Winter can be a bit of a bully to your backyard. Between the freezing cycles, heavy snow, and the salt used on your driveway, your landscape has been through the wringer.
Now that the ground has finally thawed, it’s time to step outside and assess the damage. Think of this as a “wellness check” for your property. At Venetia Landscape Supply, we want to make sure your hardscape lasts for decades, not just seasons.
Follow this checklist to get your yard back in fighting shape.
1. The Deep Clean: Pressure Washing & Sealing
Winter grime and salt deposits don’t just look ugly—they can actually degrade your pavers and stone over time.
- Pressure Washing: Give your patio, walkways, and driveway a thorough wash to remove the winter film.
- Pro-Tip: Be careful with the pressure setting! You want to lift the dirt, not blast the sand out from between your paver joints.
- Sealing: Once the stone is clean and bone-dry, consider a fresh coat of sealer. It’s like sunscreen for your patio; it protects against UV fading, oil stains, and future salt damage.
2. The Drainage Audit: Finding the “Washout”
Spring showers are coming, and you need to know where that water is going before it ends up in your basement or ruins your mulch beds.
- Check for Puddles: Walk your property after a rain. If you see standing water near your foundation, you may need to regrade the area or install a French drain.
- Identify Washouts: Look for areas where mulch or soil has completely disappeared. This is a sign of high-velocity runoff.
- The Fix: Use a heavier, Single-Shredded Mulch or decorative river rock in these “high-flow” zones to keep your landscape in place.
3. The “Wall Walk”: Inspecting Retaining Walls
Gravity never takes a day off, and winter’s “freeze-thaw” cycle is a retaining wall’s worst enemy.
- The Lean Test: Stand at the end of your wall and look down the line. Is it still straight, or is it starting to “belly” out or lean forward?
- Check the Weep Holes: Ensure the drainage holes at the bottom of the wall aren’t clogged with debris. If water gets trapped behind the wall, the pressure can cause the whole structure to fail.
- Look for Cracks: Small hairline cracks in mortar are common, but anything you can fit a coin into needs professional attention before it gets worse.
4. Post-Hard Winter Debris Clear
Salt is great for safety, but terrible for soil.
- Flush the Edges: If you used heavy salt on your driveway, heavily water the grass and soil along the edges. This helps flush the salt deeper into the ground so it doesn’t “burn” your spring grass.
- Remove “Grit”: Sweep up any leftover anti-skid or gravel from your hardscape. If left alone, these small pebbles act like sandpaper under your boots, scratching your stone’s finish.
At Venetia Landscape Supply, we carry everything from professional-grade sealers to the drainage pipes and gravel you need to fix a washout. Stop by and tell us what the winter did to your yard—we’ll help you fix it.