If you watched my recent video about the Rain Park, you know that I’m a big fan of cutting back perennials and grasses in the spring instead of the fall. There’re lots of ecological and aesthetic reasons for that. I’d recommend the Rain Park videos if you are interested to get more details. Or you can read this blog – because I’m taking a bit of a deeper dive on why spring cleanups are better for the environment and your sense of wellbeing. Get the facts after the break.
Spring Not Fall
The majority of people use the fall as a time to cutback dormant plants. I think this is partly because it’s standard practice and partly because yards aren’t usually planted in a four-season approach. But if you want to have a more sustainable and ecological property, it’s a practice you might consider changing. It’s much better to wait to until mid to late-March to cutback dormant growth from the previous season. This one simple act initiates a multitude of beneficial and environmentally sound aspects from protecting wildlife to protecting your soil to saving you money. However, it also means you will need to rethink how you have planted your beds. It might mean adding a few plants to give your space more character for wintery months.
You’ve Got the Look
Death! It is a fact of life. As soon as the weather gets cold all of your beautiful plants start to turn brown and look like they are dying. But they aren’t. The only things that really die are the leafy green leaves and colorful pellets. The roots of your plants are very much alive and many continue to grow even as the rest of the plant looks kaput. This stasis can be a chance to add an unique quality to your garden. It only takes a four-season mentality to do that. Check out this blog for info on that.
Four-season plantings means giving your space a feeling of abundance in the cold months of winter. It also encourages you to not cutback the plants. Some of the benefits for waiting to cut everything back include providing shelter and food for wildlife, reducing (or eliminating) soil erosion from your yard, maintaining the health and richness of your soil and providing protection from the elements to perennials that are semi-evergreen during the coldest times of the year.
The majority of people use the fall as a time to cutback dormant plants. I think this is partly because it’s standard practice and partly because yards aren’t usually planted in a four-season approach. But if you want to have a more sustainable and ecological property, it’s a practice you might consider changing. It’s much better to wait to until mid to late-March to cutback dormant growth from the previous season. This one simple act initiates a multitude of beneficial and environmentally sound aspects from protecting wildlife to protecting your soil to saving you money. However, it also means you will need to rethink how you have planted your beds. It might mean adding a few plants to give your space more character for wintery months.
You’ve Got the Look
Death! It is a fact of life. As soon as the weather gets cold all of your beautiful plants start to turn brown and look like they are dying. But they aren’t. The only things that really die are the leafy green leaves and colorful pellets. The roots of your plants are very much alive and many continue to grow even as the rest of the plant looks kaput. This stasis can be a chance to add an unique quality to your garden. It only takes a four-season mentality to do that. Check out this blog for info on that.
Four-season plantings means giving your space a feeling of abundance in the cold months of winter. It also encourages you to not cutback the plants. Some of the benefits for waiting to cut everything back include providing shelter and food for wildlife, reducing (or eliminating) soil erosion from your yard, maintaining the health and richness of your soil and providing protection from the elements to perennials that are semi-evergreen during the coldest times of the year.
The image above shows you what your garden might look like at the very end of the winter. Everything looks totally dead and it’s a bit of a mess. But there’s beauty in all of that brown foliage. There are lots of moments within the garden that are awe-inspiring…and even close-up, you can find places of beauty within the mess. This shot was taken March 16, 2019, a few days before the official astronomical spring…the vernal equinox March 20. In Northern New Jersey, there’s plenty of cold weather ahead before life will spring forth….but you’d be surprised how much life is already around.
The Life within Death
Lots of perennials are very much semi-evergreen. When you clear away the old growth from last year, you will find many plants have green leaves just below the mess. The images below shows both Achilles and a variety daisy still green.
The Life within Death
Lots of perennials are very much semi-evergreen. When you clear away the old growth from last year, you will find many plants have green leaves just below the mess. The images below shows both Achilles and a variety daisy still green.
Perhaps one of my favorite plants is Pycnanthemum muticum (Mountain Mint). It is not a semi-evergreen, but the image below shows that it is tired of its sleep and has decided to start growing again. P. muticum will grow throughout the spring and into the summer…but don’t let it’s impatience foul you.
It will not bloom until late in summer – and when it does, it is one of the most incredible plants on earth. It smells amazing, and every pollinator within a ten mile radius will travel to take from it.
Half Way
The image below shows the cleanup about the halfway point of the cleaning. You can see in comparison to the start that the growth from last year took up a big chunk of space.
Half Way
The image below shows the cleanup about the halfway point of the cleaning. You can see in comparison to the start that the growth from last year took up a big chunk of space.
When you cut plants back like this, you remove all of the seed from the blooms that have wilted. All of those seeds are precious to countless birds during the winter. They can often be the only food source. The seed heads will stand above all of the snow making it easy pickings as the white blankets of ice sit on the ground for weeks and weeks. At this point, you can also see spots of naked dirt. When you remove the old growth, nothing is left to hold that soil in place. As the snow melts (or the rains come), it will be washed away. But when the matted stems are allowed to remain, the soil is held in place enriching the soil and keeping it in place.
During the cleanup, I found my little army of Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flowers, pictured below). These flower are stunning in bloom. I planted nearly 30 around a gutter in my front yard.
During the cleanup, I found my little army of Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flowers, pictured below). These flower are stunning in bloom. I planted nearly 30 around a gutter in my front yard.
My air conditioner drops into the gutter during the summer and keeps this little spot moist throughout the hotter times of the year. It’s ideal habitat for the L. cardinalis.
These little leaves are green all year long as well…and they are not much to look at for most of the year. Cardinal flowers like the dog days of summer to sprout its royal red flowers.
After a Blowout
The image below is after the full cleanup. I took a leaf blower to the space to get everything out.
After a Blowout
The image below is after the full cleanup. I took a leaf blower to the space to get everything out.
The difference is striking, and it should be obvious how much soil is now exposed to the elements.
If the garden sat like this all winter, I could lose as much as an inch of dirt. Instead, all of the soil is ready to receive seed or new plants as soon as it’s warm enough.
The image above shows just how much dirt is under all of the mess. You can also see just how dark and healthy the soil is due to the fact I let the soil stay under a layer of dormant stuff.
Next Up
The next step in rebirthing the garden is to wait. Cleaning it out now means that some of the earliest growth has space to expand, but it is too early to add seed or plants. The next week or so shows temperatures as low as 28 degrees…far too cold for new plantings to survive. I will have to wait until well into April to add any new items. But by then, all of the go-getters of the garden will have sprung to life and any new stuff will be welcomed with open arms.
Next Up
The next step in rebirthing the garden is to wait. Cleaning it out now means that some of the earliest growth has space to expand, but it is too early to add seed or plants. The next week or so shows temperatures as low as 28 degrees…far too cold for new plantings to survive. I will have to wait until well into April to add any new items. But by then, all of the go-getters of the garden will have sprung to life and any new stuff will be welcomed with open arms.
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