Spring in Pretoria means warmer days, new growth and, for many homeowners, plenty of work to get the garden looking its best again.
To make the job easier, our spring garden checklist for Pretoria homeowners covers the basics — from mowing and weeding to pruning, clearing and managing the garden refuse that comes with a spring clean-up.
Here’s our spring garden refuse checklist for Pretoria homeowners.
1. Mow and edge the lawn
Start by giving the lawn a tidy-up. Mowing and edging can immediately make the garden look neater and give you a clearer picture of which other areas need attention.
However, you don’t necessarily need to remove every grass clipping. You can sometimes leave fine, dry clippings on the lawn. Alternatively, suitable grass clippings can be composted or used appropriately as mulch. The RHS guide to dealing with garden waste provides useful guidance on reusing grass clippings and other plant material.
Checklist:
☐ Mow the lawn
☐ Tidy the edges
☐ Collect excess grass cuttings where necessary
2. Pull those weeds
Spring growth isn’t limited to the plants you want.
Removing unwanted weeds gives you an opportunity to tidy beds and identify areas that might need mulch or additional planting.
If you’re composting at home, however, don’t simply throw every weed onto your compost heap. Some weeds, particularly those carrying seeds or persistent roots, may survive normal home composting conditions. The RHS guide to weeding garden beds explains this in more detail.
Checklist:
☐ Weed flower beds
☐ Check around paving and pathways
☐ Collect weeds as you work
3. Prune and trim where needed
Spring is a good opportunity to inspect shrubs and other plants for dead, damaged or unwanted growth, although the correct pruning time depends on the particular plant.
Pruning can help remove dead or unsightly growth, control size and improve the shape of appropriate plants. For plant-specific advice, see the RHS beginner’s guide to pruning.
After pruning, cut larger pieces into manageable sections to make them easier to handle.
Checklist:
☐ Check plants before pruning
☐ Remove appropriate dead or unwanted growth
☐ Trim overgrown hedges where needed
☐ Cut larger trimmings into manageable pieces
4. Clear fallen leaves and loose garden debris
Leaves and other plant material tend to accumulate beneath shrubs, along pathways and in corners of the garden.
However, you don’t necessarily need to throw all of it away. Fallen leaves, grass clippings and many garden trimmings can be useful ingredients for composting.The EPA’s guide to composting at home explains how materials such as leaves, grass clippings and plant trimmings can be turned into compost.
Therefore, before treating everything as waste, consider whether you could reuse some suitable plant material in your garden.
Checklist:
☐ Clear paths and high-traffic areas
☐ Gather excess leaves and plant material
☐ Set aside suitable material if you compost at home
5. Gather and separate your garden refuse
Once the cutting, mowing and pruning is finished, gather together the material you actually want removed.
Keeping garden refuse separate from general household rubbish also makes it much easier to manage.
Typical garden material generated during a clean-up can include:
- Grass cuttings
- Leaves and weeds
- Flowers and plant material
- Hedge trimmings
- Small branches
For example, you can compost suitable plant material such as leaves, grass and garden trimmings at home. The RHS garden waste guide has more information on which garden materials can be reused or composted.
Of course, anything you don’t want to compost or reuse still needs somewhere to go.
6. Fill your MegaBin
For MegaBin customers, managing the remaining garden refuse is simple: put accepted garden refuse into your MegaBin for your normal weekly collection.
That means the grass cuttings, leaves, weeds, flowers, hedge trimmings and small branches generated while tidying the garden don’t need to become a growing pile in the corner of the property.
If your garden produces a little extra, you can also place up to two additional black bags containing accepted garden refuse alongside or near your drum for the standard weekly collection. If you have more than two additional bags, contact the MegaBin office beforehand.
For a particularly large spring clean-up, a once-off garden refuse removal may be more appropriate than trying to fit everything into the normal weekly collection.
You can find out more about MegaBin and our garden refuse services on the MegaBin website.
Your spring garden checklist at a glance
Before calling the spring clean-up finished:
✓ Mow & edge
✓ Pull weeds
✓ Prune & trim appropriately
✓ Clear fallen leaves
✓ Gather garden refuse
✓ Reuse or compost suitable material
✓ Fill your MegaBin with the accepted garden refuse you want removed
Once you’ve worked through the list, you can get back to enjoying your garden.
Garden sorted. Refuse sorted.
Sources & further reading
For readers interested in the gardening guidance behind this checklist:
Royal Horticultural Society — How to Deal with Garden Waste — practical advice on grass clippings, leaves, pruning material, composting and garden waste.
Royal Horticultural Society — Getting Started in Pruning — guidance on why, when and how plants may need pruning.
Royal Horticultural Society — How to Weed a Bed Efficiently — practical weeding advice, including considerations when composting weeds.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Composting at Home — guidance on composting leaves, grass clippings and garden trimmings at home.