Spring and Fall Landscaping Cleanup: What Michigan Homeowners Should Know

Spring and fall cleanups are the two landscaping visits that do the most to set a Michigan property up for the rest of the year — one clears out what winter left behind, the other prepares everything for winter's return. Skipping either one tends to show up as extra work (or extra damage) later.

What a Spring Cleanup Actually Covers

After a Michigan winter, yards are usually dealing with matted leaves and debris trapped under melted snow, dead growth from the previous season that never got cleared, and winter damage to beds and borders. A proper spring cleanup clears all of this out before it smothers new grass and plants trying to come up, and resets bed edges that may have shifted or eroded over winter. This is also typically when the first mulch application of the season happens, once the ground has warmed enough.

What a Fall Cleanup Actually Covers

Fall cleanup is about leaf removal, primarily — a lawn or bed left under a thick layer of wet leaves for weeks can develop dead patches and fungal issues by spring. Beyond leaves, fall cleanup usually includes cutting back perennials that have finished their season, a final trim on shrubs before dormancy, and clearing garden debris so beds go into winter clean rather than cluttered.

Why Both Seasons Matter, Not Just One

It's tempting to treat cleanup as a once-a-year task, but spring and fall solve different problems. Skipping spring cleanup means new growth has to fight through last year's dead material. Skipping fall cleanup means that same dead material sits under snow all winter, decomposing unevenly and creating the exact mess spring cleanup has to deal with — except worse, because it's been sitting even longer. Doing both keeps a property in a constant state of "caught up" rather than playing catch-up twice a year.

Spring Cleanup Checklist

• Clear matted leaves and winter debris from beds and lawn
• Cut back dead growth from the previous season
• Reset bed edges and refresh mulch

Fall Cleanup Checklist

• Remove leaves regularly, not just once at the end of the season
• Cut back perennials and finish seasonal shrub trimming
• Clear beds before the ground freezes and snow removal season starts

Summit offers both spring and fall cleanups as standalone landscaping visits or bundled with a weekly lawn care plan, so beds and borders don't fall behind while the lawn stays maintained. And once fall cleanup wraps up, we're already set up to move straight into snow removal for the same property — one crew, every season.