In the garden: Leave the leaves to nurture nature

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeLifeHomes In the garden: Leave the leaves to nurture nature Leaving the leaves as well as plant stems can create valuable winter habitat and make your garden healthier Author of the article: By Barbara Sibbald , Special to the Citizen Published Sep 21, 2026 Last updated 1 hour ago 3 minute read Join the conversation Leaving leaves where they fall in my pollinator garden gives fabulous winter habitat to a wide variety of insects and spiders.  PHOTO BY BARBARA SIBBALD  Article content Let’s take our cue from the forest. No one is raking or bagging the leaves there, yet the woodland thrives. And with good reason. Decomposing plant litter provides a much-needed home for overwintering insects (including vital pollinators), returns nutrients to the soil and is a mulch for growing plants. Do I want dead leaves on my home garden? On the plus side, minimal raking or tidying required. But it’s so messy, you may lament.   Article content Article content Let’s take a closer look.   Article content Article content Fallen leaves are a biodiverse microhabitat. Leaving them provides crucial winter habitat for many native bees, beetles, spiders, butterflies (e.g. mourning cloak) and moths. Some are pollinators. Others are pest-controlling insects such as parasitic wasps.  Article content Since most butterflies and moths don’t migrate, they need suitable habitat for overwintering, whether as eggs, larvae, pupae or adults.  A study by Max Ferlauto and associates (2025) indicated that removing leaves can reduce butterfly and moth species abundance in spring by 45 per cent, beetles by 24 per cent and spiders by up to 67 per cent. Conversely, leaving the leaves increases all these populations, as well as the number of earthworms and decomposers such as springtails.   Article content Piled on your garden bed to a depth of about 15cm, leaves also help insulate perennials during winter. And as they decompose, they return 50-80 per cent of the nutrients they contain to the soil. This layer of leaves also acts as a mulch that suppresses weeds, reduces surface water runoff by about 30 per cent and soil erosion by up to 85 per cent.  All this means a healthy, hydrated garden without the use of chemicals.   Article content Article content The old-school practice of transporting bagged leaves to municipal compost facilities pre-empts these benefits while…