Just mention the word “autumn” and images of brightly coloured leaves dancing in a crisp breeze jump to mind. So does the image of those leaves falling gracefully to the ground covering your lawn and garden potentially leaving an unsightly mess. In nature, these leaves would slowly decay on the forest floor, returning vital nutrients to the earth. But left on drives, path and patios they become a slippery mat. Left on your lawn, they can smother and kill your grass.
The fact is fallen leaves create a barrier over the lawn. A leaf mat traps moisture, inhibits sunlight and harbours insects and diseases that can kill patches of even the healthiest grass. Sometimes Mother Nature lends a helping hand by blowing a sweeping breeze that carries your leaves over to the neighbour’s garden. But beware: That same breeze is probably blowing more leaves onto your lawn too.
The best advice is to remove leaves regularly throughout autumn to avoid damage. Leaving the leaves on the lawn until they’ve finally all fallen from the trees may seem like a good way to deal with the problem, but it isn’t. The longer leaves lay around and the thicker they accumulate the greater the damage that could occur to your grass. Regular raking and mowing/mulching are the best ways to ensure a healthy lawn come spring.
If you do run into problems, don’t despair we can help.