Spring Cleaning for Your Garden

I really get cabin fever in the winter and so I just can't wait for those first few days in April when it starts to warm up and we are finally getting rain, not snow। This is a good time to start your "outdoor" spring cleaning। As a start you can clean your annual and perennial gardens.

1. Annual plants are an eyesore and will not return for another year. Clean out those ugly dead plants , surrender them to the compost!
   I like to leave my perennials to prune in the spring। Clean away dead growth, mulch or leaves and prune to ground level as soon as you see new growth at the bottom of the old growth.
   
2. Certain plants like to be pruned in spring as compared to the fall. Close pruning in the fall for some means no protection for delicate sprouts in the spring and so they don't fair well, like Artemesia. So here are a few tips for spring cleaning some perennials!

Caryopteris (Blue mist) Cut back to 6-8 inches when signs of green occur.
Buddleia Davvidii (Butterfly bush) Cut back to 6-8 inches when signs of green occur.
Astilbe Can just have a general tidy as they don't require much care, Cut out the dead wood.
Lobelia Cardinalis ( Cardinal flower) Trim the damaged areas or cut back to the ground.
Dianthus Clean up, remove dead wood.
Artemesia Clean in early spring, remove dead wood and leaves