. Your gardening will move along a lot more smoothly if you will prepare ahead of time.
Tips to Prepare Your Yard for Spring: Rake
Pull out the leaf rake, not the blower, and remove any last remnants of leaves in your yards. A debris cleaned yard makes a nice place for lush green grasses of spring and summer to grow. Raking the yard will not only remove remaining leaves, but will serve to fluff the grass and shake loose any mildew spots that have begun to grow under leaves or snow.
Tips to Prepare Your Yard for Spring: Prune Flowering Shrubs
Prune flowering shrubs in early spring. Pruning before shrubs begin to grow allows them to heal and close quickly. Remove large, life-sucking limbs will allow energy to be directed to new growth and beautiful new blooms.