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| Autumn Leaves, by Norma Boeckler |
Weather has been unusually warm. October was a drought month, warm and sunny. Now we have plenty of rain, those long slow rains that soak the plants and soil. Most of the trees are still green on November 2nd, so the leaves are not falling in any great number.
Autumn leaves provide:
- Mulch for plants, keeping their feet warm all winter, increasing soil activity, holding in moisture, discouraging wind erosion, fertilizing the soil.
- Material for compost.
- Food for the lawn when ground up by the lawnmower.
- A place for insects to overwinter, pests and the beneficial creatures that feed on them.
- Very large feeding areas for winter birds and again for spring birds and their babies.
- Nests for squirrels and nest liners for birds.
I cannot imagine a good reason for anyone removing leaves from the yard. We grab as many bags as we can. Leaves will pile up on all the rose beds and be piled up on the Crepe Myrtle bush.
The first two layers of the Wild Garden are cardboard and leaves. Jessica Walliser uses Jackson Mulch to create a tomato garden -
- One layer of newspapers
- Another layer of leaves
- An X cut in the mulch in the spring for tomato plants.
PS - I gave Sassy a bath today. It will seem hilarious later.