Now that it is spring – it’s time to take a look at your garden to see all that is growing and blooming. What needs to be pruned, are there any areas in need of attention, how does everything look after the winter months?  Regular maintenance of the garden and landscape is vital to the health and well-being of the garden – and the people who enjoy them.  Any areas around the residence should be inspected frequently. As a landscape matures, it needs attention to keep it looking as good or better than the first day it was installed.

Walking through the garden will reveal problems. Litter, injured and/or dead plants, broken furniture, and other garden elements in need attention should be taken care of – immediately.  If the garden appears neglected, it reflects on the community as a whole.  There are also health and safety issues.  A few of the areas to consider include the following:

Pruning shrubs – Electric hedge trimming must be banned from all gardens! Only hand pruners are to be used. Plants should be allowed to grow in their natural state and not turned into unnatural shapes such as  tabletops, hockey pucks and bowling balls. Also, knowing when to prune is important so you don’t cut off all of the flowers. Find a person who knows how to prune correctly!

Tree care (Arboriculture) – Visual inspection of mature trees is very important. This will tell you if you have broken limbs or branches that need to be removed. Look for die back on branches.  Low branches should be trimmed so people are not hit when walking under the trees. A certified tree arborist needs to be consulted for regular maintenance of shade and evergreen trees.

Irrigation – If you have an automatic irrigation system – you need to check to make sure all of the heads are functioning and hitting the intended areas.  Make sure you have rain sensors to turn off the system when it is not needed.  Check the watering schedule so you are not overwatering or watering too frequently. Leaking pipes and spray heads also waste water.

Walks – Power wash the hard surface walking paths regularly.  Some communities with high traffic power wash sidewalks daily. Food stains, gum and other unwanted elements ruin the appearance of a walking path.

Lighting – Low voltage lights should be checked regularly to replace dead bulbs and reposition light fixtures. Regular 110 voltage lights on buildings should also be inspected and cleaned also.

Furniture – Are tables, chairs, benches, umbrellas and other furniture all in excellent condition?  Any broken furniture should either be repaired immediately or removed to be repaired off-site and then returned.

Mulching – You may not need to mulch every year.  If you have added mulch on a regular basis, you may only need to scratch up the existing mulch to make it look fresh, or, at most, add a thin top dressing.  A common practice today is to create ‘volcanoes’ around trees and other plants.

Most important is to create a maintenance schedule with weekly checklists of the above mentioned items.  More detailed gardens may require additional inspections, for example, ponds, water features and other garden items. Maintaining the garden and landscape insures that the gardens look their best and that they are safe for everyone to use.  We need to help them look their best for everyone to enjoy.