Leave the Leaves

why leaving leaves in your yard is so important

Native ferns surrounded by leaves that have fallen from the trees above. (Photo by Alex W./Pollinator Paradise)

When autumn arrives and leaves on deciduous trees and shrubs change color and then drop they land among the forest floor. This is how is was in Eastern North America before humans began changing the environment. Keeping that in mind we can begin to better understand why keeping leaves is so important.

In a typical forest system in this area, leaves drop and then begin to breakdown over the course of the following year. This occurs due to many factors; snow, wind, fire, insects, bacteria, mycelium, etc. Which means the leaves and the surrounding ecosystem have formed a relationship. When the leaves breakdown they provide organic matter to the soil which enriches it and provides nutrients to the plants, bacteria and mycelium.

Many insects use the fallen leaves for habitat and shelter, such as lightning bugs, luna moths, ladybugs, some bees and butterflies. They either cocoon themselves in the leaves or bury themselves in the ground using the leaves as insulation from the cold winter weather.

By removing the leaves from your yard you are depriving these creatures and plants of their homes and food source. If you have a pollinator garden with native plants you have created this wonderful space for biodiversity, but if you cut back the perennials and remove the leaves in the fall you could be killing the next cycle of pollinators that you were inviting in the first place. The best thing to do is to leave all the perennials up over winter and not cut them back until late spring and to leave any leaves in your beds over winter. If you want to rake leaves off your turf grass you could add them to your garden bed (but try not to make it too thick) or pile them along the edges of your property. One more reason not to remove the leaves from your yard is the compost you buy at the store to add to your garden beds is something you could’ve had for free from the nutrients of your own yard waste. Overall, the best thing you can do for the pollinators and your garden is to just let it be, let nature do what it’s been doing; what’s easier than that?

Listed below are more resources on the topic:

https://www.chesapeakebay.net/news/blog/life-under-the-fallen-leaves

https://xerces.org/blog/leave-leaves-these-invertebrates-depend-on-it

https://blog.nwf.org/2023/10/seven-species-that-need-you-to-leave-the-leaves/