My favourite clean up tool is the good old spring tine rake, american style. I CANNOT find its equivalent in Tasmania, all their rakes are s**t...I brought mine with me from Bermuda
I used to swear by the flat sided 30gallon Rubbermaid trash bucket, flop it down, rake stuff in and swing it up on your back..ta-da..
Blower= lazy man's rake!
Prepare for blower rant, sorry, but it is directed more at landscapers, not tree work cleanup...
They are so misused in Bermuda, they blow EVERYTHING with them flowerbeds, lawns, borders, everything, and it removes all the fine soil, leading to erosion, exposure of roots, the list goes on, I can see using one for wood chips and hard surfaces but I actually hate them!
I often get asked why the grass is so thin and patchy under trees (trees with plenty of light getting through), but the landscrapers mow, then blow all the leaves, grass clippings away with no regard for the soil...it drives me bats!
One property where I work, every morning the flowers from the spanish oleander have fallen onto the flagstone path that is set in loose sand, precisely at 11 am the gardener comes with the blower to remove the flowers. He wonders why there is no sand left between the pavers...then the property manager broke her ankle because she turned it off the edge of the paver where the sand fill had been blown away.
Around the corner, lily turf is supposed to be growing between volcanic slab pavers...nope, eroded, moss covered soil with a few paltry sprigs of lily grass...F(*&king blower!
Give me the zen of a rake and a broom (unless there's a pile of leaves and twigs on a drive, then I'll ask to borrow yer blower mate
