By Geri Williams (parts adapted from an article in Wild Ones)

This has been a delightful fall with prolonged warm weather and brilliant colors! However, the lack of rain has caused the leaves to drop quickly. As I walked to the pond shore to take a photo, I noticed that the leaves were suddenly covering my lawn and that the trees didn’t have much color left. It made me realize that we would soon have to deal with the leaves. We just can’t seem to help ourselves from wanting to tidy up the garden at the end of the season – raking, mowing, and blowing away a bit of nature that is essential to the survival of moths, butterflies, snails, spiders and dozens of arthropods. In fact, the vast majority of butterflies and moths overwinter in the landscape as an egg, caterpillar, chrysalis or adult. In all but the warmest climates, these butterflies use leaf litter for winter cover. There are also many creatures that live in leaves: spiders, snails, worms, beetles, millipedes, mites and more – that support the chipmunks, turtles, birds and amphibians that rely on these insects for food.

It’s easy to see how important leaves really are to sustaining the natural web of life. So let’s try to leave as many leaves as possible on our property.

Research has shown that lawns actually benefit from a thin layer of leaves, and the rest can be piled up around ornamental trees, shrubs and perennials to no ill effect. In fact they act as beneficial mulch and provide protection from the cold and from frost heaves. So, rake those leaves onto your beds. If you have a vegetable garden remove dead plants first. If they have been diseased or bug infested dispose of them in the trash, picking up as many of these leaves as you can. You don’t want to leave them since bacteria, viruses and insect eggs may not die over the winter. The yard leaves can then be piled on, they will decompose over the winter and add valuable nutrients to your garden soil. Turn any remaining bits into the soil in spring before planting.

If you have too many leaves, after the kids or grandkids have enjoyed jumping in them, pile them in a corner or edge to decompose and to add to your compost during the winter. We’ve been putting leaves, weeds (without seeds) and other discarded plant material in an area at the edge of our property for many years, rotating areas. I am able to get rich humus soil from there each spring to pot up plants that I’m dividing and also to add to new gardens.

Some people mow their lawn in late fall to shred the leaves so they decompose quicker to enrich the soil. This is better than bagging them and sending them to the landfill, but in shredding the leaves you are probably also destroying many of the eggs, caterpillars and other insects as well.

The warm autumn has delayed the soil getting cold enough to plant bulbs. If you have purchased spring bulbs, tulips, daffodils, (and garlic!), etc., you need to wait until the soil is cold to plant, around 55 degrees, usually after about 2 weeks of 40-degree nights. If you plant in warm soil, they will sprout prematurely, the foliage will be killed and flower production will be diminished next spring.

One last tip: with the very dry weather we’ve had, it is important to remember to give a good drink to your shrubs and perennials and any newly established trees before you put away the hoses and the ground freezes.

Happy fall gardening!