"I can hear the distant, angry growl of a leaf blower, carried on the wind, nature's leaf blower. Otherwise, it's quiet here in the garden, sheltered by a high hedge, raking fallen leaves, one of autumn's contemplative tasks, reviving memories of watching for first signs of their unfurling in spring, and sitting in their shade during summer's heatwaves. An ever-changing palette of colours settles on the path: today, burnt orange and cinnamon shades of Amelanchier, crimson spindle, yellow hawthorn, scarlet cherry foliage."
"There's another option: raking them back under the trees and hedge, into the flowerbeds, closing a loop in the cycle of life. Six years of doing just that has produced some wonderful displays of woodland toadstools. First to show this year were clusters of lilac-tinted wood blewits (Lepista nuda), followed by sepia boletes (Xerocomellus porosporus) with domed caps cracked like crazy paving."
"But the immediate beneficiaries, in these dwindling days of autumn before hard frosts arrive, will be legions of overwintering invertebrates: ground beetles, ladybirds, shield bugs, moth caterpillars and spiders, seeking shelter under the blanket of dry, brittle leaves. Deeper in the stratigraphy of fallen foliage, where previous years' mouldering leaves meld into mineral soil, lies the province of moisture-loving earthworms, centipedes, millipedes, slugs, springtails and fly larvae."
A quiet garden sheltered by a high hedge collects a shifting palette of autumn leaves from Amelanchier, spindle, hawthorn and cherry. Rather than composting or removing them, raking leaves back under trees and into flowerbeds returns nutrients and closes the cycle of life. Years of this practice encourage woodland fungi such as lilac-tinted wood blewits, sepia boletes and pallid puffballs. The leaf layer provides shelter for overwintering invertebrates including ground beetles, ladybirds, shield bugs, moth caterpillars, spiders, earthworms, centipedes, millipedes, slugs, springtails and fly larvae, while birds forage through the leaves for hidden food.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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