This is the oak tree that sits in the middle of my mother’s yard.
It’s amazing.
And majestic.
And a symbol of all that is good and right with the plant world.
Every year beautiful leaves fill these branches and shade the yard and provide shelter from the harsh Texas sun.
And then?
All those leaves? They fall to the ground and cover every square inch of the yard. They stack up behind the bench on the porch and the corner of the house and the edge of the beds. And the best part? They bring their acorn friends with them. Hundreds and hundreds of acorns fall and cover the yard and all the flower beds. You literally cannot walk one inch without stepping on one. It’s like a couple of acorns showed up and they brought their family tree.
No pun intended.
My mother tries to keep up. Truly, she does. But those leaves and those acorns? They require expert help. As so, today I’m teaming up with one of my favorite sponsors, Greenworks, to clean out the flower beds in my mother’s yard and celebrate spring by giving away three $300 Lowe’s gift cards.
Here are my mother’s flower beds.
See what I mean?
You probably thought the acorns were the mulch.
Most of the leaves and acorns were already cleaned out of the yard.
But the flower beds?
They needed a little help.
They have random leaves tucked up underneath the bushes and around the edges of the house.
And on her front porch.
These are extra leaves that blew up here from the flower beds with all the winds we’ve had lately.
The goal is to get all these leaves and acorns cleaned out of the beds so we can help with spring planting and put down new mulch.
It’s kind of like cleaning up your house before you get new furniture.
Enter this amazing 60-volt blower from Greenworks.
It’s so easy to use because there are no cords and no messy gas because it runs on a 2.5 AH Battery. We charged it up before we used it and it never needed to be charged the entire time we used it on the yard. It actually can run up to 45 minutes on low speed if the battery is fully charged.
It was so easy to start with a simple push button and weighs less than 8 pounds, so it’s super lightweight.
The handle made it so easy to carry and it blew the leaves right out of the bed.
It really worked well to clean all the leaves out of the bed.
And the best part?
It loosened up all the acorns, too and made them so much easier to clean up.
We then took a broom and dustpan and just swept up all the loose acorns out of the flower beds.
And now?
My mother’s flower beds look like this.
And this.
And her front porch looks like this.
My mother is going to be so happy when she gets home from work.
We’re surprising her.
Shhhhh….
I knew the flower beds were bothering her and I didn’t want her to worry. I think she was fretting about the leaves and the acorns and wasn’t sure how she was going to take care of it all.
But now?
The flower beds are springy and clean and happy and acorn-free.
At least until next year. 🙂
disclosure: This post was sponsored by Greenworks Tools.
All opinions are my own.
Please see my advertising page for more information.
Impressive! We struggle with the same problem.
Waaaaah!!!!! I LOVE your blog! But I no likely Instagram or Facebook or Twitter!!!! Call me weird!! I hate social media!!!!!! Oh well. Good luck other peeps..........
I'm with Debbie. Thanks anyway.
The before pictures look exactly like my yard!! And did the blower take care of the acorns but left the mulch in place?
Jeanette, The blower took out the leaves ASAP and loosened up the acorns from the dirt. Then we swept them up with a broom and dustpan and left the mulch! Does that make sense? Happy day friend! karianne
I guess I did it right. Thanks KariAnne! My other problem is the squirrels think the acorns are in the pots so they dig holes in them.....Yeah!
Loved the videos! Thanks for sharing the contest,too! We’re buried in leaves and twigs in our mulch, too! Looking forward to actually being outside cleaning up the yard because that means spring is near!
Oh I love a good yard cleaning and porch story. It is so wonderful to get everything all ready and fresh for summer fun and porch sitting. I have never heard of sweeping acorns with a broom. I will definitely try that tip. P.S. How did I miss your birthday last week?????I hope you are still celebrating !
We have two huge oak trees right next to our driveway. Buckets of acorns every summer thru fall. And in the flower beds. I'll try sweeping them but I hate disturbing the mulch. Why didn't someone plant maples??! I feel your pain!
I love your blog, but I live in Wyoming and we have arctic cold fronts that chill you to the bone right now. Your post makes me yearn for Spring even more.
Oh, wouldn't I love one of the Greenworks blowers to help simplify my life (& without smelly gas fumes!). And.....I'm drooling over the wall hangings, the bench, and that darling side table on your mother's porch -- I can't even... I shall start my hunt for similar treasures. 😊😍
We have two huge Hickory Nut Trees (we call 'em "Hickernuts" around here, LOL) that drop huge nuts. I bought one of those little rolly things that pick them up and it's AMAZING!! Might be a good addition to your blower! ;)
Regina, what "rolly thing" are you talking about? We get beech nuts in our yard, and they are the worst (and yes, I have experienced acorns and hickory tree nuts!). They are small and pointy and prickly. Wondering if your tool would help us out? BTW, I grew up in a woods with hickory trees. I miss the nuts--they were tasty (but yes, you could sprain an ankle if you stepped on them).
I must have one of these. I have mounds of acorns.
Seriously laughing... a broom in the flower bed. A Must Try~ If only all those Water Oak leaves weren't so teeny tiny.
My parents too with the acorns, the acorns would then attract the deer and they would have a whole herd of deer in their yard...in town, it was beautiful, but the deer would tear up their grass. We now collect the acorns and feed them to our pigs, but not everyone has that luxury! What a nice surprise for your mom!
Have the same problem in Massachusetts- its those pesky acorns hidden under plants!!!!! Glad the blower works to get the leaves out so you can see the acorns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your mom will be so happy to have it all cleaned up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You get the fabulous daughter star!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would like to see a giveaway for people who don't like social media. Not everyone has the time or inclination to use it; call me old-fashioned. I am not on Instagram but would like a chance to win a gift card to Lowe's! It is surprising that a blower would be powerful enough to remove leaves but not disturb the mulch - I wonder if it is because it is a smaller blower than usual?
I don't do Instagram or Facebook . (:
PLEASE ENTER ME.....COMPUTER ILLITERARE....DON'T HAVE INSTAGRAM
I’m with Debbie, Penny, Janis...and especially Judith. Penalized from giveaways because we don’t care to join the social media sites like Instagram, which it seems bloggers want to use for all their giveaways these days.
I AM WITH DEBBIE, PENNY AND JANIS....WOULD LOVE TO ENTER....FOLLOW YOU ALL THE TIME...I BLOWER WOULD BE WONDERFUL FOR ME....AT 80 RAKING IS GETTING A BIT TIRESOME...PLEASE REPLY WHETHER GOOD OR BAD...LOVE
Hi KariAnne! Susan from Between Naps on the Porch had the same problem only on her lawn. Halloween was coming up and she didn't want the kids to slip and fall so she actually vacumned them up! That was a new one for me! We have a lovely oak tree that shades our deck. Every once in a while, we get nailed on the head with a acorn! Have a wonderful day.
Hi Karianne! Wanna know what makes those gnarly acorns even worse? You can’t walk barefoot on them! We have huge oak trees and more acorns than we can count. We pick the leaves up with our bagger after they all fall and leave the acorns for the squirrels, lol. We have lots of squirrels.....and rabbits, and deer, and gators, and snakes. LOL! That was so sweet of you to do that for your Momma! I sure hope when the time comes for me to move up near my son, that he will come blow my leaves and sweep my acorns. Your dear Mother is going to be sooooooo grateful you did that for her. Trust me, I know. Enjoy your week you thoughtful daughter. 😊
I always look forward to entering your giveaways! My husband and I are wrapping up 63 days of moving our household closer to our grandchildren. As senior citizens this is quite a task. We are trying not to get discouraged and each day move more items and become more settled in our new home. Larger yard....more dirt....more leaves....this is a great and timely item. I am looking forward to planting flowers to brighten up the drab appearing of the front of the house. Thanks for all your inspiration.
I love that you are working on Spring clean-up outdoor projects. It will be awhile for us. As I sit here in my comfy chair, enjoying my morning coffee, I am looking at about 20" of snow in my yard! It is beautiful. And the sun is shining:)
I would love to be entered in the giveaway but I don't have Social Media accounts.
Wow, love this tool. Not using Instagram right now...I have alllll the social media I can handle. But good luck to others.
What a nice daughter you are!! Your mother must have been thrilled!!! xoxo
Karianne, I feel your mother’s frustration with oaks. The house I moved into a few yrs. ago is my first experience with them. (In fact, the trees were something I fell in love with when I saw the house.) Red oaks’ acorns are easier to pick up by hand but Live oaks are a real terror. Leaves are another story! I love my trees, 17 in all, but they ARE work. I’m glad the blower method worked for you. Now if someone could figure out a way to vacuum my yard!!!
No social media here but enjoyed your post today.
I saw a place once that used pinecones as the mulch, the whole flower bed was pinecones and it was SO PRETTY! I wonder what that would look like with acorns.
Karianne, can you send those acorns my way? LOL! Instead of throwing them all away I have a great post on what to do with all those acorns! Last year I used them to create the most darling Christmas tree ornaments and I also use them as a natural filler in glass jars and bowls around my house. They make such lovely nature inspired accents for your home! If you are interested in how to do it, you can check it out at https://naturewayblog.com/how-to-turn-acorns-into-beautiful-decor-for-your-home/.
You are a great daughter, KariAnne.