A Spring Cleanup in Toronto's Wychwood Park

Removing the Winter Interest, Now That Spring is Here

It's May, the magnolias and ornamental are finally blooming (some are done) and the beautiful May weather is upon is. I just love outside during these May days: sunny, warm and not humid. It won't last long as by late June the humidity and bugs will make their presence known.

On the flip side, it's pure chaos with the scheduling but every May is like this. I guess that's still a good problem to have from a business perspective.

Part of that chaos is the number of spring cleanups being ordered. This post covers a front yard cleanup for a new client in a central Toronto neighbourhood near Wychwood Park.

The two front garden beds weren't touched from last season which allowed the owners to enjoy the "winter interest" provided by ornamental grasses and sturdier perennials. Of course, that interest loses its charm by May so the clients hired me to tidy up and transplant a few new perennials.

Here are the before and after pictures of a very typical spring cleanup I do:

Toronto Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Before

Toronto Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup After 

Toronto Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Before

Toronto Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup After 

Toronto Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Before

Toronto Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup After

Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Toronto Before 

Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Toronto 

Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Toronto Before 

Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Toronto After 

Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Toronto Before 

Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Toronto After 

Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Toronto Before 

Wychwood Park Spring Cleanup Toronto After 

May in Toronto is truly a beautiful time of the year and it almost makes up for the 5 months of winter we had to endure to get here.

A Leslieville, Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup

A New Client, A Similar Job 

It's been a busy month so far with more spring cleanups on the way. This post covers a recent job back in a neighbourhood I often visit: Leslieville. The properties here are usually small in area and therefore easy for me to work by myself. 

I'll start with the cleanup in the backyard. As you can probably see in the pictures to follow, I pruned a lot of last season's growth:

Leslieville Back Garden Spring Cleanup Before

Leslieville Back Garden Spring Cleanup After 

Toronto Leslieville Back Garden Spring Cleanup Before 

Toronto Leslieville Back Garden Spring Cleanup After

Toronto Leslieville Garden Spring Cleanup After 

Leslieville Back Garden Spring Cleanup Before 

And in the front, I tidied up a very small bed:

Leslieville Front Garden Spring Cleanup Before

Leslieville Front Garden Spring Cleanup After 

Note the still small Colorado Blue Spruce to the right. I strongly recommended to the owner that this small tree need to be removed sooner than later. It's not a dwarf, You can easily imagine how massive this spruce will be. Simply the wrong tree for the wrong spot.

A Parkdale Spring Cleanup

Getting a Toronto Pollinator Garden Ready for Spring

Back to work. After another long Toronto, I'm ready to meet new clients and new gardens while trying to lose the weight I've gained over an inactive winter. And, not unimportantly, earning an income again.

My first spring cleanup occurred in Toronto's west end neighbourhood called Parkdale. It was a small job consisting of part of a small front yard and a shared strip of land between the neighbours. All of last season's growth were left over winter so there was a bit of pruning involved. This is proof that there's no need to raze your garden's autumn growth to the ground but, admittedly, some homeowners can't handle seeing this for over five months of the year.

Here are some "before" and "after" pictures of the cleanup which took me about three hours to complete:

Parkdale Spring Cleanup Before 

Parkdale Spring Cleanup After

Parkdale Toronto Spring  Garden Cleanup Before

Parkdale Toronto Spring  Garden Cleanup After 

A Parkdale Spring Cleanup Before

A Parkdale Spring Cleanup After

Parkdale Toronto Spring Cleanup Before 

Parkdale Toronto Spring Cleanup After

A Parkdale Spring Cleanup Before

A Parkdale Spring Cleanup After

Toronto Parkdale Spring Cleanup Before 

Toronto Parkdale Spring Cleanup After 

And my 17th work season is now off and running!

A Little Portugal, Toronto Spring Cleanup in the Front and Backyards

Small Property, Lots of Leaves

On the map, this property in Toronto's Little Portugal neighbourhood has a small footprint so I thought the spring cleanup would take less time than usual. Wrong! When several mature trees had shed their leaves last autumn and no one removed them from the gardens for over 5 months, there was a lot of heavy lifting involved with all these matted leaves.

Here are some "before" and "after" pictures of this spring cleanup. These work requests are coming in strong and fast and it's not even May yet. Major tasks involved in this particular cleanup involved raking up the thick mat of old autumn 2020 maple leaves and weeding in order to get the gardens ready for newly ordered perennials.

Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup in Little Portugal Before

Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup in Little Portugal After 

Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup in Little Portugal Before 

Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup in Little Portugal After 

Little Portugal Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup Before 

Little Portugal Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup After 

And in the backyard...

Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup in Little Portugal Before

Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup in Little Portugal After 

Little Portugal Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup Before 

Little Portugal Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup After 

Little Portugal Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup Before 

Little Portugal Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup After 

Little Portugal Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup Before 

Little Portugal Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup After

A Chaplin Estates, Midtown Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup

Spring 2021 Has Finally Begun!

Enduring a pandemic winter was challenging but another April finally emerges and this Toronto gardener is getting busy again. I hope, dear reader, you and your family have remained safe and healthy during these tumultuous times.

I don't believe I've profiled this midtown Toronto garden before. I visit the client twice a year to "open" and "close" the garden, in her words. It's interesting that she (and many others) use the analogy of a garden being a store that requires to be opened for business from spring to fall and closed for the winter break. 

My "opening" process here mainly means raking out last fall's leaves, removing old stems and flower heads and spreading some composted manure on the beds. I'll duplicate these tasks many times in May so get ready!

Here are some "before" and "after" pictures of the the "U" shaped beds around the central lawn which are enclosed with a 20 foot white cedar hedge:

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup Before

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup After 

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup Before

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup After 

Toronto Spring Cleanup in Chaplin Estates Before 

Toronto Spring Cleanup in Chaplin Estates After 

Toronto Spring  Garden Cleanup in Chaplin Estates Before 

Toronto Spring  Garden Cleanup in Chaplin Estates After 

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup Before 

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup After 

Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup in Chaplin Estates Before 

Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup in Chaplin Estates After 

Chaplin Estates Midtown Toronto Spring Cleanup Before

Chaplin Estates Midtown Toronto Spring Cleanup After