A beautifully designed landscape is an investment. Just like your car or your home, it requires consistent, scheduled maintenance to retain its value and beauty. In the Pacific Northwest, our unique climate—mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers—demands a proactive, seasonal approach to landscape care.
Neglecting maintenance doesn't just make your yard look overgrown; it leads to dead plants, soil erosion, and costly fixes down the road. Below is the essential seasonal checklist for keeping your Auburn, WA, property healthy and vibrant year after year.
Spring (March – May): Rejuvenation and Growth 🌱
Spring is when your landscape wakes up, and it’s the most labor-intensive season. The focus is on preparing the turf for the growing season and tidying up winter damage.
- Lawn Aeration & Overseeding: This is the best time to aerate compacted soil. Follow with overseeding to fill in bare patches and thicken the lawn for the summer.
- Initial Fertilization: Apply the first round of slow-release, balanced fertilizer to your lawn and garden beds to fuel the coming growth surge.
- Pruning (Non-Flowering): Prune winter-damaged wood and shape up non-spring-blooming deciduous shrubs and ornamental grasses before they fully leaf out.
- Irrigation Startup: Charge your irrigation system, check for broken heads and leaks, and set initial watering times.
- Weeding & Mulch: Aggressively pull spring weeds and apply 2-3 inches of fresh
mulch to all garden beds. Mulch suppresses weeds, retains moisture for the summer, and improves soil health.
Summer (June – August): Management and Hydration ☀️
The primary focus shifts to hydration, precision trimming, and keeping things tidy during the region's driest months.
- Routine Mowing & Edging: Maintain a higher cut for your lawn (ideally 3 inches) to help grass survive the heat and shade out weeds. Keep edges sharp for a clean look.
- Pruning (After Bloom): Immediately after your spring-blooming shrubs (like lilacs and rhododendrons) finish flowering, prune them to shape and encourage new buds for next year.
- Weeding & Deadheading: Constant spot-weeding is critical. Deadhead spent perennial flowers to encourage re-blooming.
- Irrigation Adjustments: Monitor the weather. Adjust your irrigation system frequently to water deeply but infrequently (1 inch per week is a good target) to promote deep root growth.
Fall (September – November): Protection and Preparation 🍂
Fall cleanup is the most crucial step for winter survival and spring success. This is also a key period for long-term turf health.
- Leaf Cleanup: Routinely clear all fallen leaves from your lawn and garden beds. A thick layer of wet leaves smothers grass, breeds fungus, and rots perennials.
- Final Fertilization: Apply a final
"winterizer" fertilizer to the lawn. This is essential for root development that happens during the dormant season, leading to a greener spring start.
- Dormancy Pruning: Cut back most perennials that have died back for the season.
- Irrigation Winterization (Blowout): Before the first hard freeze, shut down and drain all irrigation lines using compressed air (a professional "blowout"). This prevents pipes from cracking and saves you a huge repair bill in the spring.
Winter (December – February): Dormancy and Planning ❄️
While growth slows, winter is not a break from care, it's the time for structural and protective maintenance.
- Dormant Pruning (Trees & Shrubs): The best time to do structural pruning on most deciduous trees and shrubs is in late winter when they are dormant. With the leaves gone, we have a clear view of the branch structure to make precise, health-improving cuts.
- Drainage Check: Monitor downspouts and yard low-spots during heavy rain to ensure your drainage solutions (like the French drains we discussed in Blog Post 2) are working correctly.
- Tool Maintenance: Clean, sharpen, and tune-up all equipment, including mower blades and pruners, in preparation for the spring rush.
The ALM Landscape Maintenance Partnership
The thought of managing this year-round checklist can be overwhelming. As your local Auburn, WA, landscape partner, ALM offers complete annual maintenance packages tailored to your property's size and needs.
Our Annual Care Packages Typically Include:
