26/05/2026
We can repair and sharpen your garden tools - next Feilding Repair CAFE on June 20
Should you tidy up autumn leaves... or leave the leaves alone?
Read the advice from William Hansby in NZ Gardener magazine: Christchurch Bug Man Ruud Kleinpaste says that gardeners who rush to rake fallen leaves away may be doing more harm than good. “That instinct to constantly tidy may actually work against the natural systems many gardeners are trying to encourage,” he says.
Left in place, fallen leaves become habitat, shelter and food for a remarkable range of organisms that help gardens function naturally.As leaves break down, they return valuable organic matter and nutrients back into the soil. Worms, fungi and microbes slowly pull this material underground, improving soil structure and fertility over time.
Ruud says gardeners often underestimate just how much life exists in a layer of autumn leaves. Caterpillars, beetles, fungi, bacteria and countless microorganisms all use decaying material as part of their life cycle. “Everything that once lived will be composted,” he says, describing leaf litter as part of a continual process of decomposition and renewal.
“Many gardeners could benefit from relaxing their standards of tidiness a little,” Ruud says. “The result may look wilder through autumn and winter, but it also creates a garden that functions more like a living ecosystem – one where decomposition, fungi, insects and birds all play their part.”
When we remove every leaf, we also remove habitat and food sources for birds and other wildlife on the food chain.
Ruud says that even leaves and dead material caught in shrubs and tree branches still have ecological value because they become miniature habitats and nutrient traps within the garden ecosystem.
As organic matter collects in forks, branch junctions and dense shrubs, it traps moisture and slowly breaks down. That creates shelter for insects, spiders, beetles, fungi and microorganisms, many of which overwinter there or use it for breeding and feeding.
The trapped debris can also catch dust, pollen, seeds and nutrients carried by wind and rain. Over time, decomposition creates tiny pockets of humus that support mosses, lichens, fungi and sometimes even self-sown seedlings or epiphytes.
In natural forests, this process happens constantly. Leaf litter doesn’t just sit on the ground – it accumulates throughout the layers of vegetation, helping cycle nutrients and sustain biodiversity.
