Houston is hands down the most incredible city in the U. S. What other city can handle space travel, shipping, oil, electronics, entrepreneurship, and the real clincher, foreign banks, business, and trading? More business headquarters, foreign and domestic, call Houston home than you can shake a stick at.
Houston has an interesting history. It's been embroiled in several wars, been apart for a short time as the Republic of Texas (or its own country,) and today is number six on the Top 100 list of biggest cities.
With all this and more going for it, how do you suppose leaf removal from lawns throughout Houston's history has been accomplished? Leaf removal is vital for grass in so many ways. Just one of them is keeping eagle-eyed homeowners associations pleased with your lawn.
Why It Was Named Houston
The city began its life in 1826 as Harrisburg. Ten years later, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna chased Sam Houston through it, burning it to the ground. Houston retaliated a month later in April of 1836. The Mexican army paid a heavy price for the Alamo, Harrisburg, and all the harassment and trouble. In the end, they ultimately lost their commanding general to Sam Houston.
Sam Houston was elected the first president of the Republic of Texas and took up the reins of government in the city. Two years later in 1839, the government took itself off to Austin, the capital of Texas, and remained there.
History of Houston
In 1832, before the Mexican War happened, people were snatching up as many land grants as fast as they could. The Allen brothers, John and Augustus, snatched up theirs intending to establish their own city. It was built on a flat, marshy surface on the west bank of Buffalo Bayou, a sluggish stream that wandered south towards Galveston.
It may not have looked like much, this muddy marsh, but you couldn't tell by the plethora of shacks, lean-tos, tents, and even a couple proper houses that sprang up. Paddle wheelers and freight trains brought timber, flowers, fruits and vegetables, cotton and pelts from the country into town on their way to Galveston for shipping.
Commerce grew exponentially. By 1891, 12 rail lines converged in Houston. When a dock was built in 1840, the residents called it the "Port of Houston." When Galveston was wiped out by a hurricane in 1900, Houston stepped up its game. The Buffalo Bayou was dredged and widened, thus taking up the shipping slack.
The discovery of oil in 1901 moved Houston away from the cotton and lumber business and catapulted it into the Industrial Revolution with a vengeance. The Houston Ship Channel was completed in 1914, which led the way to oil refineries being established along its banks.
Following WWII, Houston saw growth in many industries including aerospace, electronics, health care, medical research, education, and the arts. Today, Houston offers a wealth of exciting things to see and do, sports teams for which to cheer, and plenty of cows (this was the wild, wild west once upon a time.)
Why Leaf Removal matters
Grass and soil are living things. They need light, nutrients, and water to live and thrive. A blanket of leaves prevents light and water from reaching the roots of the grass. Smothering the grass will kill it.
Too much water and no light invites mold and disease. The water won't evaporate, leaving the grass to decay. Brown patch and snow mold are two common diseases. These things also prevent new grass from growing in the spring.
Different parts of the country glow when they use different grasses on their lawns. Warm season grasses flourish in areas with no discernible cold weather. Cool season grasses, on the other hand, grow best in areas with some cold weather.
Cool weather grass grows into the fall with its roots getting plenty of rain and sun in the cooler days following summer. If leaves were left on the lawn, the grass roots wouldn't receive the light and water they need to grow. It will kill the grass.
Nothing will be hurt if a few leaves are left on the ground in the fall. You can even run over the leaves with the lawn mower several times to mulch them. The small pieces will fall between the blades of grass, giving them the nutrition the leaves still carry from the trees.
You can always call Lawn Love because we know how to mulch leaves so that your gardens will benefit from their nutrients. We also know how to compost your leaves for other homeowners who use them as mulch. Feel free to call on us to learn more about it.
