Preparing Your Yard for Spring

After a long cold winter comes the promise of warm weather, blooming flowers, and lounging in your yard. Spring is on the horizon and it’s time to get yourself and your yard out of hibernation mode. Spring-cleaning does not only apply to your house but also to your yard. Enjoying time outside can be calming and therapeutic as well as good for your physical wellbeing. Help your mind, body, yard, pond, and fountain make a healthy and stress-free transition to spring with the following helpful tips:

Inspect the grounds — Take a careful look around your yard, pond, and fountain. Make sure there has been no winter damage to the grass with flooding or mud, to your pond or any of the components of your fountain. Repair or replace as necessary and make a list of what you’ll need.

Take inventory of your maintenance supplies — Do you need mulch, a new lawn mower, pruning shears, or a UV clarifier for your pond? Was there something you wish you had last year to make pond maintenance easier like a better net? Are there new products you want to try or something you've been meaning to get – like sludge remover or barley pond clarifier to reduce nutrient load and reduce maintenance? Check your existing inventory and stock up on essentials such as extra tubing for emergency repairs. Trying new timesaving maintenance products for easier care.

Clean your garden, pond, and fountain — Make sure that your yard is free of leaves that can’t fall into your pond or fountain. If leaves or other debris have fallen in then manually take out what you can and use a net or pond vacuum for the rest. If the filter hasn’t been used during winter it is wise to give it a good cleaning before starting.

Get supplies for a healthy pond or fountain ecosystem — In the beginning of spring, the pond environment is in a delicate, transitional state where water conditions can rapidly decline. Once the pond water reaches 50°F, it is time to start your pump and filter and bring your water garden back to life. Increased activity from fish and plants means a greater demand for oxygen, especially in dirty ponds. As organic debris from the previous year begins to break down, it can lower pond pH, release harmful ammonia, and provide an ample supply of nutrients for algae blooms. Test your water and after doing a partial water change be prepared with pond water conditioners including chlorine remover, pond cleaning tablets, algaecide, and a pond aerator. For your fountain, we recommend fountain cleaning tablets to keep the water clean and fresh for any aquatic life.

Check your plumbing & electrical — Thoroughly inspect your filtration system to ensure everything is working properly. Check for cracks on the filter or kinks in the plumbing line and also test the ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlet. Then replace all equipment or parts that are damaged or not in working order. This will make sure the filter is operating properly once the water temperature is warm enough to start your pond filtration system.

Plants and flowers — Start fertilizing hardy plants in and around your pond and planting your favorite selections in your garden. In a past blog we discussed the best plants for the perfect water garden. There are many options from oxygenating plants, to plants that filter, plants that provide shade and shelter for aquatic life, to plants and flowers that complete the look of your yard. You can also implement sustainable gardening in your yard to help the environment and save money on food by growing your own vegetables and fruit while creating a pleasing aesthetic. Check out our blog on how to incorporate sustainable gardening into your yard.

Plan Improvements — Don't worry if it's still too early to take action in your yard. Use this time to plan improvements. Did you want to add a zen garden to meditate? Add a fountain or a cascading waterfall to your pond? Or perhaps install a new, energy-efficient water pump for your fountain or pond? Browse TotalPond to get ideas as well as quality pond products this spring to create your ideal yard this season.