Landscaping Can Help Tame Fall Energy Costs
Fall is upon us, and that means some landscaping tasks around your home are about to become much more important. This is the time of year where your garden is looking its best and crops are ripe for the plucking, but you’ll also have to contend with armies of fallen leaves once autumn fully arrives!
While landscaping during the fall can be a chore, the season can see your energy bill beginning to climb higher, compared to the rest of the year. However, there is something that can be done! There are several ways that you can adjust your landscaping habits to save energy around your home to make those beautiful autumn months better on your wallet.
Wind flow
Wind flow is important because it can block cold winds during the winter, thereby decreasing the amount of money you must spend on fall and winter heating costs. There are several ways that you can use wind flow, and other such techniques, to position the landscaping elements of your yard in such a way that your heating costs will decrease.
For instance, if you plant evergreen trees in your yard to block the northwest winter winds, you can cut your heating costs by up to 25 percent! Another great way to lower your heating bills is to ensure that the lawn on the south side of your home has open areas where snow can collect. Sunlight will reflect off this snow onto your house, providing a natural source of extra warmth!
Watering plants
The simple way to decrease your water usage is to water your plants in the morning, when evaporation rates are low. This will keep you from having to use extra water to gain the same results.
Leaf management
Leaves become quite troublesome during autumn, so having an efficient leaf management strategy is important to keep you from wasting extra time and energy on landscaping. Here are some best practices for dealing with fallen leaves in your yard:
- Rake up your leaves at least once per week, making an effort keep them away from your driveway and walkways. Not only can excessive leaves pile up and obscure these paths, they can also become dangerous slipping hazards when wet.
- A light amount of leaves can be mowed over, ideally with a mulching lawn mower, and left on your lawn. This is the simplest way to deal with leaves, but only works if you’re dealing with a small amount of leaves at a time. If you can stay on top of your mowing, then this will be an easy solution. However, if you are dealing with a large quantity of leaves, it is recommended that you mow your lawn with a mulching lawn mower that has a bagging attachment. This bagging attachment will collect the shredded leaves, which you can then use as mulch.
- Mulch is a natural source of fertilizer that provides nutrients to the rest of the plants on your property as the mulch decays. You can use this free source of mulch as fertilizer around your trees or in your garden. As a result, you’ll save the money that you would have normally spent on mulch or fertilizer at the hardware store!
- Lastly, you can compost your leaves; click here if you are interesting in learning how to do so properly!
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