Fall Yard Cleanup in Portland: What to Do Before the Rain Sets In

Every October in Portland goes the same way. The leaves drop, the rain shows up, and within a couple of weeks everything on your lawn is a wet, matted layer that blocks light and holds moisture right against the grass. By February you’ve got bare patches and moss where your lawn used to be.

A good fall cleanup prevents most of that. Here’s what it should actually include.

1. Get the leaves off the lawn, more than once

One big leaf pickup in November isn’t enough in the Portland area. Maples, oaks, and birches drop over several weeks, and a lawn buried for three weeks under wet leaves takes real damage. The goal is to keep the turf clear through the whole drop, not just clean it up at the end.

Leaves in beds are a different story. A light layer in shrub beds can break down and feed the soil. Thick piles against plant crowns or up against your foundation should go.

2. Clean out the beds

Pull the summer annuals that are done. Clear out weeds before they set seed and come back twice as strong in spring. Rake out the debris that collects under shrubs, because that’s where slugs spend the winter.

3. Cut back the right things (and leave the rest)

Perennials that turn to mush after the first frost, like hostas and daylilies, are worth cutting back now. Ornamental grasses and sturdy seed heads can stay through winter. They look good, and they give birds something to work on. Save hard pruning on most shrubs for late winter, when plants are dormant.

4. Keep the drainage flowing

Clear leaves out of drains, catch basins, and the low spots where water already pools. Clay soil east of Portland doesn’t drain well to begin with, and a clogged drain turns into standing water by December.

5. Final mow

Keep mowing as long as the grass is growing, which in our climate often runs into November. Don’t scalp it on the last cut. Grass that’s too short going into winter is an open invitation for moss.

6. Refresh bark and mulch

A fresh layer of bark in the fall insulates roots, cuts down winter weeds, and keeps the beds from looking washed out all season. It’s also the easiest way to make a yard look finished going into the holidays.

When to get it done

The sweet spot is mid-October through November, once most leaves are down but before the heavy rain packs everything flat. Waiting until December usually means a bigger, wetter, more expensive job.

Doing it yourself vs. hiring it out

A small yard with one or two trees is a weekend project. A bigger lot, mature trees, or a yard that got away from you over the summer is where a crew earns its money, mostly because of the debris. Hauling away several yards of wet leaves and trimmings is the part nobody wants to do.

We run hourly cleanup packages with a four-person crew:

• 1 hour: $895, including 2 yards of debris removal
• 2 hours: $1,195
• 4 hours: $1,995

Our maintenance clients don’t have to think about this at all. Debris cleanup happens every visit, and we use electric blowers, so your neighbors won’t hate you at 8 a.m.

Get on the schedule

Fall cleanup slots fill fast once the leaves start dropping. Call us at (503) 780-3599 or email office@hlmaintenance.com. We serve Gresham, Happy Valley, Troutdale, and the Portland metro, and we respond within two hours during business hours.

If you’d rather never think about fall cleanup again, take a look at what professional landscape maintenance in Portland actually includes.

— The Hillside Team