What a Spring Cleanup Actually Covers

Spring cleanup is one of those services people book without being sure what they are buying. Here is what the work actually involves and why it matters more than it looks.

Getting the winter off the property

Five months of Michigan winter leaves a mess behind. Small branches come down in ice storms. Leaves that missed the fall cleanup end up packed into fence lines and bed corners. Plow piles drag sand and gravel out onto the turf along every driveway edge. All of it has to come off before anything else happens.

Beds before turf

Beds get cleared of last year’s dead perennial growth, matted leaves, and whatever weeds got a head start. Edges get recut so the line between bed and lawn is sharp again. If mulch is going down, this is the point where the bed is actually ready for it. Mulch spread over matted leaves looks fine for a month and then looks like a mess.

The lawn gets its first real look

With the debris off you can finally see what winter did. Grey matted patches usually mean snow mold, which mostly recovers once air gets to it. Bare strips along the drive are salt damage. Shallow tunnels running through the turf are voles. None of that is visible under a layer of leaves, which is part of why the cleanup comes first.

Timing

Wait until the ground firms up. Raking and walking on saturated soil does more harm than leaving the debris another week. Once it dries, sooner is better, because grass that stays covered stays weak.

We handle spring cleanups around Laingsburg and the greater Lansing area. Call or text JR at (517) 993-8393, or look at what else falls under landscaping.