Now that the holidays have past and we’ve gained a few pounds, there is yard work we can start on to get our bodies moving and healthier. Most of the leaves have fallen, so let’s start by cleaning those up. Are you going to use a blower? Consider blowing them onto your turf area and mulching them up. They can then be relocated to your flower beds as a bottom layer of mulch.
Next, cut back all shrubs that have out grown their areas. A rule of thumb when it comes to pruning is:
“The May Rule"
Plants that flower before May bloom on old wood (Prune after flower blooms)
Plants that flower after May bloom on new wood (Prune before flower blooms)
So if you value your spring flowers you might want to hold off pruning until after they bloom.
This is also so a great time of year to limb up trees. Consider renting a chipper with your neighbor to mulch up limbs and clipping and use this for mulch or composting. You can cut back all the perennials at this time and redefine bed lines. This is also a good time to change bed lines to make the landscape easier to maintain or more appealing to the eye. Once all of these steps are complete, you are ready to put down a fresh layer of mulch.
