After a long winter, your yard doesn't just need mowing — it needs waking up. Do these steps in order and your lawn, beds, irrigation, and tools all come back to life together, instead of fighting you all season.
None of this requires a green thumb. It's a sequence: clean up first, then wake the lawn, tend the beds, check the water, and service your tools. Work top to bottom and each step sets up the next.
First, a timing rule: don't start until the soil is workable — crumbly, not soggy. Working wet soil compacts it and undoes half of what you're trying to do. And hold off on tender plantings until your area's last frost date has passed.
1. Clear the winter mess
Rake out dead leaves, fallen twigs, and matted grass. This isn't just tidying — debris smothers new growth and traps moisture that breeds disease. Clear any storm debris from beds and drainage paths while you're at it.
2. Wake up the lawn
Rake and dethatch
A firm raking lifts the "thatch" layer — dead material between soil and grass — so water and air can reach the roots. If the layer is thicker than half an inch, a dethatching rake earns its keep.
Aerate if it's compacted
If your soil is packed hard (water pools, or a screwdriver won't push in easily), aerating pulls small plugs so roots can breathe. Most lawns only need this every year or two.
Overseed, then feed
Spread grass seed on bare or thin patches, then apply a spring fertilizer. Time the fertilizer to when your grass is actively greening up — too early and it just feeds weeds.
First mow, high
Set the mower high for the first cut and never remove more than a third of the blade length. Scalping a waking lawn stresses it right when it's trying to recover.
3. Reset the beds
Pull early weeds before they seed, cut back dead perennial growth, and re-edge the borders for a clean line. Then top up mulch to about two to three inches — enough to hold moisture and block weeds, but keep it off plant stems.
4. Check the irrigation
Turn the system on and walk it zone by zone. You're looking for:
- Heads that are broken, tilted, or blocked by grass
- Soggy spots or unusually low pressure — signs of an underground leak
- Timer settings still stuck on last year's schedule
Fixing a cracked head or a stuck valve now is a five-minute job. Finding it in July, after a month of a dead patch or a sky-high water bill, is not.
5. Service your tools and mower
| Tool | Spring task |
|---|---|
| Mower | Change the oil, replace or sharpen the blade, check the spark plug and air filter |
| Hand tools | Clean off rust, sharpen edges, oil pivots and wooden handles |
| Hoses | Check for cracks and leaks before you rely on them |
| Trimmer | Fresh line, clean air filter, fresh fuel if gas-powered |
A dull mower blade tears grass instead of cutting it, leaving ragged brown tips and an open door for disease. Ten minutes of sharpening changes how your whole lawn looks all season.
Put it on a schedule
The hard part of yard care isn't any single task — it's remembering the cadence: when to fertilize, when the mower's due for oil, when to re-check the sprinklers. That's exactly what Everstead is built to track, right alongside the rest of your home.