17 Nov Autumn is a Second Spring…
Autumn is a second spring
When every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus
The leaves are beautiful on the trees in October and November. Some scenes like the above photo at Falls Lake truly take my breath away. The sky seems like it glows even bluer to join the show.
The next stage, however, is all these leaves are ankle deep on your lawn. If you want a nice healthy lawn, the leaves have to be removed…repeatedly. Every year is a little different. Sometimes we are lucky enough and they all come down at once in a windy storm. Usually they come down a little bit at a time and you have to make a constant effort to clean up. We have maintenance crews to help if you are interested in weekly or bi-weekly visits. If you are tackling the leaves yourself, here are your options.
- Leaves can be mulched with the mower and then blown to a natural area. If you are lucky enough to have a line of woods, this is a perfect area. If you plant a vegetable garden in the spring, some of the mulched leaves can be added to a compost pile. Turn over several times through the winter to help the leaves break down.
- Check with your local municipality and you may be able to blow leaves to the curb for occasional pickup. The disadvantage is that these leaves will kill the grass underneath while they sit there. For safety reasons it is not recommended to blow the leaves in to the street.
- Some municipalities will allow you to put leaves in clear plastic bags at the curb for weekly pickup. This can be time consuming but goes quicker with two people!
- Some customers ask us to blow leaves in to the landscape beds for a natural look. This is very resourceful and eco-friendly. Leaves provide beneficial nutrients to the soil and habitat for insects and other creatures. If you like to plant flowers and work in your beds, however, you may not want these “other creatures”.
- Raking is probably a last resort. If you have a fescue lawn, you may have just seeded in September or October. Raking will damage these new tender seedlings.
Enjoy the scenery and contact us if you would like help with the leaves!