Fall cleanup is more than just leaves, leaves and more leaves. Gutters, dead branches, and other maintenance is important for keeping our biggest asset safe. Keep in mind concrete and walkway fixes need to be done before late fall due to curing times and frost.
Better to prep now than to try to do it all in the spring with frozen leaf ice chunks thawing when the tulips are trying to come up.
Whether residential or commercial, the fall landscaping checklists are mostly the same:
Walkway Maintenance
Are walkways heaving or cracked? This will make it very difficult to shovel snow and are tripping hazards in the winter, and it won’t get any better by spring! Best to deal with it now as products like concrete takes time to cure and needs a specific drying temperature (30 days to cure or more). Flag stone or interlocking needs to be dealt with before a frost. Best to find a local contractor and remedy this in late summer as landscapers’ schedules can be tight in the fall.
Gutter Cleaning
Clogged eaves troughs can create all kinds of problems, not only with the foundation due to the overflowing of water, but in winter, all that melting snow will end up on the sidewalk making it potentially treacherous as it thaws and freezes or pooling close to the house.
Flowerbed Cleanup
Tilling or Pulling out Annuals Mulching, pitching weeds that came out of nowhere , getting rid of caught debris that has blown in from litter bugs, additional mulching and winter covering as needed. Since perennials will be going dormant, no need for fertilizer pellets until the spring.
Pruning Shrubs
Shrubs often grow great lengths during Ontario summer months, and sometimes get a little out of hand, or grow in awkward ways or directions. An attentive pruning will do wonders, and burlap up the sensitive ones closer to the end of fall. Want a fuller look? Planting shrubs in the early fall can give them a head start by spring. Drain out irrigation lines and garden hoses as well.
Pruning Trees
Trees that have died throughout the summer, or have had issues in the past and now have dead branches should be pruned, such that when the fall winds come, there aren’t branches strewn around making the job bigger, or a tree landing on you or your neighbour’s house or yard. Not to mention the snow weight, later in the winter. Lots of reasons to do this now!
Final Lawn Cut
You can cut the lawn a little shorter once the summer heat has passed – this will help leaves blow past your lawn instead of sticking to it. Grass on the other hand can handle a fertilizer and seeding in fall. The final lawn cut can be 1 ¼ inches in late fall. If water is pooling, the lawn in those sections likely needs to be aerated. Aerating in the fall, those plugs will likely break down by spring.
Outdoor Lighting
Not Christmas lights just yet, however autumn brings dark evenings earlier. Checking general lighting fixtures and bulbs for safety and security reasons is just smart. Winter can be slippery and good visibility on walkways and trees will go a long way to keep your family and visitors safe and sound.
Leaves, Leaves and more Leaves
If you have a large property, blowing or raking the leaves onto tarps is one of the quickest and most efficient ways of removing them.
Another alternate on large acreages is to mulch them with the riding mower on the highest height moving them to the edge of the property, safely – leaves are flammable be sure they do not get near the motor or get clogged or heated in the mower deck!
The little bits of leaf mulch can add nutrients into the soil – too leaf debris left over though and they will mat and become leaf icicles and block spring growth! Or you can create a compost space in the corner of the property for leaves to decay naturally. This will be black gold compost in a year or so. The pile will likely need to be turned with a pitch fork every week or so.
Deck Sealing
Does the deck need to be stained or sealed? No sense it rotting away year after year, a little effort now will likely save a full redo later.
Pool Maintenance
Removing floating debris with a net, using the pool vacuum to clean the bottom, balancing the water chemistry and adding algaecide, lowering the water and closing valves, the draining and winterizing the lines, filling the skimmer line with antifreeze, adding a skimmer guard to prevent ice forming and creating costly repairs. Adding a winter cover.
About Our Property Maintenance Services:
Residential Services:
Fall landscaping checklist seem to daunting?
Got too much on the go? Need a hand at your home or vacation property? We’re here to help in any and all seasons that suit you, including snow removal and walkways when the time comes.
Commercial Lawn Maintenance & Snow Removal:
Keeping your commercial property looking crisp, clean and safe all year round is paramount to keeping aesthetics as high as the quality of goods or services provided.
We are here for every season and can do as much or as little as you need, including spring cleanup, grass cutting, summer lawn maintenance, parking lot cleaning & leaf blowing, winter snowplowing, shoveling, sanding and salting services.
Our large service area and abundant professional staff ensure your residential and commercial, warehouses, retail shopping centres, rental homes and medical centers will be kept looking their very best and serviced efficiently.
Having our company close by to your company is imperative when weather changes drastically.
You don’t want to wait for another company to trek in from far away and your customers waiting extensive periods of time to access your facility. We are here right when you need us!
Contact us today at 905-775-5771 for a free estimate!
Service Area includes: Newmarket, Aurora and Bradford.