10/23/2026
Its time to leave the leaves! 🍁🍂🍃 Fallen leaves have a huge ecological benefit- as habitats for fireflies, small herbivores like caterpillars, and even larger critters like salamanders. If the leaves are raked up, these species have nowhere to live over the winter. If you must pick up the rake, FOLAR has a couple of suggestions to maximize leaf fall benefit without completely removing them from your space.
1 - Use them as mulch under trees: You can rake leaves to within the tree's dripline to protect the roots of your tree, maintain the moisture level of the soil, and create a soft landing for tree-hosted caterpillars to tuck into for the winter. Any shade-loving plants that may be kept under trees are accustomed to a winter under leaf litter, and the extra nutrients the leaves will provide the soil will benefit plants in the years to come.
2 - Use leaf piles to outline new garden beds for next year - spread a thick layer of leaves on top of mowed lawn, five or six inches deep, to block the lawn from receiving sunlight, and next year you will have a space for your new garden plants. Add a border of some kind if you like; old bricks and logs are an easy, usually cost-free border in many gardens.
Piling up leaves and then running the lawnmower over them seems like a good idea, but this practice will unfortunately eviscerate any life that may already be making use of the leaves. Keep the little guys alive! Use of a rake and/or leafblower is likely all you need to wrangle your fallen leaves. And in the years to come, you'll be counting more and more twinkling fireflies in the summer. Your autumn leaves are giving these magical animals a chance to thrive. Hope you enjoy the season! 🎃
