Autumn usually symbolises the decay of life in nature. People still might be enjoying the Indian summer, but temperatures drop, and rain comes down more often. You have probably noticed the start of the autumn in your garden by spending less time in it and picking up the dead leaves. Freshly fallen leaves look magnificent on the nicely trimmed green lawn, but if you are away from your garden for a long time, then still life does not look so attractive. Rotten leaves not only damage the view of the garden but can also produce a disgusting smell. This is where you might decide to treat the task of leaf collection more seriously and responsibly.
When leaves fall from the trees, they reach the ground or your lawn. They do not fly or walk away – they stay. A big amount of fallen leaves can become a beautiful carpet to walk or take a picture on, but in case of rain, the whole picture can look very unpleasant. Abandoning your garden for more than three weeks and skipping leaf collection could cause significant damage not only to the look of the garden but to the well-being of lawn as well. Green grass requires air and sunlight, especially in the colder seasons. Leaves tend to gather in thick piles if they are not being collected, which prevents sun and air from reaching the grass. Big piles of dead leaves in the garden could destroy the upper layer of your lawn and produce a muddy mess across the whole territory of the garden. Due to the lack of sun and excess of rain moss could easily overtake the grass, so there is a bigger chance that in autumn your garden will look unkempt.
Leaves could also clog up and cover drains, which would block the water from washing away. Wet leaves can be dangerous for homeowners if they are not removed from around the house area. In the periods of heavy rain blocked drains will make water collect in a pool and cause local flooding.
If you want to avoid all of these inconveniences, you should not let dead leaves settle down in your garden. Do not get upset with the big amount gathered on your lawn uncollected. Also do not be afraid to look old-fashioned and have a garden rake in your shed for leaf collection. The use of this tool might consume time, but it is good exercising as well.
In recent years, leaf collecting has developed and now expert gardeners encourage homeowners to use leaf blowers. All you do is blow leaves from the corners to the centre of your garden and then pick them up into big bags. There are the so-called garden vacuums that operate in the same way as vacuum cleaners. Leaves are being vacuumed up and collected in the bag, which can be emptied at any time when needed. Most of these devices also shred leaves while collecting them. Thus the collected leaves can be used for your compost heap. But bear in mind that most of the garden vacuums can only collect dry leaves! Consult with a specialist if you are thinking of getting one for yourself to collect wet leaves from your garden.
