Take a second for five-minute garden maintenance

Improve a garden’s beauty, increase enjoyment, and re­duce stress five minutes at a time. As gardeners we know, and research proves that gar­dening is good for the mind, body, and spirit. However, busy schedules often lead to neglect­ed projects, weedy gardens, and long to-do lists.

We often delay tackling these tasks until we have an after­noon or evening to dedicate to our landscapes. By then the weeds have overtaken the gar­den, perennials become flop­py and veggies are past their prime. Fight the overwhelming desire to give up.

Instead, look for small tasks that can be done in between other activities or when you need a brief break from work to clear your mind and stretch your muscles.

Keep a weather-proof con­tainer or two filled with gloves, a favorite weeding tool, and pruners in a convenient location near the garden. This ensures that the time available will be spent weeding or deadheading instead of looking for tools. A bucket with kneeling pads and tools by the door or an old mail­box set in the garden will save time and steps retrieving these items.

Use this time to remove spent flowers or cut back perennials in need of a trim. Prune off any dead or damaged twigs above a set of healthy buds when you are out working in your garden. Use a bypass hand pruner to make clean cuts that leave your plants looking their best.

Dig weeds, roots and all. This task is easiest when the soil is moist and the weeds are small. Eliminating weeds from the garden before they set seed means fewer weeds to pull in the future.

Prioritize projects into Must Do, Should Do and Might Do tasks. This is a great way to re­duce what seems like an over­whelming project into manage­able steps.

The Must Dos ensure your plants will survive. Focus on watering as needed, weed control, and managing plant-threatening pests.

Should Dos include mulch­ing, fertilizing and winterizing as needed and can be done after you take care of the Must Dos. These could wait a year but should be addressed soon. Tack­ling the Should Do tasks even­tually reduces time spent on the Must Do ones. Might Do tasks are those like deadheading and staking that boost beauty but are not critical for the plant’s survival.

This is just one way to divide your gardening tasks, but prior­ities will vary from gardener to gardener based on your desired goals. Some may feel deadhead­ing or staking is critical and add it to the Must Do or Should Do list while others consider it a task to do once the others are complete. You may decide to replace higher maintenance plants with those that are free flowering, self-supporting and have fewer pest problems.

If the Must Do tasks are dif­ficult for you to accomplish, con­sider asking for help or hiring a professional. Pay for big jobs and those you prefer to skip so you can focus on those you can do and that bring you joy.

You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish in just a few minutes. Plus, tackling your landscape one small task at a time can be less overwhelming and less stressful.

Melinda Myers’ website is www. MelindaMyers.com.