TIME TO TURN OVER AN OLD LEAF
They call it the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness – all those fruits filled with ripeness to the core, the swollen gourds and plump hazel shells. The poet Keats was on to something. But joining this edible abundance is a plentiful harvest of another kind: leaves. Lots and lots of leaves.
As a gardener you can view this windfall in one of two ways. Yes, it’ll take several bouts of energetic raking and gathering – and just when you were hoping to wind down for the season! But this is also nature’s gift to you.
Use it wisely to gently nourish and improve your soil, to mulch around established crops such as fruit bushes, or as the basis to a homemade potting compost. Think of it as the gardener’s gold it is and the annual rake-up won’t seem nearly
