Fallen leaves are Mother Nature's Christmas gift to gardeners!

Hello fellow gardeners! As we wind down and prepare to put our flowerbeds to rest for the Winter months, I thought I'd share a few reasons why fallen leaves are so great for our flowerbeds:

• Leaves are a natural fertilizer. They're loaded with nutrients that will be made available to our plants as they break down. It's literally how the forest feeds itself!

• Leaves can improve our soil quickly. As they break down, that organic matter will improve the soil's water infiltration and retention, as well as improve soil drainage.

• Leaves are free! Maybe the best perk of all is we get to save money on mulch when we use leaves.

• Leaves help shelter overwintering beneficial insects that can help defend our plants from unwanted pests and diseases.

• Leaves will insulate plant roots just like other mulches during the winter months.

• Leaves are very easy to install. Just blow or rake them in the beds and let them be. This can also help protect the lawn from being smothered by too many fallen leaves.

There are so many ways that fallen leaves can help us gardeners with whatever we are trying to grow and by allowing them to do their job we can save tremendous amounts of time, money and effort by not bagging up and removing them from our properties.

REMEMBER... Leaves are organic matter and adding organic matter is always a good thing when it comes to our flowerbeds. If it came from the ground, it most certainly can go back there!

Thank you and happy gardening!