Oh boy. It must be fall. There are leaves coming down everywhere, and everywhere people are raking them into piles. In our neighborhood, we have folks who come around in a big truck to take the leaves away. What? I want those leaves!
What can you do with leaves, you might ask?
Turn them into giant pumpkins. This might be a temporary solution, but if you have a lot of leaves they are perfect for slipping into a big orange garbage bag. Put a scary face onto the bag, and you have an instant giant Halloween decoration, no blowing up and plugging in required.
Turn dry leaves into crafts for kids. How about making a leaf crown? Leaf prints? Painting art onto leaves? You can also press and dry leaves to add to a leafy Thanksgiving placemat? Leaves are beautiful, and they make wonderful kids’ crafts.
Leaves are an excellent mulch. This is the way that the forest puts itself to bed in the fall. It gives itself a nice blanket of leaves for a long winter’s nap. Leaves are a home for many creatures to snuggle into during the cold winter months, and they provide food for insects and other small animals in your garden. They also provide a layer of insulation for your plants.
Leaves make great soil. After all, that’s how forests use leaves, and you can use them that way too. Collect leaves in garbage bins and mark them as compost leaves, and you’ll have a steady supply of carbon-rich material to add to your bin throughout the year. And it’s free – imagine that! While other sources of carbon such as newspaper contain human-made inks, leaves just contain leaves. They’re a great natural source of brown organic material.
What do you do with your fall leaves?
Photo Credit: ryelibrary.org
Related Posts:
Turning Fall Leaves into Compost
Using Fall Leaves as Winter Mulch
Useful Things to Do with Fall Leaves (No Crafting Involved)