Maybe it is the sunshine and fresh air at this time of year that causes many of us to get into a spring cleaning mood. Not only can our houses benefit from a spring cleaning but our gardens and landscapes also can benefit from a freshening up that we can enjoy well into the summer season.

Here are a few tips that can help kick start a spring cleanup in the landscape and garden to not only give a fresh look but encourage a healthy planting season:

• Spring Cleaning – Just as you would spring clean your house, your garden can also be brightened up with a little decluttering. Simply removing dead plant debris such as fallen leaves, broken limbs, dead plants, and last year’s plant material from perennials can quickly give the landscape a cleaner look. Clearing bed borders and walkways of weeds and plant debris will make the garden more inviting and attractive. With a little warm weather it doesn’t take long for the weeds to start showing up so get a head start on weeding by hand pulling weeds and adding mulch to prevent some additional weeds from returning. A good layer of mulch, 3-4” thick, not only gives the garden a facelift but can also slow many weeds from emerging. There are not many herbicide options for landscape or garden beds that won’t harm existing trees, shrubs, or flowering plants so some hand weeding is going to have to happen. There are some pre-emergent herbicide options for landscape beds (often referred to as weed preventers), however, read your labels closely to make sure it is a product that is safe to put around trees, shrubs, and flowering plants. Many herbicides labeled for lawns are not safe around trees and shrubs and can damage those plants.
• Add New Plants – Incorporating some new plants into your landscape and gardens can improve appearances along with filling in empty areas. The exciting but also challenging part is to figure out what kind of plants to add to your garden. There are so many possibilities and choices for plants, it can be hard to even know where to start. First, you need to be familiar with your garden site to determine what plants would be best suited. Consider light requirements, available space, soil type, mature size of plants, and if the plant is suited to grow in our area. Be sure to visit local garden centers to see what types of plants are available that may fit the criteria needed for your gardens. NC State Extension has a helpful online resource for exploring plant possibilities for gardens at https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu. You can click on “Find a Plant”, select preferred plant criteria, and review plants that fit your criteria including plant information and pictures.
• Add Container Gardens – Simply potting up some plants into containers is an easy and quick way to add some color and spring cheer around your house. Do not forget that not only plants can add color to your home garden, but the container can as well. There are so many opportunities for creativity when it comes to selecting containers for your gardens. When selecting containers keep a couple of things in mind. One is to make sure the container has drainage holes so excess water has a way to escape and prevent plants from drowning. A second thing to keep in mind when selecting containers is size. Make sure the size of your plant matches the size of the container. For example, a tomato plant is larger and will need a larger container to accommodate the root system whereas herbs, like basil, will do best in smaller containers. As you select plant combinations for containers, use the rule of thumb of having thrillers, spillers, and fillers. Thrillers would be the taller plants that provide the center focal point of the container. Spillers would be trailing plants to hang over the edge of the container. Lastly, fillers would be plants used to fill in the container between the thriller and spiller plants.

Simply potting up some plants into containers is an easy and quick way to add some color and spring cheer around your house.

From garden clean up to adding container gardens, you can use these tips to kick start your springtime gardening to create an enjoyable outdoor space through the spring and summer seasons.

Jessica Strickland is an Agriculture Extension Agent, specializing in horticulture for North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Wayne County.

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