Keeping a clean property is half of the battle when it comes to landscaping. If your goal is to show off your well-maintained property, filled with beautiful enhancements, dirt and debris can be a hindrance to its beauty. All of the properties you will find shown off in magazines, or even in the gallery of our work on our website, will be clean. This is the common denominator, and cleanliness is necessary if your landscape is to be respected. One of the most common culprits in Pittsburgh, especially come fall, is leaves. Well out of your control, they are sure to fall off the trees and cover your lawn. Cleaning them up might not seem like a pressing issue, but here are some of the benefits of leaf removal this fall.
Mitigating Risk: Preventing Disease
Surprisingly enough, letting leaves sit atop your lawn is not as harmless as it may seem. Excess leaves in your landscape actually create a ripe environment for disease to both invade and spread. Leaves are often thick and wet, trapping the moisture that disease needs to thrive. On top of pure lawn disease, fungi and mold can both become prevalent in lawn leaf buildup. The last thing you need in your yard is a layer of mold thrown up into the air every time leaves are trampled or kicked around.
Leaves Prevent Nutrient Acquisition
Another hindrance that leaves create in sitting atop your turf is their blockage of nutrients from reaching your soil. Firstly, sunlight is prevented from reaching your turf blades, robbing them of one of their most needed nutrients. Moisture is also left at uncontrolled levels, as leaves can both trap too much moisture underneath and create a soggy mess, or keep moisture out like a layer of thatch. Oxygen intake could even be hindered if the layer of leaves is thick enough.
Recycle Leaves into Compost
Your turf needs nutrients to grow. These come from the natural environment, and from synthetic fertilization where nutrients are injected directly into the soil. Dream Greener recommends that our clients acquire nutrients for their turf in a couple of additional ways. Composting is one of those methods, as it is both cheap and effective. It is the gathering of organic material that would otherwise be trash, such as food scraps, dead plant material, and shredded newspaper. Leaves are a great addition to a compost pile, so when you have leaves removed, you can let them decompose into your soil as a part of that compost.
Improved Property Aesthetics
One huge benefit of leaf removal this fall is that your property will look clean. Yes, this comes with a myriad of functional benefits, but you can also expect an aesthetically pleasing property. When every other lawn on the block is covered in dead leaves, yours will look nicely manicured in comparison. If you are a commercial property manager, this could give off the impression of care, and drive potential customers to your business.
Dream Greener Lawn & Landscape is led by a staff of service experts, each with ten years or more of professional experience, focused exclusively on lawn care & maintenance, landscaping, and snow & ice management. Locally owned and operated, we are proud to serve the greater Pittsburgh area. Give us a call today at (412) 835-1035.
