spring garden clean-up tips

If you are itching to get out and do yardwork this week-end, go for it but don't go crazy!  It is still early days and we want to keep our plants well-insulated for quite a while longer.  This means don't be removing any winter mulch just yet, and definitely don't be walking around on muddy garden soil, which will destroy soil structure.  (Actually, some people recommend not even walking around on the lawn when it's soggy but if you know me, you know I don't care much about lawns!) 

If you haven't pruned your shrubs yet, that is certainly something you could get done this week-end.  Don't prune spring-blooming shrubs like lilacs (you'll cut the flower buds off!) and wait to prune shrub roses until late May or even early June as their tips usually die back and it's easier to see what wood is alive/dead once things are leafing out.  Here is a recent post of mine on pruning, with lots of links to extra resources.

If you're starting to cut back your perennials left standing for the winter, just remember not to tramp around on your garden soil.  This year, I am trying composting in place.  Which means I will be chopping up my leftover perennials into little bits and leaving them in place on the ground.  This makes free mulch!  It will look a little messy in early spring but the plants will soon grow to cover the old stuff.  As my garden gets bigger and bigger I have realized I need to use as many low-maintenance gardening techniques as possible.  Why tote all the dead material over to the compost bin, turn it over all summer (which I never get around to doing anyway) and then when it has sufficiently decomposed, dig it out and spread it back over the garden?  Life is too short.  (Besides, to be honest, I never got around to emptying my compost bins last fall so there is nowhere to put all the dead plant material this spring.)

Above: as I cut these clematis vines back, I am chopping them into small pieces so that they will provide a mulch and eventually compost in place.

Comments

[Paula H.]

You will have to let me know how your composting in place goes. I usually do it with leaves in the fall,but I find it gets too messy when they blow around. I empty my compost bins in the spring when I can't do anything else-sometimes it is ready and sometimes not. I spread it anyway (not the big chunks!) this way room is freed up for the stuff I cut down from winter.

[Jeff]

I agree with composting in place. I do it in all our beds. Today I was out removing the large leaves that I was too lazy to shred in order to curtail mould and rot. Upon removing them, I saw some amazingly fresh, fluffy compost underneath! Things definitely can compost in place in Calgary, especially over winter... I have to scoff at everyone who says it is impossible!

This year I discovered that one of the best things to compost in place are dried poppy stems. If they aren't composting properly just go out and break them into smaller pieces. They basically disintegrate when touched!

[Jeff]

Ohhhhh! And the poppy stems smell absolutely delicious when you break them up!

[Brook]

How far back do you cut your vines? We just bought a house over the winter and there are some that were cut back in fall and some that weren't.

[Calgary Garden Coach]

I cut them back to about 1 ft high. However, there are some spring-blooming types of clematis that don't need cutting back (and shouldn't be cut back as then they won't flower). Perhaps wait and see what happens this year and then you'll know whether to cut those others back next year?
Janice

[Calgary Garden Coach]

@Paula - but isn't your compost bin frozen later than you want to be cutting down last year's perennials? Mine is, but perhaps because it is big and in shade.
I'm hoping the little bits I've cut are small enough that they won't blow around too much.
@Jeff - poppy stems? I never knew! I will have to try it.
Cheers,
Janice

[pauline]

Spring is a great time to plan ahead for your big summertime projects. If you don’t want to do-it-yourself, you can arrange for a designer to come for an on-site visit and meet to discuss your garden’s problems, potential and what you would like it to be.

[plantman]

I composted in plastic garbage bins last year. Worked incredibly well. It all broke down into compost in one season! I have two bins full of compost ready for spreading this month. I would've done it in October last year but the snow came very early and hard!

[Calgary Garden Coach]

Interesting! Did the bins have air holes? Did you layer materials? Stir? Just curious. Actually, my problem is just that I have way too much plant material to deal with - I would need too many plastic garbage bins to make that work. If I don't like how the composting in place goes, maybe I'll try garbage bags next year.
Happy spring,
Janice

[ron]

Before plants emerge in the spring, we should take the opportunity to clean up the yard for a more attractive garden. Helpful tips are shared here for spring garden clean up.