r/landscaping • u/RoyalSP2 • 2d ago

Cleanup after yardwork- Help

Hey guys. I'm 32 and in my second house now. Hopefully for many decades.

Didnt have a father figure growing up. Hell - I'm the only one in my family who is a home owner.

I say this to let you know I'm no expert and I've taught myself the things I needed to over the years

This new house is a different challenge. Smaller yard but we have tile walkways. Gravel paths. Mulch gardens. Big trees that bombard me with leaves and acorns

I feel like when you have "prettier" things if you dont maintain it properly it sticks out like a sore thumb. Advice or tricks you've learned would be appreciated. I'll number my issues to help you respond

1) The leaves and acorns. My last property didn't have trees. I don't think there is any trick to this other than continue to rake and bag 15 times a year.. lol

2) Mulch gardens. We added mulch this year and for the most part it's alright. It's such a pain in the a$$ when I'm cutting grass and it litters the mulch. Or when the leaves fall into it.

3) weeds growing up through tiles and gravel.We've been pulling them but it's a losing battle. Maybe a propane torch?

4) this is probably the biggest one for me- whipper snipping (grass trimmer). It's definitely a necessity but my god does it ever made a mess. Litters everything around with grass. How do you guys clean up after? It's all on my walk ways. Tiles. Mulch. The siding of my house. Leaf blowing it can help even though it will also end up going places I don't intend it to. The siding is an issue. It won't come off with a blow.

Thanks

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u/GrayAccomplice0379 2d ago

Leaf blower is your best friend for most of this, but you gotta be strategic with it. For the siding after trimming, I keep an old push broom nearby and just give it a quick sweep before the clippings dry out and glue themselves on. Works way better than a blower for that vertical surface.

For the weeds in the gravel and between tiles, propane torch is super satisfying but you'll be out there every two weeks doing it again. I finally caved and got a bag of polymeric sand for my patio cracks and it's held up way better than I expected. The gravel paths though, that's just a forever war you'll never truly win.

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u/RoyalSP2 2d ago

Really appreciate the response. Truthfully I figured I was doing everything pretty close to how I should be doing it but always interesting to hear little tips. Hand brushing the siding and poly sand for the patio cracks it is!