‘Tis the season for cozy fires, Christmas shopping and holiday meals with family and friends. But it’s also the season for mulching, pruning and much more in your yard. As winter rolls in, we’re often thinking about indoor fun and tasks around the house. But late fall/early winter is  the perfect time to put your lawn and landscape to bed before winter weather hits. Did you know that taking a few steps this winter can help you ensure a beautiful landscape this spring? Here are some tips for fall clean up and preparing your landscape for a vibrant new year:

Your Winter Landscape Checklist

You might think winter is time to step away from landscaping tasks, and yes, you can certainly park the mower for a bit. But early winter is actually the best time to take care of certain landscaping elements. For example, it’s a perfect time to focus on planting and caring for trees and shrubs as they enter their winter dormant phase. It’s also a great time to feed your lawn to get ready for a gorgeous spring. Here are some landscape tasks that are perfect for the holiday season:

  • Pruning: early winter is an ideal time to prune trees and shrubs while growth slows during dormancy.
  • Transplanting: early December is also a great time to transplant certain trees like Maples during their dormant phase.
  • Mulching: Lack of moisture is often a concern during the winter months. Mulching trees, shrubs and raised beds protects plants and helps preserve moisture
  • Clean-up: get rid of dead annuals and lingering leaves so you’re ready to roll come spring.
  • Wrap and protect sensitive plants ahead of cold weather and snow.
  • Plant bulbs: early December is a great time to plant bulbs in Middle Tennessee to give them the cooling period they need before spring.
  • Aerate your lawn to let it breathe during the slow growth period.
  • Fertilize: this is a great time to add nutrients to get ready for spring, especially if you planted grass seed this fall.
  • Don’t forget to water your plants, including evergreens, if winter weather is dry.

Winter is for Planning Your Landscape

Winter is the perfect time to plan your spring and summer landscape. With the craziness of the summer season over, your landscaping team has time to sit down with you and focus on mapping out your landscape dreams. Instead of just keeping up with growth, let’s take time to think ahead and generate some smart, fun and productive ideas. Here are just a few things we can plan:

  • Stunning spring flowers for a new look.
  • Landscaping for your pool or other outdoor gathering spaces.
  • Gorgeous hardscaping for outdoor entertaining.
  • Making the most of walkways and entrances to enhance curb appeal.

Winter Landscaping: Call in the Pros

Winter landscaping tasks and landscape design require a more thoughtful and informed touch than the straightforward mowing that takes up so much time during the warmer months. When you’re dealing with expensive trees and plants, it’s important to have seasoned pros on board to help you make the right decisions to protect and preserve them. Hiring an experienced team will also help you make great decisions for spring and put a step-by-step plan in place to make it happen on your timeline and within your budget. And most importantly, hiring a professional landscape team for end-of-year clean-up and other tasks will save precious time during the holiday season and let you focus on family, holiday commitments and fun.

At Acer Landscape Services, winter is a surprisingly busy and exciting time of year. We absolutely love the chance to get creative and focus on helping clients achieve long-term goals. After more than three decades of serving our community, we have a great sense of what works in our region and what doesn’t, and we can put that experience to work for you. Let’s get a plan going now and watch it bloom this spring.