1. Clean Area: Thoroughly clear dead leaves and debris from flower beds and lawn that may impede new spring growth.
2. Prune: Conduct corrective pruning of trees and shrubs to enhance plant appearance and vigor, and thin rather than top-shear overgrown shrubs and trees to preserve their overall shape. Make sure not to prune trees and shrubs that bloom in early spring, with the exception of removing dead branches.
3. Mulch: When your lawn is actively growing, return grass clippings back to the soil for added lawn nutrients and consider using composted materials to nourish plants. Apply three inches of organic mulch to base of shrubs and trees to help conserve soil moisture and to reduce weed pressure, but be mindful not to cover the flare of the tree base.
4. Right Plant, Right Place: Plant the right type of grass for your lawn to ensure a green, healthy turf. Where grass has difficulty growing, plant shade-adapted ground covers for landscape appeal.
5. Feed: Spring lawn, tree and shrub roots seek nourishment after the dormancy of winter. Keep fertilizer on target to prevent run-off and sweep fertilizer granules that may reach pavement back onto your lawn. Use a trained professional company, such as TruGreen, that offers customized solutions to lawn and landscape problems based on your region’s needs.
6. Check Irrigation: Follow the owner’s operating manual to take an automated sprinkler system out of hibernation. Ensure sprinkler heads and related water lines are working properly. Give your lawn a slow, steady watering about once a week, but adjust depending upon rainfall, grass and soil type in your area. Also ensure the irrigation system covers your landscape efficiently. For example, you can place a one-inch deep food can in the middle of the lawn area to measure the depth of water collected after each watering cycle to ensure uniformity.
7. Protect Against Elements: The beautiful blooms of spring are vulnerable to frost. With an expected cold snap, cover flowering plants before the sun goes down to maximize heat trapped by the plants. Create a tent of warmth with plastic tarps, cardboard, bed sheets or special plant frost protection blankets available at your local nursery or home improvement retailer.

Interested in creating a Outdoor Oasis? I bet you could with $25,000! TruGreen is celebrating real stories for creating your ideal outdoor living room by offering the TruGreen TruStories Sweepstakes through October 16, 2011. One Grand Prize winner will win a $25,000 MasterCard gift card, which would be perfect for creating your perfect outdoor space. There are only prizes too. See complete details www.TruGreenSweepstakes.com/win.

To get kids interested in the diverse plant world, TruGreen has collaborated with Memphis Botantical Garden to launch My Botanic Planet. This is a FREE (we love FREE) online educator resource to inspire elementary students interest in the plant world. Visit www.mybotanicplanet.comto access lessons in botany and related games & activities for your child.

How would you like to win a $125 TruGreen gift card? One lucky Bargain Briana reader will win a gift card, which is good for approximately two TruGreen treatments for lawn, tree, and shrub care.

How to Win?

Prize: $125 TruGreen Gift Card

You can enter up to 4 times with the following methods:

1. Leave a comment: How healthy is your yard looking right now?

2. Become a Facebook Liker of Bargain Briana on Facebook.

3. Tweet the following on Twitter:

Enter to win a $125 TruGreen Gift Card http://bit.ly/lSLb5Z @bargainbriana #wingiveaways

4. Subscribe to my free newsletter via email or RSS. You must confirm your email subscription for it to be a valid entry. If you are already a subscriber, leave a comment letting me know you are already subscribed.

Please leave a comment for each additional entry.

Giveaway ends Monday, June 13, 2011 at 3 p.m. EST.

Winner will be chosen by random. Be sure bargainbriana@gmail.com is in your safe sender list as you don’t want to miss the email if you are the chosen winner.

**Please note: The companies have 6-8 weeks to ship prizes.

This giveaway was sponsored by TruGreen as part of the Win Giveaways Father’s Day Bash. This Post was written by me and was not edited by the sponsor. Read more on my Disclosure Policy. Find more information on the terms for this giveaway on the Win Giveaways Facebook page.

You have more chances to win by entering on the following blogs:

• Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Common Sense with Money
• Frugal Coupon Living
• Moms Need to Know
• Passion for Savings
• Saving Cents with Sense
• Southern Savers
• Stretching a Buck Blog
• The Savings Lifestyle

Check back throughout the week for more Giveaways! Good Luck!