...is that a sign they need to be cleaned?

So, I'm finding that living in a farming area has a few challenges. Our house is a "daylight basement" style. The lower level is partially built into the side of the hill but you can walkout on to a patio area. Also has a metal roof that tends to be very slick.

Wife and I were sitting on the upper, back deck a few weeks ago and noticed plants growing out of the gutter. Huh. I didn't have a ladder tall enough to get up there and there was no way I was gonna chance walking around on the metal roof. So ordered one up from Home Depot. It arrived this week. Put it to use today and found about 2" of sludge in the gutters with lots of different plants growing there and the downspouts were completely clogged/covered with debris. Real PITA to clean, too. Apparently dirt from the surrounding farmland lands on the roof and collects in the gutters. After a few years of neglect things will start growing in there. Yellow jackets like to nest in the seams of the metal roof, too. Stung twice on the back of each hand. Had to get all Black Flag on their asses.

Previous owner must not have had a tall enough ladder, either. Cause I cleaned the gutters in the front shortly after we moved in and they were just normal dirty. Yeah...I coulda made a loaf of bread from the wheat growing in the gutters in the back.