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Fallen leaves

bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
in Plants
With all the leaves now falling onto lawns, paths etc what do you do with them?
We gather some to put into the crowns of the tree ferns, cover over the outdoor cyclamen plants (both not yet) and then add more to the compost heap.
Any other uses of this freebie?
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  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Bagged up for leaf mould. Or put into a purpose made bin to make it.  :)
    I have to go and scrounge them from footpaths nearby now, because I don't have any suitable deciduous trees in this garden, unfortunately.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    edited October 2021
    We also use the large leaves from our paulownia to cover the crowns of our gunneras.
    We haven't bagged them but @Fairygirl maybe we should be doing so.
  • Doghouse RileyDoghouse Riley Posts: 347
    edited October 2021
    Our garden's too small for a compost area, I'd have not sufficient  use for it anyway.
    If I need compost, I buy it.
    We get a lot of leaves falling from next door's several "silver bitches," as well as our own from five wisterias.
    I blow a lot of the birch leaves to the back of the main border where they are unseen below the many azaleas and rhodos and just let them rot down for a few months before dragging out what's left which will be mostly fallen rhodo leaves, in the spring.
    I do prune off the wisteria foliage when it "turns." Have done for a couple of decades.
    Saves a lot of time. It doeosn't bother them.
    The rest get hoovered up with the mower or my Grizzly garden vac/blower and they  go in the green bin.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    edited October 2021
    Leaf mould is a great resource @bertrand-mabel. A superb soil conditioner and great for adding a bit more 'heft' to areas that need it. It's even more useful than home made compost for certain plants - trees and shrubs in particular, and a couple of black bin bags will give you a small supply if you don't have room for bigger bins.  :)
    If you have light soil, it's particularly good for adding bulk to it, and helping retain moisture.
    We had some mature trees in the garden round the corner from here, but the biggest problem I had was getting them before the wind sent them down the road.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    edited October 2021
    Mine get mown up and dumped in builders bags till they rot down. I just turned one of last years onto the other, to release the bag for this years.  Three years produce something akin to gorgeous crumbly peat. Mine are mainly oak leaves.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Two huge sycamores. Inches deep in leaves. Chuck them on the compost heap when I get round to it. No sign of them by the spring.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    Make some of this lovely stuff (bagged up yesterday to make room for the load I will collect from the street over the next week or two).


    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • BigladBiglad Posts: 3,265
    I took a bin that my sister didn't want earlier this year and have been using that. It's pretty full (but does reduce so I can keep cramming more in). Should be useful stuff coming out of it next year.

    All the leaves are collected from my back garden but none of the leaves belong to anything growing on my side of the fences.
    East Lancs
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Gosh - that's quick @B3.  :)
    I should have lifted the load a few weeks ago which end up against a house there, from the maples and oaks etc in the opposite field. I missed them and they had the bloke there the other day clearing them away.  :/  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    We put ours into a wire leaf mould maker but any that are mowed up can go on the compost heap because they rot down more quickly.
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