Is That a Pumpkin Spice in Your Hand, or Are You Just Happy to See Fall?

Spring Cleaning gets all the attention. At that time of year, new plants bloom, baby animals are being born, and the weather is starting to warm up…so who wants to clean? No way: fall cleanup is where it’s at!

To most homeowners and the casual landscaper, seasonal cleanup most likely conjures images of bagging up leaves, especially in the fall, but fall cleanup is so much more! A time to prepare your landscape for the next season and close out the last one while enjoying the mildest weather we’ve had in a while – count in Wheaton’s!

What is Seasonal Cleanup?

Seasonal cleanup is at its most basic, getting rid of what’s no longer helpful from your landscape from the previous season to prepare your landscape for the new season! It’s all about getting rid of the old to make room for the new. From a practical standpoint, that also means taking care of all the little tasks that aren’t included in regular landscaping.

Why Fall Cleanup?

Summer is one of the most verdant seasons. But, unfortunately, it’s also one of the most active landscaping tasks. So, whether you’re a vegetable grower, a flower enthusiast, or just someone who enjoys a good ol’ green lawn, the summer is an active season for your yard.

As a result, when summer ends, there’s a lot to do! In addition to what’s left over from summer, there’s everyone’s favorite fall feature: foliage!

What is Involved in Fall Cleanup?

The most apparent fall task is leaf collection, but there’s much more to it. What more, you ask?

Fall cleanup is very involved, time-consuming, and detail-oriented. We go over the entire property and remove whatever you don’t need.

Fall back and listen up.

Leaf Collection

Every fall, the leaves die and pile up on the ground. It’s beautiful! But not for long.

While the vivid autumn color scheme is enjoyable at first, those leaves don’t stay in those autumnal tones, and as they dull, they also break down all along the way, blocking water and nutrients from reaching your plants!

So if you’ve ever wondered if collecting leaves was necessary, there’s your answer!

In addition to blocking the nutrients mentioned above, leaves can trap moisture between them and the ground. The trapped water can create mold and other lawn diseases, destroying your grass’s and other plants’ health.

Because leaves aren’t super cooperative about when they choose to fall, you may want to schedule your leaf cleanup in stages, one at the end of fall and one around now that you can include with your other fall cleanup tasks.

Other Debris

Even outside of fall, plants are constantly shedding parts. Trees lose branches. Flowers die and lose petals, and grass clippings collect on the lawn.

All this plant debris causes the same issue that the dead leaves on the lawn – trapping moisture and blocking the good stuff from nourishing your plants.

Removing Dead Plants

With summer ending, all the annuals you planted are either at the end of their lifecycles or about to get there. So now it’s time to remove those dead plants that are just taking up space unless you like having a plant graveyard.

Deadheading and Pruning

Even the plants that haven’t died need some maintenance. For example, flowers have spent their blooms and need to be removed. In addition, you may have unhealthy areas of your other plants that need removal before they get the rest of your plants sick.

In addition, trees lose branches and need a trim before they get weighed down with snow over the winter. Again, it’s better to control the branch loss rather than let them play out independently.

General Check Up

While reviewing your property, it’s a great time to check on the health of everything growing. Then we can figure out what needs amending.

Closing

Fall cleanup is so important to your yard and much more than leaf collection! While you may be tempted to make it a do-it-yourself project, there are good reasons to let the pros (like Wheatons) do it for you.

We have the experience and the equipment. It’s not impossible to do it independently, but it’s time-consuming and requires much detailed work. Is that how you want to spend this gorgeous season?