Leave the leaves to support wildlife all winter
Why spend money, time and energy removing all the leaves from your yard! Consider letting your leaves stay on your property this fall and winter. Nature will thank you!
Fallen leaves provide food and shelter for many species of wildlife during the winter, including moths and butterflies, lightning bugs, chipmunks, and even box turtles. A study from the University of Maryland found that leaving leaves on landscapes resulted in soils holding on average 32% more carbon.
This doesn’t mean letting lawns and driveways stay thickly covered with leaves, but rather moving them to other areas of your yard as suggested below. If you run out of areas to place them, start a compost pile, using one of the county’s free compost bins available at these locations including the Kentlands Whole Foods.
Leave some on your grass: A thin layer of dead leaves won’t hurt the lawn. In fact, many of them will shrivel up and disappear surprisingly fast. Examples include maple, cherry, ash, dogwood, and willow. Oak and beech leaves are very slow to decompose and are more likely to smother the grass.
Rake them onto garden beds, and under trees and shrubs: A thick layer of leaves will prevent winter weeds from germinating, will nourish the soil and provide overwintering habitat for many creatures.
Rake them to the peripheries of your yard where they will slowly decompose. Put them in a compost bin or make your own compost pile: By early summer you will have a nice load or two of semi-decomposed leaves to use as a free mulch. Leave them another year, and you will have compost!
Do the world a favor and avoid leaf blowers. The carbon emissions are considerable, and the noise is horrific. Noise pollution is bad for humans and for songbirds and other critters which have trouble communicating over the din.
Here are some articles on WHY leaving the leaves is so important:
National Wildlife Federation – Why you should leave the leaves