Post a Comment On: Rotary Botanical Gardens - Hort Blog

[Image] Nice fall color of the native arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum 'Blue Muffin') above. This viburnum has nice white flower clusters, followed by clusters of blue berries and then this nice fall color. Arrowwood viburnums vary greatly in regards to fall color (by variety). Very little rain this weekend although today is very breezy and cold. Not a great day to do too much outside but I did manage to compost all my container planting yesterday. The title of today's blog is in reference to the prevalent use of leaf blowers this time of year. My neighbor fired his up this morning and spent three hours blowing leaves to the curb while 30 mph gusts added a bit of difficulty to that task (and my confusion as to why anyone would try to pile loose leaves...) Dozens of neighbors have been out every weekend doing the same thing. Gas powered, two-stroke engine leaf blowers are particularly bad in terms of pollution although today, the noise was the most bothersome. We have leaf blowers at Rotary Gardens but don't use them for leaf collection. We just use them on Friday afternoons to tidy up outdoor wedding sites. I've compiled some interesting information about leaf blowers that everyone should know. Nice image of the annual, purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Atrosanguineum') at the bottom.

Leaf blowers were developed and introduced by Japanese engineers in the early 1970s
Over 2 million leaf blowers are sold every year (figure from 2001)
Leaf blowers are currently unregulated in terms of emissions until 2011 as the EPA has finally released new guidelines for leaf blower emissions (35% reduction in emissions)
Leaf blowers alone create 2.6 million tons of carbon dioxide each year and burn the equivalent of 6.4 million barrels of oil
30 minutes of blower use is the equivalent (in terms of pollutant emissions) as driving a car 7700 miles at 30 mph. 1 hour of usage is the same as driving 17 cars for that same duration
Emissions from leaf blowers also include benzene, 1,3-butadiene, acetaldehyde and formaldehyde
Leaf blowers don't just blow leaves, they whip up dirt, dust, and other particulate matter including pesticides, chemicals, fungi, fecal matter, fertilizers and spores.
The noise (decibels) of leaf blowers can be detrimental to both the operator and non-consenting citizens in the area of usage
What every happened to good old leaf raking and the exercise (burns 240 calories per hour)? [Image]