Now that the summer season is coming to a close, it’s time to think about ways to rejuvenate your landscape. With a bit of work, you can make your landscape look like new again with a fresh, crisp, clean appearance that can be both exciting and healthy, whether it’s your trees, shrubs or rejuvenating your whole garden.
Pruning is an essential task
Pruning is one of the most important and essential tasks in getting your landscape ready for the fall. Proper pruning of landscape plants will help to control the plants’ growth, improve the health of the plants, encourage flowering and fruiting and enhance their overall appearance.
Pruning is a landscape practice that should be done routinely in order to keep it under control and appealing to the eye. If left alone for long periods of time, overgrown, out-of-control plants will eventually be part of your landscape and look unruly. This can create a problem when the plants are finally pruned because brutally pruning back overgrown plants can severely damage them to the point that they may never recover.
Trimming out old, dead and overgrown branches is a great way to clean up and rejuvenate your landscape. It aids in controlling the size and shape of plants; however, you have to be cautious which plants to prune at what time of year. It’s safe to trim any plants that bloom on mature growth in the late winter and early spring such as flowering azaleas. Once the plant’s bloom cycle is completed, it best to trim back in late summer to recapture its size and shape for the upcoming winter dormancy.
Evergreen shrubs can be pruned anytime of the year. Removing dead, damaged, and diseased branches should be the first step in pruning shrubs. If the shrub is still too large after removing these branches, cut back the older branches before younger ones, if possible. When you’re cutting branches, make the cut at a bud or lateral branch. This will create a neater looking shrub that does not have the appearance of just being pruned.
Garden repair provides a facelift
Overgrown gardens may need just a bit of repair or complete face lift for rejuvenating your landscape. Deciding which path you take depends upon the “bones” of the garden and may take a season or more to achieved the desired results occurring from an overgrown garden. To fully rejuvenate your garden beds to create a fresh, new look you should keep in mind plant identification, dividing perennials, rejuvenation pruning and controlling weeds.
If you have identified any rogue plants that may have invaded your beds or any plant that has underperformed, it’s time to consider taking action. Remove these invaders or underachievers by digging out all the roots to prevent re-sprouting. Once you’ve removed the plants you don’t want, it’s time to assess the remainder of the garden.
Overgrown landscape beds are often easiest to evaluate in spring when all the plants have flushed and plant identification is easier. If the area has several sections and components, start in one space and work your way out to prevent feeling overwhelmed.
Dividing perennials will not only eliminate that chaotic and overgrown appearance, you now have additional plantings to relocate to another spot if you choose. Once the foliage has died back, fall is a perfect time to dig out and split perennials that have grown too large. Rejuvenation pruning is also recommended as a method of reclaiming overgrown gardens with components such as shrubs. Once again, pruning will give your gardens more shape and dramatic visual appeal.
Weeding for management control
Controlling weeds is often a common issue in under-managed gardens, but taking the time to remove them will help your landscape appear rejuvenated and refreshed. Unfortunately, weeding takes a bit of work and there are few substitutes to a good hand weeding, but you can try using other methods. A chemical, such as Glyphosate sprayed on the unwanted plants is an effective systemic herbicide. Another method is to use black plastic on top of the soil to prevent weeds from popping up.
Lasting results
To rejuvenate your landscape, pruning, garden repair and weed control will go a long way in helping to make your landscape appear refreshed. Before you know it, your garden should be back to its former glory.
For many people, it’s tough to find the time necessary to properly care for their homes landscape. Evergreen Landscapes is committed to rejuvenating landscapes in creative, functional ways that stand the test of time. Check out our Previous Work or Contact Us to hear more about what we can do for you.
