Fall is Here… and You Can Leave the Leaves!
Here we are: the first day of Fall (or for the slightly fancier of us... Autumn). Our senses are beginning to be blessed with the changing colors of the trees, the migrating bands of birds and butterflies, the last hurrah blooms of goldenrods (which don't cause allergies) and asters, and the cooler temperatures. Pumpkins and Apples are ripening, and we all are getting our lovely Fall flannels ready (I'm a huge fan of my flannel shirts).
So beautiful.
Back to those leaves for a moment: they change color and it's magical... and then they fall down. Everywhere. All over the place! Here comes hours of raking, bagging, and leaf-blowing... right?
Actually... no. You actually don't need to do that. Seriously. Fall leaves are pretty to look at (and jump in!) but they serve two even more important purposes in nature: they're natural mulch/fertilizer for all the plants/trees AND they're nice cozy blankets for critters over Winter. Take a look at just a few of the critters who depend on fallen leaves herein Ohio:
An adorable Eastern Red-backed Salamander… awwww
Fallen Leaves = Magical Firefly Sleepovers
Wow… if you leave the leaves you can meet this truly spectacular Luna Moth next Summer!
So... what should you do? Honestly, you can just leave them! Sure, you can rake them up and jump in them... but then just let the wind do what it wants! In my experiece, they will NOT kill your yard AND they'll bring you so many beneficial critters that will eat unwanted guests such as termites, carpenter ants, mosquitoes etc. Plus, fallen leaves can actually serve as excellent protection for native seeds... perhaps you'll get some bonus flowers!
Now, at this point, you might be saying: my nighbors/HOA would never allow this! Don't worry, there's a way to sort of "have your cake and eat it too": you can rake your leaves into a back corner of your backyard to create a "Magic Spot": a refuge for all the critters mentioned above! They'll enjoy the cozy pile, you'll get to have a life with more fireflies and butterflies AND you don't have to mess with those crazy leaf bags! I’ll make a short video about this soon on my Youtube (link at the end for the song) and on my instagram @jaredthenatureguy
One last bonus: if you create a Magic Spot, the large pile of leaves will be excellent prep to plant a native plant garden there in the Spring! Keep the pollinator party going. I'll have more help for you on this front in the Winter!
Want to spread the news to Leave the Leaves? Share the memes below and checkout the song I wrote about it too!
Wow, that’s quite the sleepover
Plus Xerces Society is a great source for all sorts of info about helping bugs… and the world!
Don’t throw away the butterflies :(