Fall Leaves

The past month I have very much enjoyed the drive to work and back from my home, nestled in the woods.

Much of my drive takes me along roads surrounded on either side by deep forest. It is a drive I enjoy all year long, as it offers me wonderful glimpses of wildlife and fauna.

This past month, though, has been quite spectacular. Fall colors always seem to be a favorite of nature lovers, and this year’s offering has been a most remarkable one.

I often challenge my children to pick out one outstanding colorful tree as we make our way home from school.

Sometimes, a red leafed tree is chosen, other times an orange one is deemed the best that day. Still, other days, a yellow one is the highlight of the trip. Our color tour is made all the more exciting when a gust of wind blows leaves through the air, swirling down on either side of the car. It’s magical, and it’s a gift from God, above.

But when it comes time to rake up all those leaves…well, sometimes the wonder and magic doesn’t seem all that magical and wonderful. As my house is surrounded by trees of all shapes and sizes, I need a small army to assist me in raking up the leaves. That is, if I actually were to rake up the thousands of leaves that canvass my yard and garden areas.

Instead, I mow them. Yes, I mow them. My lawn mower comes in very useful this time of year. Now, I am not angry with the leaves, and I am not taking my lawn mower to them in order to slice and dice them into tiny shreds of once colored glory in an attempt at showing them who the boss is. I am using the mower to do two basic things.

By mowing over the leaves, I am creating a fine mulch which can add valuable nutrients to plant life, and improving the soil, as well. With this in mind, I do a few things with the mulched leaves.

Sometimes, I bag the mulched leaves in my lawn mower bag. With this bag of garden gold, I spread the shredded leaves over some garden beds in the late fall.

During the winter and early spring months, these shredded leaves will not only keep the plants warm, acting as a blanket of sorts, during the coldest of days, but they will also slowly decompose into the soil, thus giving the plants a great feeding in the spring when the “spring” back to life.

I also place the shredded leaves into my compost pile, as well. Other times, though, I simply mow over the leaves a few times, without collecting them in the bagger, and allow them to lie upon the lawn, adding nutrients to the grass and acting as a fertilizer.

So, when you gaze upon your lawn and see a mountain of leaves forming, don’t grab the rake. Instead, crank the lawn mower and make some instant mulch for your garden and your lawn. Enjoy!