Winter Tips For A Beautiful Spring Garden
Have you started a garden this year? Are you concerned about whether your precious plants will be protected from various types of winter damage? Despite what some people may think, it's not just very small plants that need extra care when the temperature is near or below freezing. Here are some landscape tips to make sure that your garden survives and will continue to look beautiful in the spring:
Broken branches: If you live in an area of the country with ice or other winter storms, you may be dismayed to find out how many broken branches your trees and bushes suffer. In order to help prevent this from happening in the first place, remove branches that appear to have already died. If a branch is still alive but appears to be under a lot of strain from the leaves and branches at the end, now is the time to trim it in order to remove some extra weight. If you receive a heavy ice or snow storm, the branch is almost certain to snap unexpectedly.
Dead grass: Many people like to leave at least some leaves on their lawn, hoping that they will add nutrients back into the soil. Unfortunately, whole leaves can actually smother the grass that you're trying to encourage. They can also hold in excess moisture, encouraging mildew growth. In the spring, you may find that your lawn is patchy and slow to grow. If you don't want to have to rake up and dispose of piles of leaves, what you can do is run over the leaves with your lawn mower. This will help break up the leaves, encouraging them to decompose faster and preventing them from retaining as much moisture as they otherwise would. Without the moisture, there is less chance that things like mildew will prevent your grass from growing.
Dying flowerbed: Sometimes, a flowerbed may grow beautiful flowers one year, only for plants to refuse to grow in the same place next year. If you live in a place where it snows, this could be a result of salt melting into the soil. If you feel the need to salt your porch or driveway, try to first make sure that the salt water won't be flowing into your growing area. If your concrete areas are sloped to drain into your flower bed, installing raised beds can allow you to continue growing your favorite flowers without having to worry as much about excessive salt in your soil.