Landscape cleanups in Washington DC, Maryland & Virginia.

Actaeon provides spring and fall landscape cleanup services for residential and commercial properties in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia — including leaf and debris removal, ornamental grass and perennial cutback, shrub pruning, bed edging, and site clearing. All debris leaves the property in our trucks, not piled at the curb for municipal pickup.

A cleanup done right resets the property. We edge, prune, clear, and prep so everything that stays looks intentional.

What's included in a landscape cleanup

Our cleanups are comprehensive, not cosmetic. Depending on the service and the season:

• Leaf and debris removal. Leaves, twigs, seedpods, and accumulated debris from turf, planting beds, and hardscape surfaces. We remove everything, not just rake it to the curb.
• Ornamental grass and perennial cutback. Fall: grasses and perennials cut back to 4 to 6 inches. Spring: winter die-back removed as new growth begins to emerge.
• Shrub pruning and shaping. Selective pruning to maintain form and remove deadwood. We don't shear everything into balls — we prune to maintain natural habit where appropriate.
• Bed edging. Clean cuts along bed edges to define the border between turf and mulch beds.
• Site clearing. Removal of windfall, brush, and accumulated debris from property edges and wooded margins.

Spring vs. fall cleanup differences

Spring cleanups happen as the landscape wakes up — typically March through early May. The focus is clearing winter damage, cutting back grasses and perennials before new growth overtakes last season's stems, and applying pre-emergent. Everything left behind should look intentional.

Fall cleanups happen after leaf drop is substantially complete — typically November through early December. The focus is leaf removal, final cutback of summer perennials, and mulch refreshment on exposed beds before winter. Late fall is also the best time to apply a slow-release fertilizer to turf.

Properties with significant tree canopy may need a mid-season cleanup or more aggressive leaf removal in multiple passes as different tree species drop at different times.

How we work through a cleanup day

We work methodically, not randomly. Planting beds get cleared before we move to turf areas — debris blown onto clean turf has to be collected again. Shrub pruning happens after leaf removal so cut material goes directly to the truck. Bed edging is the last step so the clean cut stays clean. We don't pull leaves off the property and leave the beds ragged.

Maryland properties with mature oaks and maples — which is most of Montgomery, Prince George's, and Howard County — often need two leaf-removal passes: one in early November and one after late-dropping trees are fully bare. A single cleanup in October misses half the leaves on many properties. Waiting until December works on paper but risks turf smothering in wet years. We build the timing into the schedule when we book the job.

Cleanups for commercial properties and HOAs

Commercial properties and HOA common areas have the same seasonal requirements as residential but need more coordination — around tenant and resident access, loading zones, parking areas, and service windows that don't overlap with peak building hours. We schedule commercial cleanups with these constraints in mind and provide before-and-after photo documentation for property managers who report to boards or ownership groups.