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Cleaning Up Leaves in Fall

Posted on by Urban Eden

Fall is here in Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver, Washington. With fall comes the seasonal changing of our landscapes, with windy and rainy weather and the abundant onslaught of leaves. Leaves clutter our lawns, pathways, decks, and patios, as well as our driveways and streets. Leaf litter can accumulate so quickly that before we can do anything about it, these areas are entirely covered. Here we will discuss the effects leaves have on our outdoor spaces as well as what to do about it.

Leaves on our Lawns

One of the most obvious areas that leaves often accumulate with adverse effects is our lawns. Lawns often begin to go dormant in the latter part of fall and into winter. However, our lawns still need sunlight and air circulation to remain healthy, even throughout this dormant period. If leaves are allowed to pile up on our lawn, they will block these vital nutrients and deprive our lawns. Leaf litter that has been left for any period of time will quickly create brown or dead patches through your turf. These patches can be time-consuming and, sometimes, costly to fully repair. Furthermore, leaf piles are breeding grounds for fungus and bugs that will infest your lawn as well. That is why it is important to remove them from these areas as quickly as possible.

Leaves on our Decks, Patios, and Walkways

Decks and patios are great places to spend lazy days lounging around our homes. With the coming of fall and leaf season, however, leaf litter can have adverse consequences for these areas. Depending on weather conditions and the time of year, these areas can quickly become overrun with leaves in a matter of hours. Other than the fact that this creates an unsightly appearance, leaves that are allowed to remain on decks and patios can often degrade or stain these materials at a fast pace. Furthermore, wet or frozen leaves can create unsafe walking conditions, increasing the odds of slipping or falling. Removing leaves from these areas as quickly as possible is of the utmost importance.

Leaves on our Driveways and Roadways

Just like our lawns, decks, and patios, leaves quickly accumulate in our driveways and roadways as well. Leaves that go unchecked will quickly fill these spaces, giving the appearance of a disheveled mess. Furthermore, considering these areas are meant for movement and travel, similarly to decks and patios, leaves can create unsafe walking and driving conditions as they often make these areas slippery. Leaves can quickly freeze to the concrete and asphalt in these spaces as well, which only makes them more difficult to fully remove.

What to do About Leaves

But what is to be done with all of these leaves? There are two main solutions for taking care of the leaves that accumulate throughout our lawns and landscapes. We can either remove them entirely from our property or find another use for them. Either solution starts at the same point: Gather and collect the leaves. Gathering the leaves can be done by raking or blowing them into piles. Once the leaves are gathered into various piles your can either remove them from your property and take them to a recycling center or you can find another use for them on your property. Leaves that have been collected can be used as mulch in your flowerbeds or throughout your garden to help protect the soil and unestablished plants in these areas. Leaves can also be put into a composter and left to degrade and later be used to amend your soil. Soil composed of composted leaves is some of the best soil there is.

Leaves can be difficult to manage and keep up with throughout this time of year. If all of this sounds overwhelming, we don’t blame you one bit. It definitely can be! Urban Eden Landscaping would love to help deal with your leaf issues as well as any of your other lawn care needs. Contact us today or fill out our FREE estimate request online.

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