Readying Your Outdoor Space for Spring Landscaping

There’s no doubt that winter left the outside of your house a mess with mud, leaves, and other debris that have collected over time. It’s time to take on some early spring maintenance to prepare your outdoor space for the blooming season ahead.

Spring Cleaning Checklist:

1. Windows - Something often overlooked when it comes to preparing your outdoor space is windows. Grab a sprayer hose attachment, ladder, squeegee, rag, cleaning solution, and go to town. Check with the manufacturer of your windows to see how to best clean them. Newer windows often make cleaning from the inside easy to avoid ladders. 
2. Rain Gutters - Winter storms, fall leaves, and more can cause lots of debris to clog up your gutters. Grab a ladder and some gloves and scrape out as much as you can. Then follow up with a hose to wash away the rest that is left. Now, your rain gutters are cleared up to handle the runoff from all the spring rain that may come our way. 
3. Exterior Siding, Wood, or Brick - Don’t forget about the primary exterior surfaces of your home. All it takes is a good power washer to quickly remove all that mud and dirt on the outside of your house. 
4. Garage - Now is the perfect time to go through all that built-up junk that sits unused in the garage. Once you have tidied up, sweep the floors, wipe down any shelving, dust away cobwebs, and wash the floors.
5. Trim Away any Dead or Damaged Branches - Look to see where tree or shrub branches have been damaged and cut them back to the live stems. Use hand shears to snip off the branches. Trim summer-flowering shrubs before the buds emerge but wait to prune spring-flowering shrubs until they bloom. Trim overgrown evergreens back to the shape you desire. When in doubt, contact a local tree service or nursery when you have questions about what to trim and what to leave be. 
6. Clean Up Around Plants - Rake up any fallen leaves and dead foliage that you removed, pull up old annuals, and clear away existing mulch to prepare for a new layer. Give your new spring plants space to breathe and grow! 

Spring cleaning is not only for the inside clutter but the outside too. Don’t neglect your outdoor space!