I take a pretty easy route to cleaning my flowerbeds, since I don't have fancy mulch or anything. I just take the pushmower over anything that freezes to the ground, then cover it with straw from DH's bale processor. I'm lucky that my biggest flowerbed is in the right spot for him to just drive up and blow straw directly on. Come springtime, I remove the excess mulch and use it in the garden, and I'm mulched and ready to go. Unfortunately winter came too early this year, and covered things before I was ready. I've gotten the beds mowed, but its not near as nice a job, and I still have to refresh my mulch. My biggest springtime complaint is usually hands/wrists/elbows from digging and pruning, and my bum knee acts up. (I'd really like to thank my ancestors for the arthritis). Looks like it will be dry enough this weekend for me to get something done - last week's snow has disappeared, and things are drying up. I've got glads to plant, dandelions to dig, and pruning to do - what should I pick first?? So much to do, so little time....Sharon, I'm sure I need a few more flower beds too.
I keep having these dreams of having time to sit and enjoy my yard, but then I see another weed, and the kids need something, and I'm hosting another family thing in July, and...last year my hammock didn't even get put out until August, and it was my youngest DS who did it, and had time to use it. (Note to self, have Sharon remind me to cut back on expansion plans) Don't you love spring? Last night I poked around, stuck a few perennials in my little greenhouse, and then watered my wintersowing. I didn't get inside until 9:30 - it was wonderful. After all, we could be stuck inside getting sore hands and tired shoulders and stiff necks scrubbing ceilings and cupboards.
I'm a little worried this spring, because I'm not in as good of shape as I would like. A little accident back in January stopped me for 5 weeks, and I'm still not back in shape. Hopefully this "you're not 25 anymore" body won't let me down.

Connie

I hear you girl! Im almost finished with the big spring clean up and now have to go back and start weeding those darn dandylions that are showing up already!
Fall clean up is nasty here . Those cold fall rains make clean up a dirty wet job, at least right now I can chose and pick my hours to be out there and hopefully time it when its not raining at least..lol.
Oy the aching muscles!..I've been dealing with a sore swollen left wrist from all the transplanting (left handed) and now have almost forgotten about it dealing with everything else that aches and pains.
It really does take patience to cut back the hop vines, even when they are dead and dried up they catch and scratch you everywhere..but once they are growing up the arbor it is all forgiven :-)All the maintainance in the garden is forgotten when you look at your garden beautifully in bloom..savona

Ahh, I just thought I'd come in from doing some clean up and cool off with a tall glass of water and sit downstairs, where the computer happens to be, and Sharon, you just read my mind. Just how many more beds do I need?? I still have 6 more beds to clean. I've only done 4 in the last few days. I did manage to get the fish in the pond this morning though. I'm not sure if they get faster every year, or I'm getting slower, but they're tough to catch!

I do have to admit that a lot of the smaller/finer dried perennials get snipped down an inch or two at a time with some shears and they become the mulch. It adds to the soil and saves an extra wheelbarrow or two to dump in the bush.

I also want to divide or move around a few perennials......it'll happen in time. Thanks for the heads up about the hops vine. I may have to forego that one.;^)

The wife and I re-edged the garden beds and cleared out last year's perennial remains a few weeks ago. I still need to remove the grass that intruded into the beds last year, and renourish the vegetable bed.

I noticed that my juniper tree already has a lot of new growth - geez those things are nice!

My Thuja cedar got beat up real bad in the winter - I might have to nuke it; we'll see.

My clematis survived though and it's already budded out, yay! I lost the one I planted two years ago - amazingly, not even a root was left - it just dissolved into compost I guess!

Ouch. I'm getting sore listening to all of you. I've barely begun to clean things up. The wind is blowing all the leaves off the beds and i'll have to rake the darn things up again. Only one bed has had the stalks cut down. I was supposed to start extending one bed as soon as the snow melted, and i haven't had a chance to get at it yet.

There just seems to be so much going on this time of year, one meeting after another, and this is the weekend i go to Thunder Bay for my dad's concert. One good thing is that it's the first one in many years that i haven't been panicking about how cold it is and dragging sprouted containers inside or covering the cold frame and mini-greenhouse with tarps and blankets!

Right now i should be working on the newsletter but i was outside until almost 9:00 transplanting some lilies bulbs that came in, and then had a shower and then did dishes. YAWN!! All i want to do is crawl into bed!

Busy, busy bees!

Well it turns out that I didn't get that one bed cleaned out, or got at that darn Hops vine, my tree/shrub order came in from Treetime.ca and that was #1 priority to get done, took me all day to plant them, but is it ever going to look nice in hmmmm 10 years when they all mature. LOL

I also potted up some Dahlias that I received from Veseys and McFaydens today.

My next day off is not till next Monday, I guess that one bed will have to wait.

Ok Connie, I will remind you ;)

Time for a soak in the bathtub (Epsom salts anyone?)

Sharon

"Time for a soak in the bathtub (Epsom salts anyone?) "

Sharon, how wasteful!!! Epsom salt is for your roses, not bathing in!LOL(That's what too much gardening on the brain does to me.;^))

Well, I cleaned up another big bed today and a couple last night. I don't ever remember being able to do spring garden cleaning in shorts in April. It's a heat wave out here.....26*C, and I'm not used to that kind of heat! No wonder they're predicting thunderstorms for later in the day. We could use some rain, but I've still got 3 more beds to go......

I'm very close to done the spring cleanup - two more days if all goes well.

It pays to cut some back in the fall - that which I cut back last year (to about 6-8") was really easy to just trim back with the shears, and the trimmings are small enough to just leave in the bed.

Hopefully on Saturday we tackle the ginormous pile of garden debris that has to be put thru the chipper/shredder. It didn't get done last fall due to rain and snow, so the mound is huge. The problem with the machine is, the debris that goes thru has to be really dry or it just jams up in there. After it's done I'll mix it up with the dry grass clippings and back into the garden it goes.

I got OCD lawn boy to tackle the thyme planting. I have an area, rather large, where it's a thick groundcover, and cutting it back is one of those chores I do not look forward to (although it smells great). After I cut back some with the shears, DH finished it off with the lawn trimmer. He & his machine will come in handy again tomorrow to cut back the ornamental grass bed.

Laurie, thats why I ran out of epsom salts, I've used it all to make alfalfa tea for my roses, I guess my muscles will have to suffer.

That huge growing field bed that I wanted to get started on this year might have to wait another season, I did a couple of applications of round up last year but that dang quack grass is popping up every where. I want to make sure its all dead before I plant anything. Now where the heck I'm going to plant all these plants that I have ordered!

LOL > OCD lawn boy!!! I sure wish my DH had that!

Sharon

Oh no Sharon, you definitely want to get rid of every root of quack grass before you plant anything. That does suck! How many pots do you have on hand? Maybe another couple of round up applications and it'll be gone and then you can plant out later in the season?

I hear you Laurie....a single quackgrass plant can produce over 400 feet of rhizomes each year. Growing more than an inch per day, the rhizome may extend in a thick, underground mat up to ten feet from the original plant.

I'm going to store my lilies in the fridge for a couple of weeks and pot up the others till I can get rid of this quack!

Talk to you later, I'm going to mix and spray now since its nice and calm out there today.

Sharon

I cleaned the ornamental grass bed today and oh my! quack grass all over the place. After a few hours of cutting back the plants and digging up the quack (and I know I didn't get it all) I'm starting to think it'll soon be a low maintenance shrub bed instead.

Glad I'm not alone. I was going to grab a quick shower the other night but my tub called out to my screaming back. Ahhh! Having passed the 50 milestone this year it appears my metabolism has slowed right down resulting in me carrying a little more around this spring than I'm used to but I'm sure all this spring work will make it disappear.

I was out earlier in the spring pruning trees and shrubs so when the snow finally melted I went through like a dervish cutting back grasses and perennial stalks. It's taken so long for spring to get here I've been working like crazy the last few days to put into effect all the plans and thoughts I had gazing out the windows all this long winter.

Moving shrubs, defining pathways and in the farthest corner of the yard, hidden by the spruce and surrounded by trees and shrubs, carving out a spot for an arbor and a comfortable chair that can be used for moments of solitude. I got most of it done yesterday and am so looking forward to resting there.

I didn't even get the leaves up last year so shredded them with the mower this year and then de-thatched the lawn so hopefully that will be a good mulch. Does anybody see a problem with applying that mix directly under my bark mulch?

Speaking of mulch I thought I had researched enough when I selected shredded cedar bark mulch as the best because it didn't attract bugs and didn't blow away but now I'm slapping my forehead as of course cedar doesn't break down! My plan is to over time rake that mulch into where my paths are and put Foothills premium on the beds. Now I need to edge some of my beds and wait till my orders come in to plant.

I love spring!

Kate

I must be a different species. The last thing I'd call gardening is a 'chore'. I can spend all day, everyday, 'playing' in the garden and still want more. I can be out in the garden for an hour, come in for a 5 minute coffee break, and get antsy to get back out and find something new to do.

Why am I on the laptop? must get back out and get my hands dirty.

I didn't even get the leaves up last year so shredded them with the mower this year and then de-thatched the lawn so hopefully that will be a good mulch. Does anybody see a problem with applying that mix directly under my bark mulch?

Shredded leaves is a wonderful resource for mulch, but the thatch should be herbicide-free, if so, it will be fine applying under your bark mulch.

We are expecting rain today, just what my newly planted tree saplings will appreciate.

Sharon

I'm all for the lawnmower method. I also try to do some cleanup in the fall and finish up in the spring. I'm going to stop filling my beds with leaves that just blow all over the yard and mat the in the flowerbed into a suffocating mucky mess.