Hello, again, Penny, We have a mulching mower, as well, which, among its other sterling qualities, reduces the amount of watering we must do...and believe me, water here is costly. We mow whatever leaves fall, be they wisteria, macadamia or leaves from our neighbor's liquidamber. The only things we don't mow are those *&^% fronds from our neighbor's Washintonia palm. Water is a sore point in our house. The city computes your sewer charges based on winter usage; they do not take into account that some areas of the city, as our part which is inland, hotter and dryer, requires more watering. As a result, our sewer charges for the past two months' water bill was over 65 bucks, which is a bit cher. Whatchagonnado?! Ron