Did the arrival of summer create a full-on disaster in your yard?
Overgrown weeds that seemed to sprout out of nowhere and take over. Trees that looked fine a month ago and suddenly HAVE to be trimmed. A bunch of flowers that are thirsty, leggy, and in need of pruning.
This is exactly what my yard looked like a couple of weeks ago, I’m not going to lie.
But I was able to implement a simple plan of attack. When it was over, I felt so much relief and was able to enjoy my beautiful garden again!
I’ve outlined the steps below so if you’re experiencing that “oops, I forgot to do a spring clean up of my yard before the beautiful Fresno summer rolled in” too — you can be on your way to soaking up the sun in your gorgeous yard in no time.
If you’ve got any tips for me too, I’d love to hear them! Join in on the conversation on Instagram @FresYes – or on Facebook – the hashtag is #FresYesInsider)
Trim those trees
When cleaning up anything, it’s important to start from the top down. If you decide to get everything perfect on the ground before you look up, you’re going to negate all of your hard work!
Spruce up what’s above you before working on anything else. If you have to bring in a tree trimming service like Peterborough Tree Surgeon, you definitely don’t want them trampling all of your beautiful plant material. If it’s gotten that bad, here’s a list of local experts to check out.
Prune bushes and flowers
Next, take some time and prune all of your bushes and flowers. It’ important to do this step before you clean out the beds.
That way, you can let the cuttings fall into the beds and clean everything up all at once.
Clean up flower beds
You have to get the dead plant material and weeds out of the flower beds if they’re ever going to look nice again.
I know, this is probably my least favorite part of the process too. Weeds are just the worst. But, if you do it well and do it right, you won’t have to mess with them for a while.
If you’re feeling extra productive, you can even throw down some of that weed barrier which helps those pesky, annoying suckers from even coming into your beds in the first place. It’s difficult to get down, but you won’t have to do it again for years.
Pro Tip: Spray weeds with plain white vinegar and sprinkle with salt. Let sit in in the sun for best results. The next day, your weeds will be dead — and it’s eco-friendly.
Lay down mulch
For the finishing touch, put down some mulch.
This helps keep weeds at bay and helps to retain moisture around your freshly pruned plants. It can be a labor-intensive step — lugging bags of mulch around is a lot of work.
But, the good news is, you can skip the gym on days you do this much yard clean up.
And that’s it! A simple plan to clean up your garden and finish decluttering your life in the process! Let us know how your garden grows on Instagram – @FresYes!
Happy Gardening,
Gabi
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