LEAVE LEAVES FOR WILDLIFE
Those four words pretty much sums up this entire blog. Leaves are useful to humans for making compost and organic matter for the soil. Also, fallen leaves provide a winter habitat to many of our beneficial insects to use for a winter cover “blanket” – bees, moths, butterflies, snails, spiders, etc. Just to give you one example…the queen bumble bees burrow only an inch or two into the earth to hibernate for the cold, winter months.
Using fallen leaves has been a strong gardening trend in recent years. Homeowners are learning about the benefits of these leaves.
Here we are in late October. Leaves are changing color and falling. The reason why leaves change color and fall is because our nights are cooler, sunlight is weaker, and the green chlorophyll starts to die off and lets the less dominant pigments of oranges, reds, and yellows to become more visible.
On a personal note I lived at my previous house for over twenty five years and I can say that I never bagged up leaves. I lived in a wooded area with dozens of assorted trees. I had a lot of leaves to deal with every fall. I had the benefit of having a large natural area at the back of my property. I would mow over the leaves to chop them up on my lawn. Then I would rake and leaf blow the remaining leaves into my back natural area. I have to admit that I was not aware of the benefits I was providing to many beneficial insects. I just saw the opportunity to let the leaves decompose each year.
BENEFITS OF USING FALLEN LEAVES
In a nutshell – using fallen leaves will do the following:
- Will improve the soil with organic matter.
- Leaves will make great compost to use in the future.
- Leaves can be considered “Mother Nature’s Natural Mulch”.
- Mowing into the lawn will improve lawn soil.
- Leaves create a natural wildlife habitat for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
If we all do our part at home, then the pollinators will reward us with wonderful fruits and vegetables for years to come!
PLANT A LITTLE HAPPINESS THIS FALL – LEARN TO LEAVE LEAVES FOR OUR NATIVE FRIENDS