Do you rake or vacuum?

Autumn is in full swing, and the leaves are rapidly changing from luscious shades of green, to a combination of fiery reds, oranges and yellows.

Autumn leaves start out beautiful, but eventually they fall and become a bit of a mess on the lawn. Leaf clearing-up is not a chore most gardeners look forward to.  Just as you gather them together in a nice big pile, the wind whips up and scatters them once again!

At this time of the year we are faced with the option of either leaving all the fallen leaves until the trees are bare, or clearing them up as they fall.

So what do you do?  Do you do little and often or wait and do one job at the end of the season?  Do you rake, sweep, vacuum or blow?  What do you do with all those fallen leaves – bonfire, compost or recycle?