Sycamore Leaves Everywhere

Many of my Neighbors Have Sycamore Trees

When I walk down to get the mail or even go into my own yard, there are sycamore leaves everywhere at this time of year. These were in a neighbor's yard.

It almost goes without saying that the sidewalks will be full of leaves. So are the gutters beside the curb.

Girl Walking Dogs on the Sycamore Leaf-Strewn Sidewalk, © B. Radisavljevic

The sycamore trees in the yards blow leaves onto and into the hedges and shrubs. You can see that below. They also wander onto the sidewalks and collect beside the curbs where the cars park.

Leaves under Sycamore Tree, © B. Radisavljevic

 I have a sycamore tree next door and another almost right across the street, so the leaves are always blowing into my yard. I had to get me a pair of these leaf grabbers to get them out of my flowerbeds. They go where my rakes can't.


See what I mean? A normal leaf rake would be too wide and need to scrape from the bottom. They are great for the lawn and sidewalks, but not not so great among the flowers and herbs.

Leaves around my Scabiosa Flower and Herb Bed, © B. Radisavljevic

Leaves around my Gazanias and Herbs, © B. Radisavljevic

I guess that's why some people get leaf blowers, but I hate the noise they make. They just blow the leaves somewhere else where they may make your neighbors mad, or they could even come back to you if the wind changes. If you don't care about all that and just want the convenience, this is a good one.


If you don't want to bend over and you don't like the noise of the power leaf blowers, this might help you. It reaches into those hard places and brings them out where you can get them without tromping on your flowers.


Not all leaves are as easy to reach as those Mother Nature lets land on top of shrubs and hedges, like this juniper.

Sycamore Leaves on Juniper Bush, © B. Radisavljevic

Juniper, holly, and some other bushes where leaves land can be prickly and not much fun to touch while you are getting the leaves off them and into your bag. Of course, gloves can also help with that. And you can use them when you prune your roses, too.


The grabbers are especially useful for grabbing sycamore and other really large leaves that tend to stick in the tines of rakes. You can also use them to drop leaves directly into a bag or can easily. I even use them on the lawn when too many blow leaves blow over from nextdoor.

It's Time to Tackle those Leaves, Sycamore or Not

I hope the tool suggestions above will help you if you've been using your old leaf rake forever and want something that works better. Since I hate the noise, I use the grabbers. They would help free this baby oak from the mulberry, oak, and sycamore leaves almost covering it.

Autumn Leaves Smothering Baby Oak Tree, © B. Radisavljevic

Rakes are useful in cleaning up the gutters beside the curb -- until you get to the parked cars.

Sycamore Leaves on Sidewalk and Gutter around Car Tire,  © B. Radisavljevic

Those sycamore leaves really do go everywhere.

Do you have a sycamore tree in your yard? Does a close neighbor have one? How do you deal with the leaves?


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