what a mess! the realities of spring garden cleanup

IT’S NOT A PRETTY SIGHT, EVEN IN A PRETTY NICE GARDEN. Spring cleanup is a messy affair with more crouching (ouch!) and toting and dragging of debris than my post-winter body is ready for. But what’s the choice? And so we gardeners collectively face the music, and actually even smile about it, so happy are we to finally be outside. A look at my first tasks, in a slideshow capturing the reality of garden prep.

I work like a triage nurse: first identifying damaged woody plants and hauling off the heaviest debris from them, so I can get around with carts and wheelbarrows and start on finer work.

Next up, the urgent perennials: hellebores, ornamental grasses and epimediums (I haven’t gotten to the last one yet).

The vegetable garden gets a fast cleanup right away, too, and also a rough turn of the soil where cover crops are growing…all of which you will see better in pictures than I can explain, so on with the show (unless you want to read about my six earliest spring tasks in more detail instead):

Click on the first thumbnail to start the slides, then toggle from image to image using the arrows beside each caption). Enjoy!

Categoriesgarden prep slideshowsTagsmargaret roach gardenspring garden cleanup Read more on awaytogarden.com