Let It Be (Leaves Edition)

When our azalea died a few years ago, we replaced it with a Japanese maple. 

Its leaves didn't start turning until a few weeks ago, when all the other trees were pretty much done. 

I had forgotten how brilliant they are. 

Instead of scrolling through the news this weeks, I tried to spend a few extra minutes watching the leaves. 

It was a luxury. 

This weekend, I did the final pre-winter cleanup in the garden, which meant transplanting the toad lilies, cutting down a few of the perennials, and sweeping the leaves. I didn't cover the table and fountain with a tarp because I hate looking at the tarp and because the temperatures aren't forecast to drop below freezing in the near future. Three cheers for climate change :(

In the past, I've made a bigger production out of the leaves. I used to pick them out of the garden beds by hand -- like one or two at a time, dropping them into a bucket -- which was a slow but rewarding process if you have compulsive tendencies. Then we bought a leaf blower, which was violent but also satisfying, and finally a leaf mulcher, which was exciting at first. For a few years, I felt very suburban. 

But this year, I read several articles about how it's better to just let the leaves be. It creates less yard waste (obv) and allows beneficial ecosystems to thrive under the leaves. I wondered if the articles I once read about moldy leaves ruining gardens had been planted ('planted') by a consortium of leaf-disposal industries. If so, add it to the list of ways we've all been manipulated by corporate greed in the neoliberal era. 

Sweeping leaves from a path is the perfect amount of work, I realized. It's not too arduous, but it's not trivial, either. I didn't miss the leaf blower/mulcher combination. Will the garden suffer? I doubt it. 

Life is noisy enough. 

It's nice to feel hopeful about something. 

 

Comments

[Kelly Keating]

“Planted” LOL!!!