Spring! It’s the season where the natural world really comes to life. Flowers bloom, deciduous trees find their leaves once more, and the days grow longer and longer. Spring is an awakening from the hibernation of winter, and with this awakening comes a need to return to your garden and ensure your green space is ready for this upcoming green season. Here’s what you’ll need to do to make sure your garden is ready for spring.
1. Start up your irrigation
First and foremost, it’s time to ‘de-winterise’ your irrigation system, which you’ll be happy to hear is a far simpler process than preparing your system for winter. All you really need to do is locate your main shutoff valve and controller, and just turn everything back on again. It’s essential that you take your time starting your system back up again so as not to overload your pipes. Considering that your irrigation system has been inactive for over three months, turning the water on too quickly may cause your system to pressurize far too rapidly, which can potentially lead to burst fittings and damaged sprinkler heads.
The amount of time you should spend starting up and testing out your system greatly depends on what kind of system you have, whether it be a far-reaching sprinkler system or a modest drip irrigation system. The larger your system, the more care and attention you should exercise during your de-winterising process.
Once you’ve got the system up and running, be sure to check that everything is working correctly and that low temperatures (or anything else!) have not damaged your system, causing leaks or low pressure. If you do identify any damage or notice that your system is not working as it should, it might be time to call out an expert from a Sprinkler Repair company in your area so that they can get it back up and running as soon as possible.
2. Spring cleaning
Chances are that during winter, your garden beds may have become a little straggly, and your borders unkempt. It’s time to rectify that, by getting your gloves on, pulling out your secateurs, and trimming all your evergreen hedging and shrubbery. For your smaller deciduous shrubs that are looking to regrow their foliage, it might be ideal to relocate them from large garden beds into individual pots, just to make sure their roots stay as warm and cosy as possible so that prompt regrowth can occur. If you have a greenhouse or sunroom, this is where your smaller deciduous plants should call home nearing the close of winter.
After transplanting plants, be sure to regularly till the soil in your emptied garden bed with your spade to keep your soil from compacting during heavy rainfall. Speaking of gardening tools, it’s also time to dust them off and make sure they’re also all in good shape for the green season. If you have time to kill during these last few weeks of winter, you might consider cleaning all your tools with a mixture of water and vinegar to stave away rust.
3. Bring in the bulbs and perennials
If you’ve got a fridge full of bulbs that have been anxiously waiting to see the light of day, now is the time to rise them from their slumber! But for those of you who’ve chosen to plant your bulbs prior to winter, then all you’ve got left to do is bring in your new perennials. To care for your garden by tree service Rancho Cucamonga check that link out.
No matter what new plant babies you’ll be introducing into your garden, there’s no denying that this is a very exciting period of time, and should be handled with the utmost care. You don’t want to overwater your bulbs as it may lead to rot, but it’s also essential that they don’t dry out either, otherwise, your little shoots won’t do too well. Your perennials require these same growing conditions, so feel free to interplant your bulbs and perennials in free-draining soil with either a light sprinkler or ideally a drip irrigation system, and enjoy the stunning colours and visuals that’ll come to fruition at the height of spring.
Be sure to take a lot of photos of all your babies in bloom too! Remember that spring only comes around once a year, and the blooms that you’ll be gifted with are essentially your garden’s main event, especially if you’re investing in bulbs and perennials. Cherish it while it lasts and once it’s over, start anew! Happy planting.
