So who's the abnormal one?
Discussion
Our development borders on a lot of big old trees and in autumn they of course all shed their leaves. Now, my neighbour (whose house faces me across the end of a very small cul-de-sac) and I have different approaches to dealing with the leaves.
On of us gets the leaf blower out every day without fail, clears up every single leaf and keeps the front garden looking like a neat new pin pretty much at all times.
The other cleans up the majority of leaves about once a fortnight but certainly not every single leaf, so there are always some leaves left lying around.
As the houses face each other and are relatively close, the different approaches are quite apparent as there is a blatant "line of leaves" if you will between the two houses due to the different tidying approaches.
So, is one of us a bit too keen or the other too lazy?
How often do you clean up your leaves, if at all?
On of us gets the leaf blower out every day without fail, clears up every single leaf and keeps the front garden looking like a neat new pin pretty much at all times.
The other cleans up the majority of leaves about once a fortnight but certainly not every single leaf, so there are always some leaves left lying around.
As the houses face each other and are relatively close, the different approaches are quite apparent as there is a blatant "line of leaves" if you will between the two houses due to the different tidying approaches.
So, is one of us a bit too keen or the other too lazy?
How often do you clean up your leaves, if at all?
Do you live next to my old neighbour? He had a proper fetish for his leaves, raking them 24/7, often at 7 am on a sunday. I'm sure it made him happy, but seriously, there is more to life.
Leaves should be once every 1-2 weeks, dependant on severity of leafyness. However, this should not be done with a blower, but with a rake and a compost bin. Whats the poihnt of moving the leaves around back and forth for a winter, when it'll take em 4 months to decompose?
Leaves should be once every 1-2 weeks, dependant on severity of leafyness. However, this should not be done with a blower, but with a rake and a compost bin. Whats the poihnt of moving the leaves around back and forth for a winter, when it'll take em 4 months to decompose?
davido140 said:
Once a year for me, what's the point in doing it if you're going to have to re-do it again the following week.
Wait till all the leaves are off then do it the once.
Just create a bonfire, and keep it running all year round, when leaf drops, it gets burned up, no more issue.Wait till all the leaves are off then do it the once.
I don't think I've ever raked leaves in my life.
It's cold and damp outside at this time of year, when home I just leave them alone, maybe stare outside at the garden through the (warm, cosy) living room window with a cold beer in my hand, let nature do it's own thing, sod them etc. etc.

It's cold and damp outside at this time of year, when home I just leave them alone, maybe stare outside at the garden through the (warm, cosy) living room window with a cold beer in my hand, let nature do it's own thing, sod them etc. etc.

Graham E said:
However, this should not be done with a blower, but with a rake and a compost bin. Whats the poihnt of moving the leaves around back and forth for a winter, when it'll take em 4 months to decompose?
Unfortunately, we've got a very mature beech tree at the bottom of our garden just the other side of the fence. (if it was ours we would have contracted a tree surgeon in ages ago to give it a haircut and general tidy up) The leaves from this take much longer than 4 months to decompose into a useable matter, so to my great shame they always get binned.
Engineer1 said:
My parents are anal about clearing fallen leaves but their drive is steep enough that you need all the available grip, to prevent the car sliding.
The road I live has a line of trees down one side, every year the road is covered in leaves which quickly turns to a 5mm covering of slippy goop, without fail some nob will either slide out into the main road or fail to stop at the end of the cul-de-sac and end up mounting the kerb, or as happened once embedded in the fence.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff