Rake Them or Leave Them: What to Do with All Those Fallen Leaves
The vivid colors of the leaves and the charming appearance of homes with fallen leaves all around them are among the reasons people love the autumn season in Michigan.
There’s a lot more you can do with leaves than just admire them from afar, though. They can actually be very beneficial for gardening and lawn care, and they can be used for fall-themed crafts. Following are only some of the things you can do with fallen leaves.
Give Nature a Hand
Leaves are among the best sources of organic matter and can provide tremendous benefits for your lawn and garden.
- They’re full of minerals that feed beneficial microbes and earthworms, and those organisms lead to a healthier garden come spring.
- Leaves lighten soil by making it less compact, and they provide moisture for soil when it’s needed.
- Using leaves strategically around your flower garden can give it a beautiful appearance, especially in the fall when there isn’t as much life to complement the fall flowers.
- With tender loving care, you can keep your plants alive for as long as possible. Using leaves to insulate the stems and roots of plants can help protect them well into the fall season.
- Leaves provide a protective coating for your lawn, which will lead to a more vibrant appearance in the spring. Additionally, if you walk over the leaves or comb over them with a rake a few times, you’ll break them up, which will allow them to nourish your lawn sooner.
- Make leaf mold that you can use later in the year. If you’re not familiar with it, leaf mold is basically a whole lot of leaves that have turned mushy. It doesn’t sound pretty, but what you’ll end up with is a substance full of moisture and nutrients. You can then use thick layers of it around your plants and vegetables, or incorporate some into the soil.
Use Them as Indoor and Outdoor Fall Decor
You can use leaves to beautify the inside and outside of your home when you let the craftsy side of you come to life!
Use leaves as filling for human-sized creatures to display on your porch for Halloween, or use natural, flattened leaves to decorate the outside of candle jars. You can incorporate dried but still pliable leaves into fall garland or wreaths. Leaves can also be a wonderful element for children’s crafts, such as leaf puppets or a whimsical fall-themed collage that you can hang on their bedroom walls.
See our Singh Homes blog page for additional home decor tips, cooking recipes, interior design ideas, and more.
