During the autumn months, you’ll have seen the wildlife take advantage of the delights of your autumnal garden. From birds making the most of berries, and squirrels scurrying around looking for goodies they can store for those cold winter months.

With winter fast arriving, wildlife will be working harder looking for food to store, and there are some steps you can take in your garden to help the wildlife. At eSpares, we believe one of the main tasks which you’ll need to carry out on a regular basis this winter is the cleaning up of fallen leaves.

As pretty as the golden browns, oranges and yellows on offer may be, fallen leaves left on your garden can cause problems. Not only can it lead to your lawn becoming damaged, but leaves left to rot away in flowerbeds can also damage plants by restricting light, leading to fungal disease.

So how do you effectively clean up what seems like a never ending stream of fallen leaves? Whilst the temptation may be to leave them until the trees are bare and then tackle them all in one go, this can hinder your garden.

Instead, at eSpares we’d recommend using one of the techniques listed below, and whilst there is no right or wrong answer some are obviously easier than others.

The Traditional Way:

Perhaps one of the most traditional ways of clearing up fallen leaves is to rely on a rake.

Whilst this is a more manual way of clearing up the leaves within your garden, it will enable you to place all offending debris into a nice neat pile. You can then scoop up the leaves removing them for good.

Unfortunately, the traditional way does come with some downsides. It takes time and effort to tackle the fallen leaves within your garden. There are also the difficulties of finally removing the piles of fallen leaves; although using manual leaf collectors can help.

If the traditional method is not your style, then why not consider using the lawnmower.

The Lawnmower Method:

Ok, we know the lawnmower is predominately used to keep your lawn in shape throughout the spring and summer months, but it can also be used to collect leaves from your lawn. Make sure before putting it away for the year, you consider whether this method is for you.

Ideally, you should use a lawnmower which has a mulching blade on it (and if you have a Flymo model, these can be purchased via eSpares). With the mulching blade attached to your mower go over the lawn in the same way you would if you were cutting it.

By doing this, you’ll mulch the leaves up, enabling them to be absorbed by the lawn. You will also be providing some much needed nutrients which can help your lawn grow.

For those who don’t have a mulching blade on their mower, but still wish to use such a technique, you set your mower on its highest cut. Go over the lawn again collecting the leaves within the collection basket.

Although this method can be more time consuming than manually collecting the leaves, our green fingered gurus here at eSpares don’t believe that it is necessarily the best method. Instead this honour falls to the trusted garden vacuum.

The Garden Vacuum:

The garden vacuum, potentially not the most common garden appliance, is definitely worth having within your locker if you are serious about keeping your garden in tip-top shape.

We’ve recently discussed “How to Pick Your Ideal Garden Vac” and for those looking to make light work of removing fallen leaves from the garden, a garden vacuum is a must.

The garden vacuum removes the need for manual work, as well as the need to pile leaves up before getting rid of them. With the right vac, those combined with a blower, you can easily remove leaves loitering within various corners, nooks and crannies of your garden.

With your preferred method of removing those pesky fallen leaves from your garden decided, all that is left is to decide what to do with them. Again, there may be a temptation to bag them up and take them to the tip, or to burn them. But fallen leaves can offer so much more.

Ideally, you should place them within a compost bin and leave them to rot away into leaf mould. Although this can take as long as twelve months, it will be worth the wait. Leaf mould is very beneficial for your garden as it helps the soil retain moisture and improve the drainage.

By following these helpful eSpares gardening tips, you can ensure that your garden is in top condition year round!

Tags: Garden Vacuum, Gardening, Lawnmower