Why leave your leaves

Create a Woodland where insects thrive summer and winter

That’s my motto when it comes to fall leaves. Sure, a few get picked up and brought to the back where they are allowed to decompose in a corner of the yard but pretty much the remainder just stay where they fall for the winter. In Southern Ontario we can get some cold winters complete with a heavy snow cover. The leaves act like a blanket between the tender roots of plants and shrubs, helping to reduce the extreme of the freeze-thaw cycles of a Canadian winter.

But that’s not the best reason to leave the leaves. In fact, it’s never been more important for us to change the way we normally deal with the leaves that fall on our property. There was a time when we burned every last leaf on our properties (many rural property owners still burn their leaves). Today, we simply put them out on the curb or shred them into tiny pieces with gas-powered or electric machines to speed up composting.

Neither burning, nor shredding is best for insects, birds and mammals that depend on us to change our old habits.

The above photo illustration courtesy of Facebook’s Pollinator Friendly Yards is the perfect illustration of what is going on in neighbourhoods where leaves are beginning to fall. Thanks to Leslie Nelson Inman for allowing us to use the illustration.

As winter approaches and most of the insects on our properties disappear, it’s easy to forget about them and their needs. What we don’t realize is that many insects go into a type of hibernation through the winter months, while others, like monarchs, actually migrate to warmer regions. Some simply tolerate the cold and wait out the winter by sheltering and using various warming techniques, including changing body fluids into a form of antifreeze. Although most insects have a one year life cycle, some require two or more years to fully develop.

Insects can overwinter in any stage of development such as eggs, larvae, pupae, nymphs, or adults. But no matter the form, they need places to get them through our winters.

Fallen leaves are important habitat for countless life forms, everything from caterpillars of various moths and butterflies to spiders, sowbugs and salamanders, just to name a few.

(For years, my wife and I have used the plastic leaf claws to pick up leaves that fall on our driveway and pile up against large boulders along the edge of the driveway. We then put them into a collapsible bag (see above) drag them into the back yard where they are either dumped in areas of the garden or piled in a corner. I highly recommend this approach to picking up your leaves. It’s handy and a lot easier on your back)

Insect larvae, microbes and worms overwinter in leaf litter often as pupae. Turtles, toads and salamanders use leaf litter to hide and hunt for prey. Chipmunks, worms and insects rely on leaf litter during winter to help shield them from the cold, and wintering birds forage in fallen leaves for these insects.

There are many places where an insect can overwinter, including burrowing into the soil, in the leaf litter layer or under the leaves and stems of dead plants that are often surrounded in fallen leaves, under rocks or in tree bark.

Lady beetles are just one good example of insects that overwinter in leaf mulch, ready to emerge at the first signs of spring to keep our gardens free of aphids.

Without good habitat to overwinter, insects will not survive and, as a result, migrating birds will not be able to find enough insects to survive or to feed their young. Spring is a critical time for birds. A huge amount of energy is needed just to return to their breeding grounds from more southern areas, let alone find and build a nest and raise their young. To face a dwindling supply of insects and the vital protein they provide at this critical time could be a death sentence for many fledglings.

Bird feeders are not a solution to this problem. Granted feeders can certainly help migrating birds who use a high percentage of seeds to fuel their diets, but many of these birds still depend on insects and spiders to feed their young. Warblers and other insect eaters, rarely seen at feeders, especially need an abundance of insects.

All they are asking us to do is to relax. I think we can afford to do that for them.

Leave the leaves on the ground in the garden. Don’t worry what your neighbours think. If you need to pick up some leaves, move them to an area of the garden where they can slowly decompose. Even a large pile will be cut down to a fraction of its size by spring. Just do it.

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