February was a bit of a tease, with its April-like weather on any given day! I was tempted to start the process of cleaning up, but held off. Living in Minnesota, one knows that while the climate is a bit warmer these days, more snow was likely to come. And we did get more snow! Which is actually a good thing to help blanket those tender perennials for a little while longer...it didn't last more than a week.

Yesterday, I noticed my mums growing through last season's stems, and the daffodils and crocus have sprouted up. I took advantage of the warm weather and started cutting back the old to make room for the new. With the forecast in the 40's and 50's, and night temps staying closer to 30 degrees, it seemed like now was a good time to start pruning. I have to logically "talk myself into it" so that it doesn't appear that I'm acting on spring frenzy!(LOL)

I started with uncovering the areas where I saw green coming through. I'm not one to remove all dead debris as it is a food source for plants. Some compost around them is healthy. Cut back some sedums, grasses, and then moved on to my hydrangea tree, hydrangea shrubs, weigela, coneflowers, catmint, etc. and so forth.

It was therapeutic! If you hate yardwork, tell yourself its not only good for the body(sore hips and knees aside), but also good for your soul. Happy Spring!