Yeah, it will have to be a blower then suck them up. I'm just going to buy the Stihl blower/vacuum and be done with it.
Summary:
I live on a 1/3rd acre lot that has about 120 feet worth of treeline running along the back. I bought the Stihl SH 56 C-E last year to clear out my flower beds. After two seasons with it I've found the idea of it is more attractive than the actual operation. It takes too long to suck the leaves and the bag is too small to hold much.
I find it most useful for quick touch ups (small leaf quantities) and for vacuuming leaves out of the garage and off the porch.
Observations:
- It can suck up small rocks, acorns, small sticks and small pieces of mulch without problems
- If you are sucking up wet leaves expect to clog the output tube to the bag occasionally (Keep a flat head screw driver handy)
- If you have mulch that isn't finely shredded you will end up sucking up pieces that will jam it. Which means taking the vacuum tube off and clearing out the flywheel (Keep that flat head handy)
- It's damn near impossible to empty the bag without detaching it which means more time spent
- It's quicker and easier to blow large quantities of leaves out of the flower beds and suck up with the mower
- It's not powerful enough to move big piles of leaves quickly.
- Gets heavy after a while
Conclusion:
I would probably skip the vacuum portion and either spend the same money on a more powerful hand held or most likely go with a backpack. Ideally I'd also have a cheap electric blower/vac for touch ups and garage duty.