Spring cleanup of the garden in Stockholm

When should the spring cleanup be done?

What decides it is the ground, not the date. While the lawn is waterlogged every step damages the roots, so wait until the surface carries weight. In Greater Stockholm that normally falls between late March and mid-April, a few weeks later in the northern municipalities and on higher ground.

There is a late limit too: perennials should be cut back before the new shoots come up, and moss should be out before the grass starts growing in earnest. Leave it too late and you tear up new grass instead of helping it.

• Late March: grit swept from paths and patios, winter debris and fallen branches gathered.
• Early April: flower beds cleared, perennials cut back, shrubs tidied.
• Mid-April: the lawn raked and the moss removed, edges cut.
• Late April into May: the first mow, feeding and reseeding of bare patches.

What does a spring garden cleanup cost?

The price depends on the size of the plot, how much is left after winter and whether the moss needs scarifying. A plot that had an autumn cleanup last year takes considerably less time than one left untouched for a couple of seasons. We look at the plot and send a free quote with a clear hourly rate, in most cases within 24 hours.

Private individuals pay after the RUT deduction of up to 50 % of the labour cost, taken off the invoice directly. Waste removal does not qualify, so the tipping fee is listed separately.

What do you do about moss in the lawn in spring?

Moss is a symptom rather than the problem itself: it takes over where the grass is weak from shade, damp, acidic soil or compacted ground. We rake or scarify the moss out, aerate where needed and recommend liming and feeding so the grass takes the surface back. Remove only the moss without addressing the cause and it returns next spring.

Scarifying is done once in spring, when the grass has started growing but before the summer heat. The lawn looks thin and ragged for a week afterwards, then grows back denser than before.

Why is a spring cleanup worth it?

It is the one job that gives you a head start for the whole season. Weeds cleared before they flower never seed, so the summer weeding becomes short rather than heavy. A raked and aerated lawn gets going several weeks earlier, and clean edges and paths make the garden look cared for already in April.

Many customers move straight into a seasonal contract after the spring cleanup: mowing every other week, hedge trimming twice and an autumn cleanup at the end. The garden is then looked after all year without you having to rebook each time.

Spring cleanup for housing cooperatives and property owners

In a courtyard spring also means collecting what winter gritting left behind. The sand has to be swept up and taken away before it turns to dust and spreads into the beds, and municipalities set rules for when that must be done. We take whole courtyards and residential areas, sweep, clear and remove – to whatever extent you want, all by agreement.

The spring cleanup usually sits in the same care contract as mowing and hedge trimming, so the board has one supplier and one contact person for the whole year.