In the Garden

The Best Spring Cleaning Practices for Gardens, Yards, and Patios

The time has come to get outdoors and begin our backyard Spring cleanup!

I can not wait, this is my favorite cleaning of the year to do. After I finish my indoor cleaning and refreshing, Spring fever hits me hard. I become so antsy to hit the outdoors and begin cleaning up my gardens, the yard and patio. If the weather is decent enough, I can easily spend the whole day outside! But where to start can become a little overwhelming. I have acquired some best practices over the years that has always helped me get my backyard summer ready in no time. Today I will share those same practices with you.

I have been asked to join a talented group of bloggers on a fun organizing and cleaning blog hop from the Fabulous Friday Hosts! I am thrilled to be a part of the team and to provide you with some great ideas today. There is sure to be something for everyone.

Welcome to the 2nd Fabulous Friday Link Party Blog Hop. The Fabulous Friday Link Party is where you can find the best posts from dozens of home bloggers every Friday. 

Four times a year the six hosts, each picks a regularly participating blogger to join in the blog hop.

February is a month for cleaning and organization and this blog hop is dedicated to inspiring and helping you unleash your own cleaning and organizing brilliance. Be sure to visit all twelve posts. — so many unique ideas, tricks, and hints. They are all listed at the bottom of the post.

Let’s Be Social and Stay Connected

Disclaimer: This blog has affiliate links and if you choose to make a purchase through them, I may or may not receive a small commission in the process. This does NOT result in any additional cost to you, thanks for your time and support!

The Garden

The garden is where I like to begin my backyard Spring cleaning. That goes for flower gardens or vegetable gardens. The reason is, a little prep work is needed to ensure you will reap the benefits in the long run.

For example, I always clean up the flower gardens that will have spring flowers blooming first. That way not only will it look appealing but removing a bunch of dead grass and weeds from above, makes it easier for the new plants to push through to the surface.

I have a lot of Daylilies, Daffodils, Asiatic Lilies, and Tulips that start coming up every Spring. So I like to get out there and begin my garden clean up, even if the temperatures are on the cool side. Plus it takes me a little time to get to each garden where Spring flowers would be sprouting up, so starting early (February/ March) always works out for me. Of course if you live in a colder climate, you may be starting your garden clean up in (April/May).

Now, if you are planning to have a vegetable garden, the saying “sooner than later”, is definitely something to live by. Early Spring is the perfect time to get a head start on prepping an outdoor area and even planting seeds indoors. If starting by seeds is not your thing, some local nurseries will start having small vegetable plants in early Spring that you can keep inside until the last cold frost.

My husband and I built our first raised garden bed a couple of years ago and I absolutely love it. We produce so many yummy vegetables in this small 6ft x 4ft garden bed, that I barely have to grab any at the grocery store all summer long. I am excited in the future to expand and build another one!

Each spring I pull out any weeds or dead roots by raking the soil. Sometimes I will add in a few extra bags of vegetable garden soil mix or even bag of fertilizer to prep the area for my new vegetable plants.

Another task I find helpful to start ahead of time is planning out what you want to grow. Sometimes I even draw it up on paper so I can plan the spacing or heights of plants in my gardens. This is especially important for flower gardens because you would not want all your tall flowers in the front of your garden, blocking all the shorter flowers. While it may be too cold to plant summer flowers or vegetables, nothing helps me get over Spring fever more than planning out my gardens for the year.

For example, I can only fit a certain amount of vegetables in my raised garden bed, so I plan that out first and then anything else is planned to go into planters on my patio. There is a lot of vegetables that grow great in planters. I have had great luck with lettuce, tomatoes, green beans and peppers!

Once I have my vegetable garden planned out, I like to make veggie markers ahead of time. Every year I use something different, depending what I have on hand. This year I had tons of paint sticks and decided they would make perfect veggie markers. I painted them all with chalkboard paint and then used a white paint marker to write out all the names of all I wish to plant this year.

Until I expand on another raised garden bed or dig out another area in my yard for a garden, I plant all my herbs in planters. Some I will keep in the kitchen and the rest will be out on my patio or in my porch. This year I am going to buy my vegetable plants young, but grow all my herbs by seed. If you have never done that before and do not have tons of room in your house (like me) for growing, small greenhouse planting kits work out great! They do not take up much space. Just need a small place in front of a window.

To set up a greenhouse kit, you just water the all the peat pods and they will instantly grow and expand. Then add your seeds of choice, place the plastic cover on top and in a few days to a week you will have baby herbs. Look at how cute they are!

I usually keep them in the greenhouse kit until they are 3-4 inches high and then plant them into planters. It is so much fun! My kids love to garden and work out in the yard with me, So I set this kit up with them and they have been getting a huge kick out of checking everyday to see what new baby herb has sprouted up.

Here are Some other Great Herb Growing Kits

*Just click on image for more product information*

Start Your Herb and Vegetable Garden Today

Have you ever thrown a garden party? If you love to garden and have friends that do too, I have a DIY garden party that is affordable and fun. It is the perfect way to celebrate after all your spring backyard cleaning is done.

The Yard

The backyard can be pretty rough looking after winter. I always have tons of dead grass, flower stems leftover from the last of my summer flowers, and overgrown shrubs. But it is nothing a little pruning, raking and maybe even some new mulch can’t fix.

I like to start by pruning any shrubs or trees that could use a trim or might need to be reshaped. The best time to prune any kind of tree or shrub is in the early spring or fall. Pruning during the summer can open the tree or shrub up to diseases and infestations. So it’s better to take care of this while the plants are still busy being dormant. If it is a young tree or shrub you may even want to wait a few years for it to get established before even pruning.

Pruning before raking the entire yard and gardens, just makes sense to me. A lot of times small branches and clippings end up in the garden or in the grass and I find it easier to rake it all up at once than having to go back and do it a second time.

You might also want to invest in a good wheelbarrow. When we first moved into our house, I used a big plastic bucket as I went along pruning. But over those years more gardens were established, trees and shrubs making cleaning up the yard a much bigger project. I think I am due for one of those heavy duty garden carts now too!

With pruning out of the way, it is time to grab a rake and start getting the lawn ready for summer. Each year, my husband and I rake most of the yard to remove all the dead grass. This helps irrigate the lawn and makes it easier for the new grass to come up. If you have a large yard, I suggest buying a dethatcher to save yourself some time. If you have a ride on lawnmower, you can usually find dethatchers that will even be able to attach depending your make and model ride on. It’s on my future wish list for sure!

Helpful Grass Care Products

*Just click on the image below for more product information*

The last part of the yard I want to discuss is bugs! Yes infestations on your trees, shrubs or plants. It is very common and even more of a pest in warmer climates. When I lived in Massachusetts I hardly ran into any problems with bugs, maybe besides yellow jackets and wasps. Here in South Carolina I have been battling ants, spider mites, whiteflies, mealybugs, japanese beetles and stink bugs. Its crazy and I am sure there is more out there ready to attack.

It can get out of control fast and treating your plants in Spring is a helpful way to keep them safe. But honestly one of the best solutions to eliminate most of the bugs I mentioned is a dish soap and water solution. It is hands down my number one way to fight back. I create a spray bottle and sometimes I will add in some Neem oil (for nurshiment) too. The best time to spray is at the end of the day or early morning so that it does not harm your plants in the sun. Couple sprays a day, keeps the bugs away!

This year one of my biggest bug problem we have is Crapemyrtle Bark Scale caused by small white bugs. It leaves these beautiful trees covered in a black sooty mold. One of the first steps to fighting back is dish soap and water solution. You can see in the pictures before and after I scrubbed with the soap solution. So if you find yourself living in a warmer climate zone, prepare to have a bug defense ready to go versus trying to jump on the problem in the middle of summer when you just want to enjoy a nice barbecue.

The Patio

It is almost that time for us to start enjoying some outdoor living! And I can hardly wait. Grilling, chilling and straight up living! There is nothing like a morning coffee out on the patio or dinning at night with your loved ones underneath some outdoor party lights.

But just like the gardens and yard, before we can enjoy summer time outdoor living, there is a few best practices needed to help us get ready. If you are looking for ideas to enjoy your patio to the fullest, be sure to visit my post on DIY Patio Must Haves or How to Create a Tropical Escape in your own backyard.

For starters, most everyone’s patio furniture is going to be due for some TLC. A good old wash down with some soap and water is a great place to start. I usually wipe them all down, rinse them off with the hose and let them dry out on a nice sunny day. I also like to go back to any tables with glass tops and clean again with glass cleaner, removing any water spots they may have. Spring is also a great time to update any old patio furniture you have and get it ready. Check out the makeover I did on some plastic chairs and table last season. They came out fantastic!

Next, it is cushion and pillow inspection time. The 3 things I look for are: dirt, mildew and fading. For the most part, outdoor cushions covers can be unzipped off and be put straight into the washer. That is the best case scenario and something I always look for when purchasing outdoor cushions or pillows. This will remove any dirt and have them smelling fresh again.

Dealing with mildew on your outdoor cushions and pillows involves a little more work to remove. There are 4 different ways to get rid of mildew on your cushions or pillows. It is just a matter of deciding which one you feel most comfortable working with and the type of fabric you have.

Then there is fading. In all honesty, it usually take a few years for this to take place, and that is only if the cushions or pillows have been in the direct sun season after season. I find that most of the cushions and pillows for outdoor furniture have guarantees that they will be fade proof. This helps for sure. But nevertheless you can replace them or make new covers. I have a easy DIY no sew pillow cover that would be perfect to help refresh some outdoor decorative pillows.

If you do not have mildew on your cushions, you may find it around on your patio floor. This happens especially in moist or shady areas. For example, underneath my pergola on my patio is where I find mildew the most. I first power wash the mildew area and then scrub the remaining mildew stains, if any, with a non bleach cleaner (see products below). This works extremely well and will have your patio looking like brand new again.

Lastly, is tackling any unwanted weeds that have made a home in the grooves or near the edges of your patio. You can pull them out with your hands but in a month the same one seems to sprout again. I like to use a weed killer spray. Works like a charm! I spray and the next day, pull out all the dead weeds and it helps prevent them from ever coming back.

Patio Goodies to Help with the Spring Cleaning

*Click on any image below for more product information*

The Shed

Okay, I know we just covered gardens, the yard and patios for spring cleaning, but I thought I would share one last area with you that sometimes gets forgotten. That would be our outdoor storage sheds! My dream is to have a greenhouse one day, but until then all my yard and gardening tools are kept in my shed. With a hundred other things I may add! So it tends to get junked up in there pretty quickly.

Below, is a picture of the kinda mess I had left over from last summer. Old plants still in their planters and gardening tools everywhere. I could barely find what I needed to start my backyard spring cleaning. We just threw everything in there at the end of the season and barely left a space to stand when you stepped into the inside.

My husband and I waited for a day with fairly nice weather and pulled everything out and began organizing our shed. After a few hours we had our shed nice and organized and summer ready! What a big difference it had made for us to take on cleaning up our backyard.

I wish everyone good luck this season and a Happy Backyard Spring Cleaning!

Tools to Help get all that Backyard Spring Cleaning Done

Let Me Keep On Inspiring You

Thank You for stopping by my blog today! I enjoyed sharing best practices for backyard Spring cleanup with you. Hopefully this post will serve as a little checklist and get you moving in the right direction for your own backyard spring cleaning. I would love the chance to inspire you weekly with gardening, DIY decor, decorating ideas, furniture painting and so much more. It is easy! Just sign up for my weekly email list and I will be sure to take care of the rest.

Still Need a Little Help Inside Your Home with Cleaning and Organizing?

No problem! I got you covered. Take a look at all the other features to the Fabulous Friday Blog hop and I promise you will be all set after!

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Tips to Create a Beautiful Organized Laundry Room

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How to Organize Your Small Bathroom Cabinets For a Tidy Space

Thistle Key Lane

Bathroom Organize and decluttering Tips

Vintage Home Designs

Easy and Budget Friendly Organizing Ideas and Tips

Saved from Salvage

How to Organize Your Guest Bath

South House Designs

Overhead Garage Storage

Perfecting Places

15 Simple Craft Room Organizing Ideas

Amy Sadler Designs

How to Make Homemade Cleaning Solution recipes with Printable Labels

The House on Silverado

Pantry Organization

White Lilac Farmhouse

6 Easy Ways to Make a Spare Bedroom Closet more Functional

Living Large in A Small House

7 Ways to Refresh Your Home for Spring

Love The Space That Surrounds You Everyday!

-Meagan-

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