Just was wondering others opinions,today I decided to just start to take some leaves off of stuff. But as I got started I found a few slugs. I ended up cleaning up one bed almost, figuring it was either let the slugs and wet soggy leaves get to my daylilies and other plants or risk the cold possibly snow since I am in iowa getting them. It has been such a mild winter I hope I made the right choice. Kim

My neighbor across the street is the most knowledgeable perennial gardener I have ever met. I saw here cleaning off her flower beds a couple weeks ago - so I figured I could start on mine. I usually hire help to do it - but the weather has been so nice, I have been able to do just a small area almost every day. A couple more days and I will be all done, and ready for pre-emergent and fertilizer.

I am zone 5b-6a depending on what version of the USDA map you go by. Trees are starting to leaf out, daffodils starting to bloom (the earliest ones) Crocus are blooming, pulmonaria have buds and hellebores are in full bloom.

I do most of my cleanup in the fall. Cut down everything, clear off the leaves. Live or forget about it I say to them! That way in the spring, it is a pretty easy couple of days of just cleaning up blown debris and those leftover stuff. I hired help.

I love seeing the beds all nice and clean in the winter.

I love the spring cleanup checking on things to see what is popping up and enticing me to look forward to their beauty.

I love spring bulbs. Iris reticuli (sp) that was forced in pots the winter before last was a nice surprise to find even before any crocus. Forgot that I planted them outside. Memo to self... Must get more!

My zone is variable too Juli. This winter sure seemed like we were in zone 6a. We are supposed to have some nice weather this week, so I am planning on doing some cleanup in the garden.

Kim, I am finished with cleanup here because I was able to do this earlier this year because of the mild winter we have had. I am also in zone 7b which makes a difference. This year we had lots of our evergreen and semievergreen foliage cut back before the new growth began. As a result we do not have the pile of green growth that harbors the snails, slugs, and other insects. Also, we had a bad aphid problem up until early February because of the mild winter. We had two consecutive nights in early Feb. that were 17 and 18 degrees. We have not seen an aphid since. If you mulch your daylilies, you will have the mulch to protect your daylilies in case you have a cold snap. I think I will begin cutting the foliage back early each year now (like mild days in January and February).

Doris

I began clean up almost two months ago

I just started my cleanup in my iris bed in the front on Sunday (after raking about 2 tons of river rock.. gaw do I hate raking rock). This Sunday, depending on wind, I'll probably go & start cleaning up the DL bed and ripping out the last section of grass for more DLs. LOLLL I won't be trimming any of my roses for another month, though. Downtown the lilacs are starting to leaf out, but out in the plains where I am, everything's still waiting. I'm usually 2-3 weeks behind downtown and an entire zone different (downtown Denver is zone 6, I'm zone 5 'cuz I'm also almost a full 1000 feet higher up, too.). Can't wait! With the snows we got this year I've found that I'm going to have to renew most of my mulch.. a lot of it has decayed, which is just fine by me because I definitely could use the good nutrients in the crap.. er, soil I have.

I have been working on the spring prunning and cleanup since late last week. So far this week is warm and springlike so I just keep on going.

I worked an hour this morning on clean up. I am going to do another hour after my hubby leaves for work at 4.
I found a praying mantis egg case while cleaning up. Was surprised to see it because I never saw any praying mantis in the yard last year. I am glad to be cleaning up though because all the dead daylily foilage is really wet and mushy. I need to get that wet stuff away from the crown. I don't want to get crown rot.

<3 Praying Mantises! I love them! I have been thinking about buying an egg case, but I guess they're always the chinese praying mantises and I'd prefer not to introduce something like that. I *did* see a Ladybug on Sunday, though! And 3 bees!!

Have been busy doing the weeding this past week. It's really warm out there. Beautiful weather.
Also moving daylilies around, trying to make the beds more user friendly for
hybridizing. Love the praying mantises too. My favorite insect.

I keep checking the ten-day weather to see if freezing temps are listed. Certainly hope not.
Maybe it really is spring.

The Tupelo, Ms weatherman just said that our weather for the coming week will be 80-85 daytime and 58-62 nighttime. I'm not certain that we could have any weather better than this. In fact, that's were I've always wanted to live and we're having it!!!

Wonderful!! Mona

Have started to clean up here too...it is so nice I just have to get outside and enjoy it!

I started clean up. I mulched everything last fall with leaves, so on most of the beds I tried to just remove the top layer of leaves, and not all the leaves. I still have two beds to finish. Where I have removed more of the leaves is where the tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are coming up.

Weather has been gorgeous here, and the rain yesterday morning was welcome. Temps are supposed to stay pleasant at least through the rest of the week. Best thing, I have tomorrow off

Saw my first mosquito today..... ~Jan

I'm cleaning out all my pots and fertlizing, adding alfalfa pellets and lime to each pot. I haven't been able to start cleaning any of my garden beds. They are all way to wet. If it's pretty again tomorrow and then no rain, I'll probably start cleaning some Thursday.

I've got a bag of gladiolus and siberian iris that I got a Walmart that needs planting but it'll be a while before the ground is dry enough. This is another reason why I grow most of my daylilies in pots. My clay soil stays wet for sooooo long in the Spring. Then there's a window of a few days before it starts getting really hard to the point that it needs a little tnt to get stuff dug up.

I really envy you folks that have sandy loam soil.

I started cleaning my beds, but am hesitant about removing all the leaves. So I raked them off, and then relayered with what I call a "single" layer - instead of the 6 inches that was on them.

But my dozen pots in the pot ghetto.... I waited to long to remove the leaves. The winter was too mild, and I had them really mulched and in a protected area, and I think I have some crown rot on some of them (the ones in the gardens seem to be doing well). I probably should have pulled them out and removed most of the leaves a week or so ago. They are now in the sun on my patio, I am hoping that will help. I am going to leave them alone for a few days and cross my fingers.

he temp has been really mild, it got up to 79, in WISCONSIN in mid-March today. Wow. I hope I don't have 2 months of 90+ degrees this summer or that we have drought ~Jan

Was working in my back flowerbed behind the house late this afternoon. And was throwing some leaves and old folige away. And happened to look down. and there was a snake, I don't do snakes at all. It makes me shiver just thinking about it now. So I backed away as it slithered into my flowerbed. Then I see a second one in my flowerbed YUCK!!! So I quickly went and worked on a different bed. I saw the 2 slither out a short time later. To say the least I am alot more causious now before I start sticking my had down to clean debri. Kim

I am so glad you mentioned that Kim. Didn't even think about snakes in March, but
guess they like the warm sun too. Now I will be watching for them as well. Yikes, they
always startle me when I first see them, but we need them to reduce the number of voles.
So far there are no poisonous ones here, thank goodness.

Thank heavens we don't have snakes around here! I would be a basket case!!!

They were probably as surprised as you were. They slithered on off to another area to finish their winter. We had some trees cut down last fall. I was straightening up some stacking blocks that had shifted. I saw a king snake stick up his head. He had made a home between the blocks and the soil. He crawled on off. King snakes are good snakes to have around if you are going to have any snakes.