Spring is here! And like any year, April showers are coming. If this spring turns out to be particularly wet, you don't want your landscaping to suffer.
Here are some landscaping tips for a wet spring.
Make sure your gutters are on-point
The more rain you get, the more important it is that your gutters are working really well. You want them to direct water far away from your garden beds. If your downspouts are turned so that water is trickling into the actual garden beds, turn them. If the downspouts are too short to direct water past the garden beds, add some extenders to their ends.
Don't try to mow when it's too wet
Grass seems to grow and grow when the weather is wet. But you need to be really careful when you mow. Mowing when the ground is mushy and wet will do more harm than good. You'll be squishing some grass blades down, creating divots in the lawn, and leaving footprints. It is better to let your grass get a little too long before mowing it than to mow when it is the right length, but wet.
Apply your mulch early
Don't wait until it dries out to apply mulch. Use plenty of wood mulch on all of your garden beds. Three inches is great; four inches is better. It does not just trap moisture in the soil. It actually absorbs some of the moisture, too, which allows it to act as a buffer and let moisture slowly seep into the soil rather than flooding it.
Wait to plant your flowers
Do not plant your flowers too early. If the ground is too wet, the moisture will drown your flowers' roots and kill the plants. It is better to plant your flowers late than to plant them "on time" in soil that is way too wet for them. If you already bought potted flowers, just keep watering them in their pots or plastic containers until the soil outside dries out.
Clean up leftover leaves
One thing you should not wait until the soil dries out to do is clean up any fallen leaves that did not get raked up last fall. Wet leaves are a breeding grounds for fungi that can infect your trees and other plants. Clean them up ASAP.
With the tips above, you will be ready for a wet spring! You can't control the rain, but you can control how you handle it.