Rake? Heck, I didn't even mow the lawn this year. It got long, fell over, thatched. Didn't go to seed, didn't look bad enough for the condo neighbors to complain. As for raking, I just scoop up the piles of leaves on the carriage walk and dump them into any areas in my Uptown native parkway and front-yard gardens that the Norway maple ha…
Rake? Heck, I didn't even mow the lawn this year. It got long, fell over, thatched. Didn't go to seed, didn't look bad enough for the condo neighbors to complain. As for raking, I just scoop up the piles of leaves on the carriage walk and dump them into any areas in my Uptown native parkway and front-yard gardens that the Norway maple hasn't already dropped on. I came to terms with the non-native maple a long time ago--it's the shade in my shade garden, and it's a mature tree providing important ecosystem benefits; it gets the same care as my beloved old catalpa. The catalpa leaves decompose nicely; as mentioned by another person, the Norway maple leaves turn into a gloppy mat that has to be peeled off in spring once frost danger passes. I used to be able to get oak leaves, which I put through a leaf chopper for all the woodland natives. I leave the coneflowers, rudbeckia, liatris and other tall perennials as long as they're standing (or can be propped up to look presentable to the neighbors) to provide food and shelter for overwintering vertebrate and invertebrate wildlife. But it's not all hands-off. I spent the warm days this week watering one last time, especially the foundation evergreens that predate the native garden and mulching more.
Rake? Heck, I didn't even mow the lawn this year. It got long, fell over, thatched. Didn't go to seed, didn't look bad enough for the condo neighbors to complain. As for raking, I just scoop up the piles of leaves on the carriage walk and dump them into any areas in my Uptown native parkway and front-yard gardens that the Norway maple hasn't already dropped on. I came to terms with the non-native maple a long time ago--it's the shade in my shade garden, and it's a mature tree providing important ecosystem benefits; it gets the same care as my beloved old catalpa. The catalpa leaves decompose nicely; as mentioned by another person, the Norway maple leaves turn into a gloppy mat that has to be peeled off in spring once frost danger passes. I used to be able to get oak leaves, which I put through a leaf chopper for all the woodland natives. I leave the coneflowers, rudbeckia, liatris and other tall perennials as long as they're standing (or can be propped up to look presentable to the neighbors) to provide food and shelter for overwintering vertebrate and invertebrate wildlife. But it's not all hands-off. I spent the warm days this week watering one last time, especially the foundation evergreens that predate the native garden and mulching more.