Paint isn’t just for aesthetics — it protects wood from water and other natural elements, so chipping or peeling paint on siding and fences leaves wood vulnerable to things like mold and rot. It’s much easier to keep up with little touch-ups at the start of each summer, rather than leave them for later, which could cost you thousands in repairs.

 

Trim Trees and Shrubbery

3. Beds & Borders - Clean Up Around Plants.

Next on the spring yard clean up checklist, rake out fallen leaves and dead foliage (which can smother plants and foster disease), pull up spent annuals, and toss in a wheelbarrow with other organic yard waste. Once the threat of frost has passed, Roger also removes existing mulch to set the stage for a new layer once spring planting is done. Push heaved plants back into flower beds and borders, tamping them down around the base with your foot, or use a shovel to replant them. Now is a good time to spread a pelletized fertilizer tailored to existing plantings on the soil's surface so that spring rains can carry it to the roots. Add a 5-10-10 fertilizer around bulbs as soon as they flower to maximize bloom time and feed next season's growth. Use pins to fasten drip irrigation lines that have come loose and a square-head shovel to give beds a clean edge and keep turf grass from growing into them.