Ground Cover

Here's another way to help insects, birds, and other critters. And best of all, it involves doing nothing!

We gather up the leaves in our yard each fall and use them as mulch in our gardens. I'm sure this is one of the reasons we've had so many caterpillars this year.

If you want your yard to be a healthy ecosystem and part of the solution, then Leave the Leaves.

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Once upon a time, I was involved with the Sierra Club's Inner City Outings program. We worked with a school in Camden, NJ. And on one of the outings one of the participants said they didn't want to go into the woods because "it was too dirty". When asked for why she thought that, she said look at all the leaves on the ground.

Too many folks think like this young girl. Fallen leaves, a natural ground cover and fertilizer, are seen as litter. Debris to be removed. Just as with viewing a pristine lawn as desirable, it is a viewpoint that needs to to change if we want to get out of the predicament we as a society find ourselves in.

So don't rake those leaves. Leave them be. Or if you do rake them, use them as mulch around you native flower beds. Mother Nature will thank you. Your back will as well.