It’s the end of October, 2019, and I’m seeing a lot of sad faces around fighting leaf avalanches. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Fall is awesome. Here’s why.
Photo-S factories
Leaf colours are great to look at, especially on sunny days like today. I had huge piles of leaves to pick up on a mature site with many Red maples (Acer rubrum) and I did it with a smile. It’s my job and I did it while listening to Tyler Cowen’s book “Big business”. Cowen makes the case that big business in America is underappreciated. And as I listened, I thought the same was true of the leaves I was raking. They are amazing photosynthetic factories.
Without leaves, trees wouldn’t be able to feed themselves; and without trees people would be in serious trouble. Every fall we treat the spent leaves on the ground like a nuisance.
Don’t make pyramids
Many people I see- workers and home owners-are doing way too much raking. You can see them making beautiful leafy pyramids but that makes sense only if you plan to set the piles on fire.
When I was a little boy growing up in Prague, my grandpa would leave me with piles of maple leaves and a box of matches. And I couldn’t be happier. My piles produced so much smoke in the neighbourhood, most of the housewives hated me for ruining the clothes hanging on their clothes lines.
If your leaf piles are huge then just drop your tarp in and rake towards your tarp every time. See the picture below, then repeat this procedure until your pile is gone. There is no point raking leaves into beautiful pyramids. You will get plenty of exercise, don’t worry.
Stress-free fall
Your fall should be stress-free. I laugh when I see old ladies hand picking leaves off their lilacs. Just enjoy the colour show.
I also disagree with workers standing under beautiful trees blasting them with their backpack blowers. Remember, we plant many tree species in the landscape for their gorgeous fall colours so this doesn’t make sense.
So, enjoy the fall colour show, get some exercise and avoid raking leaves into huge pyramids. You can also hire professional help.
