Fresh spring air gets you out in the yard where seasonal tasks call out for attention. Preparing your flowerbeds for another season of growth allows for healthier plants and a more attractive landscape. But be careful that your new found energy and urgency to be outdoors doesn't leave your flowerbeds overworked and undernourished.

Wait for the Right Time

Whether it's El Nino, global warming or some other environmental phenomenon, temperatures across the country are shifting in extreme ways. Unseasonably warm, sunny days may find you outside, itching to clean up the perennial die back and winter mulch. But if those tasks are completed too soon, your perennials, trees and shrubs may suffer.

Wait until temperatures remain consistently above 40 degrees Fahrenheit to remove that blanket of winter mulch. Do not remove burlap from sensitive plants until you can be relatively certain that chilly winter winds have moved on. Otherwise you may expose the plants to cold temperatures and damage.

Add Compost and Till

Compost provides your soil with necessary nutrients, allowing for healthy growth without the need for chemicals. Whether you use your own compost (from a composter or worm farm) or buy bagged compost from a local supplier, it helps to give your spring gardens a boost.

Once the weather is warm enough, sprinkle compost on the top of the soil and gently mix in. Some gardeners and landscapers use a tilling machine to make this process uniform and fast. But avoid tilling in perennial beds, since the disturbance may break down naturally occurring processes that aid in healthy growth. Till annual beds, vegetable gardens and in flowerbeds you have cleared out for the new season.

Contact Your Landscaper

Just as you are anxious to get out in the garden when the weather turns warm, your landscaper is starting to get busy with spring jobs. Call them to book your lawn aeration and dethatching, mulch spreading and grass seeding. Remember that your gardens look best when bordered by a well-kept lawn.

Spring is the perfect time to have your lawn reseeded or a new flowerbed dug out. But landscapers get busy at this time of year, and calling ahead is wise. Have your landscaping company check the pH of your flowerbeds as well, and plan to amend the soil if it's out of balance.

Preparing your flowerbeds in spring takes time and patience, but the effort and investment is well worth it.