Each year, as spring rolls around in Bozeman, MT, we know that many homeowners are eager to spend more time outside. While we’re obviously known for our winter sports and activities here in Montana, there’s also something quite special about the warmer springtime weather.

Because people are anxious to spend more time outside at their properties, they are often interested in spring landscape clean up advice. Even if you’re having this service performed by a professional (as most do), you want to make sure that nothing is missed.

That’s why we’ve rounded up some landscape tips for spring. These are some of the most important tasks that should not be missed.

Spring Landscape Clean Up Checklist

Whether you are handling yard clean up this spring on your own, or you are hiring a landscape professional, make sure these tasks are on your checklist.

#1: Clean Up Winter Debris

Cleaning up winter debris is a simple but important task that should kick off your spring landscaping. 

The intense winds that we sometimes experience here in Bozeman, MT can leave behind a mess once winter is over. It’s quite likely there are still fallen leaves, twigs, and other debris left behind in your yard. 

To get your property in shape for the spring, you’ll want to make sure that any of this lingering debris is cleared. Sometimes plant material also detaches from the ground and ends up blowing around. But leaving debris in the yard can make it look messy and also create an invitation for critters to take up residency underneath. 

Fallen leaves, twigs, and other plant material can also block your lawn’s access to sunlight and water…and can interfere with important tasks like fertilization. Simply making sure that everything is picked up and disposed of, can make a world of difference and is a great starting point for the rest of your property’s needs.

#2: Pruning and Plant Care

You’ll also want to make sure that spring landscaping includes pruning and plant care as this is the time when your landscape starts to bloom. 

Perennials and ornamental grasses can start to grow rapidly in the spring and become messy rather quickly. It’s important to cut these back as needed so that they’ll actually perform better throughout the season.

Some plants may just need some tidying and trimming while others might need more significant cuts. Knowing what to prune…and how and when to prune it…is really important when it comes to the success of your landscape. This is why it is important to work with a landscape maintenance company that has actual horticultural expertise. Making an error can ruin your plant.

In addition, plants’ health can occasionally struggle and it’s important to have a landscape management company that will be keeping a watchful eye on your plant material so that they can spot problems early. If they are closely tending to your plants’ care, they’ll notice if something isn’t right and they’ll be able to fix it quickly.

This is exactly why Blanchford Landscape Group has a strong emphasis on horticultural skills. We see ourselves as “property managers,” keeping a close eye on your landscape. And we know a lot about plant material. That’s a huge benefit to homeowners as they can truly feel confident that their landscape is in capable hands and being overseen by a pro.

#3: Spring Weeding

While you probably love that so much of your Bozeman, MT garden is starting to bloom, this is also a time when the weeds start to grow like crazy!

Beyond their appearance, noxious weeds can also be destructive. Montana has a history of some nasty and aggressive weeds that have displaced native plant species, increased soil erosion problems, and even decreased wildlife habitats. Weeds in our region can be a major concern and therefore need to be handled effectively.

Weeding is one of those spring landscaping tasks that seems pretty cut and dry. But it can actually be more complicated than homeowners tend to realize. Even something as basic as hand-pulling weeds around the property can be a bit more complex.

That’s because hand-pulling is not recommended for weeds that spread by their root system. Hand-pulling these types of weeds can actually stimulate root growth. At Blanchford Landscape Group, our objective is to use significantly less product whenever possible If hand-pulling is a viable option, that’s the approach that we’ll take. 

But if it’s a weed that is going to be made worse by hand-pulling, then we will shift gears.

It largely comes down to proper identification and knowing what you’re dealing with. Each season brings different weeds. It’s important that your plan of attack includes various treatment options depending on what you’re facing.

#4: Getting Plant Beds Ready

Landscaping in spring should also include getting your property’s plant beds ready. This might include some of the tasks that we already mentioned above like clearing out debris, trimming, pruning, and weeding. 

But it might also include new installations or even moving plants around as the landscape evolves.

At Blanchford Landscape Group, we always view the landscape as a living and evolving thing that needs ongoing care. A big difference in how we approach plant bed care (versus other companies’ approach) is that we believe that plant bed care should be proactive rather than reactive. In fact, that’s the philosophy that we take for these services in general.

So, we’re going to do more than just clean up what’s already there. The idea is to sustain the landscape and that often means enhancing it along the way. It’s important to recognize that plant beds are going to evolve as plants grow and change. It’s also essential to recognize that your wants and needs may evolve. All of that should be taken into account.

#5: Apply Spring Fertilizer

Spring fertilization is critical when it comes to the success of your property’s soil health. Fertilization provides essential nutrients that your soil needs to grow the healthiest possible grass. 

It’s important to remember that not all fertilization services are the same. At Blanchford Landscape Group, we use organic fertilizer products to help with root development. Healthier roots mean healthier turf plants.

The organic products that we use help decrease your long-term reliance on weed control and fertilizer products. They also help improve the soil’s ability to retain water, which decreases irrigation needs.

Fertilization treatments can also be applied to trees and shrubs. At Blanchford Landscape Group we apply both fertilizer and soil conditioners, which help the soil to be alive with microbes that create a rich environment in which plants thrive. Just like your lawn, the health of your plants is contingent upon the condition of your soil.

Spring Landscaping Customized for Your Property

While these landscape tips for spring hopefully gave you some important tasks that shouldn’t be missed, it’s important to remember that your spring landscape maintenance plan should ultimately be customized to your property.

In other words, there might be some additional tasks that your property requires based on the specifics of your home. This is why it’s so important to work with the right landscaper even for something as seemingly “simple” as spring landscape clean-up.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of landscape maintenance companies that are more “order takers” than anything else. They’re obviously just going to follow through with a prescribed set of tasks and get the job done as quickly as possible. 

But you want a landscaping company that has the horticultural experience to update your landscaping needs to YOUR specific property.

By choosing to work with a company that can adapt and customize your plan, you’ll feel confident that your property is going to look its best no matter what the time of year!

Your Wise Choice for Landscaping in Spring (And Beyond)

If you choose a landscaper to handle these tasks for you, you deserve to feel confident that your property is going to look great…and that everything will get done. After all, you are busy and don’t have time to worry about everything your landscape needs to look its best.

It comes down to making a wise choice among landscaping companies.

In other words, hiring a company that will go far beyond the ordinary tasks of landscape upkeep. It also means finding a company that will create a site-specific, customized plan for you.

Your landscape maintenance plan isn’t going to look like everyone else’s as it will include tasks that your home needs.

At Blanchford Landscape Group, this is our exact approach. We understand the importance of landscape maintenance services as well as the fact that each and every property is unique. This is why we have an entire garden services division that is dedicated solely to the very tasks that we have described in this article (and more)!

Don’t let your landscape fall short of what it could be because you didn’t choose a company that provided subpar services that fell short of your needs. 

When it comes to creating and maintaining your landscape, you deserve the peace of mind that it’s not only going to continue to look fantastic but it’s also going to improve over time because it’s been so expertly cared for over the years. That’s exactly how it ought to be.

Are you ready to learn more about garden services (landscape maintenance) at your Bozeman or Big Sky, MT home? Let’s connect and talk about your needs. Then we can meet and review a detailed plan of action. With everything being handled for you, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your landscape.